Lately, my clothes have all been coming out of the dryer smelling funky. At first, I thought I maybe left them in the washer too long but I have been making sure to move them from the washer to dryer right when they’re done and they’ve still been smelling weird! Anyone have good suggestions for cleaning out my washer and/or dryer?
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Nobody’s attempted to answer this so I’ll take a stab.
My guess is that it is probably related to your washing machine and not the dryer. I’d say mold that is likely starting to grow.
WikiHow has steps on how to clean your washing machine with vinegar:
1. Fill the detergent dispenser with white vinegar. Fill the detergent dispenser with 3/4 cup (177.44 ml) of vinegar or until the detergent dispenser is filled. The detergent dispenser is usually labeled and can be found on the top of your front load washing machine. Once it’s filled, close the lid.
2. Start a normal wash cycle on the hot water setting. If your front load washing machine doesn’t have a hot water setting, select the “whites” setting or “stain” setting. Allow the cycle to run through completely.
After you do a cycle with vinegar, run another hot rinse cycle without clothes to make sure all the vinegar is gone.
I also found these general tips from Consumer Reports on preventing mold in front-end washing machines.
Keep the washing machine door ajar between loads. This allows the interior of the machine to dry out better. If you have young kids at home, lock the door to the laundry room.
Run a hot water wash every so often to clean the washing machine tub. Don’t add laundry, but consider adding 1 cup of chlorine bleach. Some front-loaders now have a tub-cleaning cycle that’s supposed to prevent odors and mildew by removing detergent residue.