Have you ever forgotten you had clothes in the washer?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

How the hell do you get that nasty stagnant wash water odor out?

I've tried running them through the wash again, using dryer sheets, baking soda, Febreeze, and Nature's Miracle with no luck.

[hobbit709]

1. That's the smell of mildew.

First run them through the drier to kill the mildew.
Then rewash in hot water and dry again.
Let them air out somewhere for a day or two.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. It doesn't smell like mildew...

It just smells like stale wash water.

Unfortunately, it hit a load of cold-water wash. If I use hot water, my things will shrink.

[Arugula Latte]

2. Hmm ... I wonder if washing them in hot water would work?

And maybe just a tiny bit of bleach (not enough to turn anything white, but a bit to kill the germs).

I've left clothes in the washer several times and generally another wash (in cold water even) does the trick. Don't know why yours are still stinky.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Sometimes the odor lasts through several washings.

I wonder if they need a second rinse...

[grace0418]

9. The worst is when it seems like they don't smell any more but then you notice the smell

after you've been wearing the clothes all day and you're in a hot car or something. Yuck.

[Richardo]

3. What, today?

That happens with alarming regularity. :dunce:

I find that a re-washing usually does the trick.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. The odor lingers even after rewashing...

Should I dry them first?

[lizziegrace]

5. Vinegar in the wash water

or baking soda.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. I tried baking soda...

I'll try vinegar and see if that helps. Thanks!

[lizziegrace]

12. Vinegar kills mildew on surfaces

it should work on fabrics. Good luck!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

14. It's good for cleaning out yourcoffee maker, too...

and if you pour a little baking soda in your drain and rinse it down with vinegar, you've got a nice little drain cleaner. :hi:

Thanks for the tip!

[Mike 03]

7. Yes but, ironically, only since I owned a home and had my own washer.

I was OCD when it came to using an apartment building washer or public place.

But I never forgot for so long that I ruined clothing.

I have had a few unfortunate shirts shrink to the size of a Barbie doll when washed in hot water.

[grace0418]

8. You have to wash them in lots of vinegar to get that out. Then you should probably run

a super hot cycle of rags or white cotton towels with vinegar and bleach. I never use bleach any more but this is one instance where you might consider doing it. Otherwise that mildew smell can permeate subsequent loads of laundry even if they don't sit in there after washing.

Also, that load that did get mildewed may have to get dried then rewashed in the vinegar (no bleach) solution. Even if you can't smell it, it may show up after you've been wearing the clothes for a bit and you get warm. It's not pleasant.

Good luck. Been there, done that.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. It's weird, though...It doesn't smell like mildew.

It just smells kind of sour.

[grace0418]

18. That's just another kind of mildew. The vinegar wash will work. Use a lot. The laundry

room will smell like salad dressing while it's washing but after you dry it all will be better.

[HopeHoops]

13. Only while I was wearing them.

Man is it hard to get in and out of that thing!

[Fleshdancer]

15. Yes....

the only luck I've had was drying them and then rewashing.

[ElmStreetPlaza]

17. Yes

Been there and done that! I am still trying to find dye for my blue jean jacket that was destroyed after I left it in the washer for several days.

[Inchworm]

19. No comment

:banghead:

Ok, I lied.

I do this often. Hot water rewash/dry and rewash usually fixes it.

:hi:

[Kali]

20. bleach

about the only think I know that will kill laundry odor for sure. If the clothes are already ruined it couldn't hurt - try as little as a 1/4 cup in a full tub of water and let it agitate a little to mix before putting the clothes in.

[rcrush]

21. The dryer takes care of that for me.

:shrug:

[quakerboy]

22. Sometimes amonia will help

or bleach, vinegar, baking soda, certain stain removers, febreeze, a proper drying, etc. Not all at once, mind you.

Some times you just have to throw them out.

[Whoa_Nelly]

23. Take'em out, air dry them. Run a heavy hot water, sopa nd bleach through washer, no clothes

Run washer again, just cold water, no clothes.

Take air-dried clothes and settle them in for a 1/2 hour cold water soak in the washer with liquid soap or Dawn dishwashing liquid (that's the best!)

Spin the clothes out, and then run them again as a regular cold water wash.
The smell is from the outer tub of your washer. Mildew getting in the laundry event hough you are washing again.
Clean out the washer, and redo the clothes.
Trust me on this one ;)

:loveya: GoG! :hi:

[DeepBlueC]

25. ooh, this is very persuasive

Smart lady. :)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

28. I'm going to try this...

It makes sense to me.

Thanks, Whoa_Nelly! :hug::hug::hug:

[yellowdogintexas]

37. this is especially true if you have a front loader. Keep the washer open when not in use

very important. I leave mine open when it is empty, always.

Have the washer serviced professionally annually as they will clean out around all the gaskets etc.

If you have a front loader there is a tablet compound sold at Lowes, Home Depot etc that you run in the machine monthly with nothing in the washer. Service techs recommend doing this monthly.

[tigereye]

24. are you me?

:rofl: I just wash em again - that usually works. I guess it depends though, on how long you forget em for!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. I usually don't leave them for more than 24 hours...

If I don't do a load a day, the laundry gets backed up. But sometimes I'll put a load in around dinner time, and I get so caught up in dinner and making sure the kid gets himself clean and in bed that I forget the laundry.

[tigereye]

29. that's what I do - I have to do at least a load every day, and there are only 3

of us, plus my husband does his own usually, since I refuse to mix lights and darks. :crazy:

My son isn't the tidiest fellow and I think I have too many clothes! :rofl:

[Pacifist Patriot]

27. Wow, that's some stubborn mildew. Usually just rewashing works for me.

[dugaresa]

30. If you have a soak cycle, use white vinegar (use about 2-3 cups)

and then wash the clothes again after that.

I have successfully used this technique.

If you don't have a soak cycle, put the clothes in a wash basin with the vinegar to soak for a while then wash again.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

42. That sounds like a good idea too...

Thanks!

[MrsBrady]

31. hot water?

[dgibby]

32. Odoban.

You can use it for everything. Great stuff, used in hospitals. I have cats and dogs, takes care of all kinds of odors. I use it to clean countertops, sinks, floors, laundry. You can buy it at Sam's and Home Depot. They even make a spray for your yard.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

43. Thanks for the tip!

I never heard of this product before.

[dgibby]

51. You're welcome. It's the very best stuff I've ever used.

It smells great, too, and it kills approx 99% of germs, etc. I orginally found out about it because we used it at the Navy Hospital where I was stationed.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Dogtown]

34. Lysol (tm)

presoak in a Lysol solution to kill the mildew.

rewash as always but WTFU & get them into the dryer in a timely fashion this time.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

44. The liquid disinfectant

or the household cleaner?

[Dogtown]

49. The disinfectant

The institutional-stink kind.

May require 2 rinses & airing to dispell the hospital-morgue scent, but it will definitely kill the stale/mildew smell.

[Orrex]

35. You just have to go naked from now on

I suspect that was your plan all along.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

45. ...

:spray:

[carlyhippy]

36. I do this about once a week...haha

tide degergent, as much as you can get away with, and if the clothes won't get messed up, probably a little bleach in the water. At my house it usually ends up being the towels that are left behind and forgotten.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

46. There's nothing worse than

drying off after your refreshing shower and realizing that your towel stinks.

[gbate]

38. You have to re-wash them.

[secondwind]

39. have you tried warming them in the sun? nothing like fresh air and sunshine!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

47. We have so many trees in our yard

that the clothes would just be covered with bird poo.

[madrchsod]

40. vinegar and solar powered dryer works for getting rid of icky smells

if not you will have a lot of cleaning rags

[Jamastiene]

41. Start over...

with entirely new clothes or just wear that certain batch of clothes around the house until the smell goes away. That's the only way I have figured out how to deal with it.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

48. Ha! Good excuse to go shopping!

:rofl:

[JitterbugPerfume]

50. What? ME forget stuff

never

Now what were we talking about?