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Washing machines have one clear job; to wash your clothes. You pop a load in the drum, provide some detergent and fabric softener, select a cycle, and then let the magic happen. In a couple of hours, you should be left with fresh, clean clothes – but that doesn’t always transpire.
Why do your clothes sometimes smell funky after a wash? You’ve put washing detergent in, and you’ve thrown in some conditioner for extra freshness, yet they come out smelling weird. You either hope the smell goes away or you’re forced to wash them again, wasting energy and money. Over cleaning your clothes can be bad for the materials, so the main goal is figuring out why they smell funky and what you can do to stop this in the future.
99% of the time, your clothes smell funny after a wash cycle because of either of these three things:
There’s Too Much Water In The Machine
Water is (obviously) used to wash your clothes in the machine, but these appliances work by draining excess water before the cycle ends. It should mean your clothes are wet, but they’re not completely sodden.
Often, there’s too much water left in the machine as it doesn’t drain correctly. This leaves excess water on your clothes, making them overly wet. When clothes get too wet they start smelling funky. You can prevent this by doing a couple of things:
- Be sure you’re not overloading the machine
- Check the drainage after running a light wash
Overloading makes it hard to drain excess water, but if there’s still too much after a light wash then there’s likely a problem with the pump. You’ll need to find replacement washing machine parts to fix this issue, but it will result in proper drainage and clothes that aren’t completely soaked after every wash.
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You’ve Not Dried Them Quick Enough
Another common issue is leaving your clothes in the washing machine for too long after the cycle finishes. Aim to start the drying process right away. If you have a dryer, run it immediately. If you’re air-drying your clothes, pull them out of the washing machine straight away. The longer you leave wet clothes clumped together in the drum, the more likely they are to smell damp and musty.
The Washing Machine Is Dirty
Finally, the source of the smell can come from the washing machine itself. If you’ve never cleaned your washing machine, it will likely have mold and all sorts of other grime forming around the drum. When you stick your clothes in for a cycle, they’ll come out smelling worse than when they went in.
Get into the habit of using a washing machine cleaner every few months to freshen the drum and ensure mold can’t build up or fester. This will make the drum clean, which results in fresher and nicer smelling clothes.
What’s causing your smelly clothes? Is it excess water that doesn’t drain correctly? Is it leaving the clothes for too long before drying? Or, is it down to the washing machine being old and smelly? In any case, fixing these issues will lead to fresh clothes that finally smell like they’ve been washed!
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