Clothes have a musty smell if left in the washer

This is caused by the biomass built up inside the tub of the machine. This can also be caused by a moldy door boot. You need to scrub your door boot between the tub and the door. Water settles in the bottom of it and molds. Once you clean this, order affresh washer cleaner for your machine. This kills all the biomass built up in the tub and removes the smell. You will put all three tablets in the drum and run on the longest hottest wash available. When this is completed your machine should smell much better. To keep this from getting so bad again... Keep the washer door cracked open between cycles. This keeps the inside from smelling. Hope this helps

Is this a front-load washer or top load?

Is the machine operating properly, or are your clothes getting a musty smell?

The musty smell has a few solutions, One may work but probably a combination of all will work best.


Immediately move wet clothes to the dryer, do not let them sit in the washer for a long time.
If your clothes smell, put mouthwash with your clothes directly in the tub during the wash cycle (this will not stain your clothes)
leave the door open when not in use (lets it dry out)
If the washer smells, use bleach and hot water in an empty cycle once in a while (kills just about every kind of bacteria or mold which may be causing the smell)
Use washing machine cleaner once in a while(can be found at your local grocery store isle next to detergent)
Dry your clothes completely, damp clothes can start to smell again.

If you are looking for a new washer, try to find a newer model that features a stainless steel tub with silver impregnation. The silver is a natural disinfectant.

I use 20 mule team borax and leave the door open when not in use and have no more musty smell in washer or clothes.

TIme to clean your washer. I found a great product called WHIRLOUT. It is a granulated product that you pour into your washer (see directions). It really does work. The smell is from old detergent, grime, oil, etc... I orginally used it in our jetted bathtub and then found out it works great in washing machines. It is on the Internet and possibly at LOWE'S or HOME DEPOT. Honest, this stuff really works.
Good Luck

Do a boil wash without clothes & detergents, with a cup of bicarbonate of soda in the soap drawer.

hi there,

the musty smell is from the door boot or gasket. deposit from clothes and detergent get trapped in there and have nowhere else to go. i would recommend purchasing Washerfresh tables to get rid of the deposits. they are available all over.

clogged water screens , defective water level pressure switch , clogged drain, kinked drain hose ,. defective water pump , defective water tempeerture switch, damaged water valve solenoid , water inlet valve has an interal malfunction

The big door seal is probably the problem. Put on gloves and using a solution of Laundry detregent and hot water and rags, carefully wipe clean all the folds of the seal. It will be icky. Next run a cycle with some detergent and oxyclean or bleach if you have it.

Especially during warm weather, damp clothing left in a front loader mildew slightly very quickly- you can't really see much but you can smell it! So get the clothes in to the dryer immediately. You'll want to relaunder the smelly clothing after you have cleaned the washer.

Good luck to you and Thank You using FiX YA!

I have the same problem with a 3 month old ge front loading washer.after 1 month it started off smelling musty..I thought it was my imagination, now at 3 months old our clothes smell so bad I think we might just have to buy new clothes! everytime I wash a load the clothes smell worse and now you can even smell it just walking into our closet 2 floors up. A new washing washing machine should NOT be doing this! so far leaving the door open in between washes has helped a little but I plan on tipping it back and finding the hidden filter today. Isn't it lovely that they don't mention a filter that needs monthly cleaning or it's location in the manuals?!

It sounds like a build up of washing residue. Clean inside the door seal and do a very hot wash with a bit of washing powder and no clothes. Repeat this once a week until smell has gone.