Foul Smell When My Affinity FL Drains

[logixx]

Does your Affinity have a cleaning cycle? From personal experience I can tell that a hot cyle alone doesn't really clean the outer tub completely. It's like filling your bathtub with a few inches of water and swishing it around a bit: it won't reach all the way up where dirt and soap scum accumulates.

 

[rolls_rapide]

"where dirt and soap scum accumulates."

Agreed.

That is why I am a fan of machines that do "spin wash" spin bursts, like the Hoover 'New Wave' did.

My old Panasonic had a tub cleaning cycle that was locked at 40 deg C.

My new one doesn't have a cleaning cycle, but I managed to to put it onto the 90 deg C Whites, let it get up to temperature, then restarted it. The first minute or two of the Cottons cycles involve drum revolutions at distribution speed to mix detergent. With hot water it also helps to flush the nooks and crannies of the outer tub.

 

[rp2813]

Success!

I finally remembered to bring my reading glasses with me into the store and found Safeway's house brand LCB contained more sodium hypochlorite than Clorox!  Something like 8.7%.  I bought a quart of it and used about a cup and a half in the "Deep Clean" two hour heated cycle.

 

No more smell.

 

Thanks to all for the excellent advice!

 

[kb0nes]

I used to get a sulfide smell on the initial drain with my old Whirlpool belt drive suds-saver machine. The drain hose is fairly long and dumps into a laundry tub of course. The water that laid in the hose for a few days is where the odor originated from. If the machine was run frequently the odor was minimized.

Interesting aside, when I stopped using only liquid Tide and started using various detergents (mostly powdered), I have never had an odor issue since.

 

[rp2813]

Phil, back in Y2K, my mom's faithful '74 Kenmore washer (the oddball model with gold/rust timer dial) started producing a similar sulfide smell too, but it was upon initial tub fill, not when it drained. 

 

She ended up calling American Home Shield to try and have the issue fixed, but instead the technician recommended replacing the washer because -- wait for it -- the machine wasn't worth repairing. 

 

Falser words have never been spoken.  The brand new GE that AHS replaced it with was on day one inferior in every way to her dearly departed 25 year old Kenmore.

 

[mark_wpduet]

NO way

you would catch me without a jug of chlorine bleach in my house. I buy the smallest bottles because I use it sparingly and I know it has an expiration date on it. I use it with whites in my machine and I also fill a spray bottle with a little bleach and fill it with water to clean with. I also pour a little in my dishwasher before I start the cycle. I'm convinced it helps machines last longer and keeps them very clean.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I would be very cautious about using LCB in a machine with a heater. It can really do a number on the stainless steel sheathing of the heating elements when it is in solution during the heating. If the machine was not made for LCB, various other components could be damaged by it also, but I'm glad the washer smells sweet again.

 

[rp2813]

Tom, as a rule, I don't use LCB except when I'm following Frigidaire's suggested cleaning cycle instructions (there is no dedicated "clean washer" cycle like there was on the Duet).

 

I've read too many negative accounts from using LCB or LFS in a FL, so I steer clear of both.  Now that I have the 712 on the patio, if I feel the need to use LCB, I'll run the load through that machine.  Besides, it uses actual hot water instead of the dumbed-down variety.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I've read more FL

horror stories from those who never used LCB than those who used it. I think by the time the bleach gets diluted it's not a huge deal because the dispensers hold very little to begin with.

 

[combo52]

LCB In Washers With Heaters

I can not imagine LCB that is diluted to washing strength hurting SS, Copper and any plastics or rubber parts used in any decent washer.

 

[rp2813]

John, I tend to agree with you, considering how little LCB a FL dispenser holds.  It seems appropriate for the amount of water a FL machine uses and I often add more water via the pull-out type faucet from the adjacent laundry sink.

 

In addition, the LCB I had been using contained less than 2% of the active ingredient, so on those few occasions when I did use it, it wasn't effective, and the same goes for the "clean washer" routine.

 

I may start using a little of the strong stuff in once in a while when washing items that could benefit from it.