How to Fix a Smelly Washing Machine — Step-by-Step Instructions
Never mix bleach with vinegar or ammonia products — run them in separate cycles. Ventilate the laundry area.
Tools
- Old toothbrush
- Microfiber cloths
Parts
- Washer cleaner tablets (or plain chlorine bleach)
Step by step
-
1 Clean the door boot folds (front-loaders)
Peel back the grey rubber boot and wipe every fold with a cloth — the black residue you find is the smell. Scrub stubborn mildew with diluted bleach.
-
2 Empty the drain pump filter
A sock decomposing in the coin trap out-stinks everything else. See our filter-cleaning guide — it’s a 15-minute job.
-
3 Run two hot cleaning cycles
Use the Clean Washer cycle (or hottest/largest normal cycle) with a washer cleaner tablet or one cup of bleach — machine empty. Repeat once.
-
4 Scrub the dispenser drawer
Pull the drawer fully out (most have a release tab) and brush out the softener sludge; mold loves the dispenser housing roof — reach in with the toothbrush.
-
5 Change the habits that caused it
Use half the detergent you’ve been using (HE machines need very little), leave the door and drawer cracked open between loads, and pull finished laundry promptly.
If the smell survives two cleaning rounds, mold is likely embedded inside the boot rubber or behind the drum — boot replacement or a tub-clean teardown is a job for a pro. If you'd rather skip it entirely, find a washer repair pro near you →
Step-by-step instructions for your exact model
The same repair, tailored with your machine's error codes, known quirks, and typical costs.
What this repair costs professionally
Find a washer repair pro near you.
Browse verified independent appliance repair companies by city — ratings, hours, and phone numbers, no middleman.