Are you tired of funky smelling laundry from your HE washing machine? Get better smelling laundry with this one ingredient.

In With The New

It was about ten months ago that we had entered the h/e appliance world. Our long running traditional washer bit the dust and we had to convert. As we headed out to the various stores that carried appliances, it was evident that our choices were limited. We ended up at a small, but well recommended local appliance store. The local store had primarily the same choices, but a more informative sales staff. Our salesman introduced us to the bells and whistles of the new models, but also made us aware of some things we may be happy with with the new h/e models. Making sure to not let the laundry sit in the tub after it is finished being washed was one of his main concerns. Allowing the laundry sit would create an odor in the clothes.

What We Know About The New Models

What makes these new washers appealing is their efficiency. Everybody is trying to save time and money these days. The thought of having a washer that uses less water and energy is considered a worthwhile investment.

The notable features are they:

• Use less water
• Spin faster creating dryer clothes in the end
• Are more energy efficient
• Clean better than center agitator washers

Some of the drawbacks:

• Longer wash cycle times
• Some models get complaints of being loud
• They have to be cleaned with a special cleaner
• That funky smell in the clothes

If you have a high efficiency wash machine you know what I am talking about with the smell. For the first few months we were real diligent about getting the clothes moved to the dryer right after they were finished. No problems with odor. Then it happened. One of us (My kids do their own laundry) left a load in the washer too long and the funk occurred. No problem, re-wash and make sure to move immediately.

But then we noticed something. Even if we moved the clothes right after they were done we still noticed a slight smell. To try and eliminate the odor we washed the machine as directed. We also ran the drain and spin cycle to rinse out the water. Anything we did, did not help. Were we doomed to funky smelling clothes? Is it just the way it is with these new machines?

Get better smelling laundry

Not being happy with the performance of our new wash machine, and being a guy, I felt I had to fix it. I can’t be the only one this is happening to. Someone else out there must be suffering. I started reading online reviews, comment sections, anything related to h/e wash machines and smells. You had the normal advice of washing the wash machine, drain the tub and take the clothes out faster.

Then I saw it. One little suggestion to use VINEGAR! Just plain old $2.00 a gallon white vinegar. It was worth a shot. To be careful I just put about 2 Tbsp in through where you pour the bleach. Seems like very little, but ya know, I didn’t want to go to work smelling like a salad bar. To my amazement that little bit of vinegar did the trick. Some people report getting softer clothes using the vinegar trick. Now, I don’t know about all that. What I can say is we don’t suffer from the funk anymore.