Appliances
Washing machine smells? Your machine needs a service wash
Modern washing habits are kind to fabrics, kind to bills and very kind to bacteria. Cool cycles and liquid detergent let a film of grease and microbes build up inside the machine, and eventually your clean laundry comes out smelling of pond. The fix costs pennies and takes one hot, empty cycle a month.
By the Tickover team · Published 22 June 2026 · 4 min read
Why a machine that cleans things starts to smell
Washing at 20°C or 30°C saves energy, but it never gets hot enough to kill the bacteria that arrive with every load. Liquid detergents and softeners contain no bleaching agents, so residue, skin oils and lint settle into a greasy layer called biofilm on the drum, the outer tub, the drawer and the folds of the door seal.
Biofilm smells of damp cellar with notes of drain. Worse, it seeds the same smell into towels and shirts, which is usually the point at which people start blaming the detergent, the dog, or each other.
None of this means the machine is failing. It means it needs the one cycle nobody runs: hot, long and empty.
The monthly service wash
Run a proper service wash
Start with the machine empty and unplugged
You are about to scrub parts of it, so pull the plug first. An empty drum lets the hot water work on the machine, not the laundry.
Pull the detergent drawer right out
There is a release catch, usually where the softener sits. Scrub drawer and recess in hot soapy water; the recess roof is where the black growth hides.
Clean the door seal folds
Peel the rubber back gently and wipe out the grey sludge and stray coins with hot soapy water. Check the drain holes at the bottom of the seal are clear.
Clear the coin trap
Stagnant water sits in the trap between washes and adds its own perfume. Towels down first: the draining guide walks through it.
Run the hottest, longest cycle empty
Plug back in and run a 90°C cotton cycle with a washing machine cleaner or a cup of soda crystals in the drum. No laundry, no softener.
Leave the door and drawer ajar
Let the machine dry out completely afterwards. A sealed, damp drum is a growth chamber.
90°C
the monthly cycle that strips biofilm
20–30°C
where most modern washes happen
Monthly
how often to run a hot empty wash
Habits that keep it away
One service wash clears the backlog; habits stop it returning. The big three are ventilation, dosage and the occasional hot wash with powder, whose bleaching agents do quiet maintenance every time you use it.
Smell prevention
Do
- Leave the door and drawer ajar between washes
- Run a 90°C empty maintenance wash monthly
- Use powder with bleaching agents for whites and towels
- Dose detergent for your water hardness, not by instinct
Don’t
- Do not run everything cool with liquid detergent forever
- Do not overdose softener; residue is exactly what biofilm eats
- Do not leave wet laundry sitting in the drum for hours
- Do not blame the machine before checking the sink waste
The monthly five minutes
- Hot empty cycle with cleaner or soda crystals
- Drawer out, scrubbed, recess wiped
- Door seal folds wiped dry
- Coin trap checked and emptied
- Door and drawer left open to dry
When it is not the biofilm
A burning smell is a different article entirely: stop the machine, unplug it and book an engineer, because hot electrical smells are never seasoning. And if a musty machine is also draining slowly or leaving water in the drum, deal with the blockage first; smell is often the early warning.
If the machine is old, smelly and misbehaving in several ways at once, weigh up whether the next call-out is good money after bad with the repair or replace guide. A clean, aired machine also dries laundry better, which matters if your washing dries indoors in winter.
Make it a habit without remembering it
Tickover’s maintenance calendar schedules the service wash, the coin trap check and every other small job your home needs, then nudges you at the right moment. Set it once and let it tick over.
Quick answers
Why does my washing machine smell like drains?
Cool washes and liquid detergent allow a film of bacteria, grease and residue to coat the drum, tub, drawer and door seal. It smells stale and drainy, and it transfers to laundry. A monthly 90°C empty wash with a machine cleaner or soda crystals, plus a drawer and seal scrub, clears it in one afternoon.
Will a 90°C wash damage my washing machine?
No. Machines are designed for their hottest cycle, and manufacturers themselves recommend a regular hot maintenance wash. The damage runs the other way: never running hot lets biofilm build up on the tub and heater, which shortens the life of the parts and makes every wash smell worse than it should.
Is powder or liquid detergent better for a smelly machine?
Powder, at least some of the time. Most powders contain oxygen bleaching agents that keep the inside of the machine clean as a side effect, which liquids and gels lack. A practical compromise is liquid for delicates and darks, powder for whites, towels and bedding, and a hot empty wash monthly.
How often should I run a service wash?
Monthly suits most households, and the habit matters more than the date. If you wash mostly cool, own pets, or the machine lives somewhere unheated, lean toward more often. If the smell returns within a fortnight of a service wash, check the coin trap and the sink waste it drains into.
This guide is general information for UK homes, not advice about your specific property. Anything involving gas must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and notifiable electrical work by a qualified electrician. If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999. If you’re ever unsure, stop and get a professional in — that’s exactly what Tickover is for.
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