image by raymortim
Please tell me I’m not the only one who (far too often, I might add) leaves laundry - clean laundry - in the washing machine a li-i-i-ttle bit too long (you know, like, never more than 12 hours or so… or a day or two… or… I’ll stop there) in the washing machine so that the once-clean laundry is now a rather smelly mess. In fact (should I even admit this?) I am at this moment washing a load of laundry for the third time. Yes, the third time. And, no, it hasn’t gone through the dryer yet.
Whew! SO happy I’m not the only one! Thanks for ‘fessin’ up. When I first had the idea to write this post, I felt a little bit like that dream everybody always talks about - you know, the one where you’re going about happy-as-a-lark in public with only your you-know-whats on? Or less? (Although I confess I’ve never actually had that dream - thank goodness. My only recurring dream is the one where I lose all my teeth. I really hate that one because I am afraid it’s prophetic. But I digress…)
So anyway… since I’m not the only one who absent-mindedly leaves her laundry in the washing machine for so long that it gets dirty again, I figure somebody out there is going to find this post useful, because here in this post I will reveal my secret for overcoming the nasty smell. And the people rejoice! (Notice I did not say my secret for overcoming the absent-mindedness because I haven’t figured that one out. Not yet.)
photo by Alvimann
The Vinegar Trick
Now I’m thinking you all probably have already heard about the vinegar trick, am I right? The “Vinegar Trick” is really pretty simple. All you do is throw in some vinegar (1/2 a cup-ish) to your load of laundry and run it through the cycle again. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
The Vinegar Trick is all I ever needed when I had a top-loading washing machine, and it worked every single time. Now that I have an HE front-loading washer, though, things are different. For one thing, the musty smell collects a LOT faster. I can’t leave laundry in there for any length of time, it seems, without sniffing that faint but disgusting odor when I go to switch out the clothes into the dryer. For another, the smell is awfully persistent! And stronger! I don’t know what it is about HE machines (I thought they used less water?!) but I’ve read online that my experience is not uncommon.
So I’ve had to up my game a little, and now I have a whole routine going to help me kick that mildew smell where it hurts.
Side note: Some people say that using vinegar in an HE machine will ruin it, but I’ve heard from countless HE users that they’ve added vinegar to their laundry on a regular basis and haven’t had any trouble whatsoever with their machines. That’s good enough for me, but you may want to consider carefully before you try it yourself.
Get Rid of Mildew Smell in Your Laundry
This is the procedure I follow whenever I’ve let the laundry sit in the washer just a little bit too long.
- Set your washer to use Hot water. Most clothes can handle it, at least on occasion.
- Pour vinegar into the fabric softener/bleach receptacle. (Mine is on the upper right hand corner.)
- Add a few drops of Purification essential oil. (This is what kicks this process up a notch and really knocks out the mildew smell.)
- For really bad stink, I also throw in a cap-ful of the Extreme 18X laundry detergent sample that comes with my soap nuts.
- Run your washer on the Heavy cycle.
- Repeat as necessary. (Hopefully, one time’ll do it!)
Stink be-gone!!
Purification rocks for stinky stuff!!! Thanks for sharing!!
I use vinegar as a fabric softener in all my loads. I have a front loading HE machine. I also make my own detergent. The reason it gets musty smelling faster despite using less water is the water that collects in the gasket of the door. Since I started using vinegar in the wash routinely, I never have that smell if I forget the laundry for awhile. I have even left it for a whole day and had no musty smell.
I may get the purification essential oil to add to my husband’s cycling clothes and my teenage son’s stuff. But that is a whole other kind of smell. 😉
I saved a pair of jean shorts by boiling thyme and pouring the tea over the shorts and then washing a few minutes later.
do you put purification drops in with vinegar or directly on laundry?
I put it in with the vinegar usually, although I have sprinkled it on the laundry before. I think it’s more effective if it goes in with the vinegar, because it gets into the water and therefore to all the laundry that way.
One tip I have found helpful with the front-loading machines is to wash from cold to hot. I do my darks first, then lights and last whites. After that load I leave the door to the washer open to air out for the rest of the day. Since I have been doing that I have not had the musty smell. Works especially well with the vinegar rinse (or bleach, if you use it).
Great tip, Amy, thanks!
I am guilty of leaving laundry in the washer on numerous occasions. I could never get rid of the mildew stench once it set in, ever. The worst mildew smell was on my towels (unless they were whites that could be washed in clorox). I am SO glad I found this blog. I tried the vinegar and it has done wonders! Once I added about a cup of vinegar to my top load washer, my laundry came out smelling so fresh and clean, I kept smelling it over and over! Aaahhh!
I do the vinegar thing but I also add about a tablespoon of baking soda….Works great.
Interesting! Do you think that would make too many suds in an HE washer?
Not at all. I have used it in both kinds of washers. It has no sudsing qualities. It also keeps your washing machine from getting that musty smell.
So I’m not the only procrastinator out there! I’m going on my third wash (no drying), going to try using vinegar. I’m confident an outside clothes line on a sunny day would do the trick, but that hasn’t happened in 30 years, unlikely to start now. Thanks for the suggestion.