When The Smell Is Not Right

Sometimes, there are instances when we wear clothes that seem to give off that foul smell we normally get when they’re washed using a washing machine. The culprit of course is the mildew or that musty smell that is caused by the presence of moisture in the washing machine. It may even come to a point where the unwanted smell of the clothes will have you wash the clothes manually.

Because the washing machine is something that requires water for operation, moisture build-up would be pretty typical. What causes the problem though is when either the water is not removed by the draining system at the end of the washing cycle or for some reason, the excess water is left accumulating inside the tub.

The so-called “cheek method” usually works well if one suspects that the drain system is the reason for the musty smell. This means removing a towel from the completed load of washing and placing the piece of clothing against your cheek. The towel should feel cool without feeling wet against your cheek. If the towel feels wet, place it back into the washer spin the load one more time. If the re-spinning removes more moisture from the washed clothing, then the washer is not reaching its maximum speed.

The most probable cause for this is overloading of the washing machine. Definitely, the overloading will add up to the moisture that is left behind, which ultimately causes clothing mildew. To verify if the washer is overloaded, wait for your normal clothing load to complete and then remove two to three items. Restart the cycle from the rinse position and allow it to go completely through the rinse-drain-spin cycle. If the clothes are properly spun this time around, then your washer is suffering from overloading.

This unbalanced clothing load affects the spin speed of the washing machine that leads to mildew smell washing machine. The unbalanced load will have your washing machine either jumping or becoming noisier than usual. If this is not detected and noticed right away, moisture will remain and continue to build up inside the tub until the end of the washing cycle. The result, of course, would be a musty odor that eventually will lead to the presence of mildew.

Technology can be a big help to ease the workload and burden of human beings. However, one must think that these new gadgets and equipment cannot operate by themselves, let alone take care of themselves. That responsibility is something that’s relegated to the owner of the equipment. A washer will never be a musty smell washing machine unless the owner allows it to be!