What:If you’ve tried everything imaginable — hot-water cycles, bleach, vinegar or baking soda — to eradicate the mildew smell coming from your washing machine, Smelly Washer Washing Machine Cleaner might be your Holy Grail. This product is especially designed for front-load washers, but it works on any style of washer.
Advantages: It seems to remove stinky smells from washers and bath towels and clothes within a few cycles, according to two informal trials arranged by The Herald. We put the suggested tablespoon of the stuff into an empty top-load machine and ran it through one hot cycle. When it smelled worse, we did it again and the smell went away. To treat the towels, we added the suggested teaspoon in with a full towel load without detergent. We then rewashed them with detergent and they dried smelling fresher than usual without that mildew smell.
Limitations: It’s hard to trust a product when you don’t know what’s in it. But inventor Paul Flynn, a Minnesota-based former laundry repair man, said he would be crazy to give up his recipe. He said his product is all natural, nontoxic and citrus-based, a formula he picked up from a mentor when he was in the U.S. Navy. It looks and smells a lot like table sugar.
Cost: You’ll pay $16 plus shipping for a 12-ounce bottle, which is a year’s supply or 24 treatments.
Where: See www.smellywasher.com or order by phone at 952-465-6444.
Learn more: You can write Flynn directly at lab@smellywasher.com with questions or problems with washer odors. Flynn said most smelly washers are caused by using too much detergent, especially in high-efficiency, front-load washers.
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