Washer Smell Finder: What That Smell Means and How Often to Clean

Already run the vinegar or a cleaner tablet, and the smell came back? Pick the smell, your washer type, where it’s strongest and, for the schedule, who made it. The finder gives the likely cause, where to check first, the fix and a cleaning schedule.

Burning, gas or a strong rotten-egg smell? Stop first

• Smoke or flames, from the machine or the outlet. Get out and call 911 (999 in the UK).
• Burning rubber or hot plastic from the machine. Stop the cycle. Unplug the machine, if the plug is safe to reach. Don’t run the washer on an extension cord. Once it’s off and cool, look for a small item caught in the gasket or drum, then check the pump filter with a towel and a shallow tray underneath. If it smells again, schedule a service call. On a new machine the smell can be normal for a while: Samsung says it should go after the first couple of cycles, and LG says of its front-load washers that “the odors should stop after 10 or 20 full cycles”.
• Hot, burning or fishy smell at the plug, the outlet or the machine’s back panel. Cut the power only if it’s safe to, and stop using that outlet. It may be the plug, the outlet or the wiring, so call an electrician rather than investigating yourself.
• Gas, or a rotten-egg smell that’s strong and spreading, or one that isn’t coming from the drum or drain. Don’t touch light switches or plugs, and don’t smoke or use an open flame. A washer has no gas supply, so a gas smell points to a gas dryer, boiler, water heater or pipe nearby, and the odorant added to natural gas smells like rotten eggs.
  • US: if the smell is strong, get everyone out and call your gas utility’s emergency line or 911 from outside or a neighbor’s phone, as Connecticut’s utility regulator advises.
  • UK: open doors and windows, turn the gas off at the meter if you can, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.

LG’s “10 or 20 full cycles” is from its US page, for front-loaders; check your manual. Same steps: the smell-by-smell guide.

How to read your result

Each result names the likely cause (not a diagnosis), the one place to check first, and the fix. Pick “Rotten eggs” and the gas steps always show first, because a strong rotten-egg smell can be gas. Mild and clearly from the drum or drain? Read the smell row below them.

Why does my washing machine smell?

• Musty, mildew or wet dog on a front-loader: film growing where a clean cycle doesn’t reach. Check the gasket, drawer and little hatch at the bottom. Still musty after cleaning?
• Musty or mildew on a top-loader: waxy detergent and softener buildup. Check the softener dispenser, agitator and rim. Where a top-loader hides the gunk
• Rotten eggs, sulfur or sewer: the machine or the drain. Machine or drain?
• Stagnant water: water left behind the hatch, or a machine that doesn’t drain fully. Clean the drain filter, or see the top-loader note.
• Sour clean laundry, machine smells fine: the wash, not the machine (loads left wet, too much detergent, cold-only washes). Clothes smell musty after washing
• Vinegar or bleach, right after a clean: the cleaner’s own smell, or loosened residue. Smells worse right after cleaning? Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners. Mixed, they can give off toxic gas. Our advice: don’t run one straight after the other, either.
• Fishy: go by where it’s strongest. Drum: the front-loader or top-loader guide. Plug or back panel: stop first.

Every row is in the smell-by-smell guide.

How often should you clean your washing machine?

Run the clean cycle about once a month for most makers we checked; LG’s US front-loader page counts uses instead (check your manual). Pick your maker in the finder above and the schedule shows its cycle. If an LG already smells, its US tub-cleaning page says to run Tub Clean once a week for 3 consecutive weeks, and its top-load odor page says at least once a week until the odor dissipates. Check your manual.

For the parts the cycle misses, here’s our rhythm (not a maker figure except where noted):

• Gasket folds (front-loaders): wiped dry whenever water sits in them, scrubbed monthly (gasket clean).
• Detergent drawer (front-loaders): pulled out and its housing scrubbed monthly (drawer clean).
• Drain filter: roughly quarterly (our suggestion, not a maker figure); LG and Samsung are in the filter question.
• Top-loaders: see where a top-loader hides the gunk.
• Between washes: door (or lid) and drawer open. Whirlpool says to “always leave the washer lid or door open between uses” (Whirlpool).

Next:

• Cleaning cycle picker: your maker’s cycle, what goes in and how often.
• Why the smell comes back: if it comes back after a clean.

Questions

Why does my washing machine still smell even after I clean the drum?

On a front-loader, the smell often lives where the cycle can’t reach: the gasket folds and the pocket behind the pump filter hold water by design. In our view, one hot cycle kills some of what’s growing but leaves the residue and the film behind. Our guide to why the smell comes back calls it fine as a flush after real cleaning, not a fix on its own. Start with the checklist in why a washer smells musty even after cleaning. On a top-loader, see where a top-loader hides the gunk.

Is it normal for my washer to smell like rotten eggs?

If the smell is strong and spreading, or isn’t coming from the drum or drain, treat it as gas and follow the stop-first steps. A rotten-egg, sulfur or sewer smell at the drum or drain comes from either the machine or the drain, and a quick test tells you which.

How often should you clean your washing machine filter?

Roughly quarterly is our suggestion, not a maker figure. On an LG front-loader, use LG’s line instead: its US tub-cleaning page recommends cleaning “the drain pump filter, detergent dispenser, inlet filters, and door gaskets when performing a monthly tub clean”, and its filter steps are for front-load washers only. Check your manual. Samsung, for its front-load models, says: “If the pump filter is not cleaned regularly, it will cause odors” (Samsung). It gives no interval. Here’s how to clean the drain filter.

Is it okay to run a washer empty to clean it?

Yes. GE’s and LG’s pages say to run the clean cycle empty. GE’s front-loader page, for washers without a clean cycle, says to run a large Heavy/Cotton cycle “with no items in the wash basket” (GE). LG’s US front-loader page says to “ensure the tub is free of laundry” (LG); check your manual. On its own it won’t clear an existing smell (see the first question). Pair the monthly cycle with the other jobs above, and use the cleaning cycle picker for your maker’s cycle.