Rage Against the (washing) Machine

I love my front loader.  I really do.  It uses less water and detergent, and in a frugal household, that's a plus.  It spins faster than a conventional top loader and therefore the clothes coming out of the washer take less time to dry.  I can't tell you the last time I used my dryer.  I'm considering selling it.  Drying is usually done outside in the sunshine when weather and temperature permits, and inside on racks next to the woodstove when it's cold out.

For a while now, I've been noticing an odor coming from the washer.  But only when the machine is on a spin cycle.  After a load finishes, I leave it open to prevent it from getting musty.  Sometimes, I'll even go so far as to put a little fan in there to circulate some more air.  But I still noticed the odor.  People who gave me advice about this problem were convinced it was because I shut the door and it was getting smelly from there.  I disagreed and ran the washer on a clean cycle.  Still stunk.  So, after some traipsing around the internet and various washing machine forums (yes, that's a thing!), my next step was to clean the drain hose.


HOLY SHIT.


Literally, shit.  After 3+ years of cloth diapering, the sludge that had accumulated in that thing was revolting.  I had a giant pipe cleaner-like device and I shoved that bad boy into one of the business ends of the drain hose.  And I pulled out the grimiest, brownest, foulest goo that almost made me toss my cookies.  So, lather, rinse, repeat on the other end and swish with a bit of bleach water and ta-da!  No more smell!

I replaced the hose and have yet to run a new load to see if that was the problem, but I'm fairly confident that I solved the mystery of the smelly washer.

And next time, I'm just buying a new drain hose.