Yahoo News Stacey Solomon shares cheap method to get rid of musty washing machine smell
If your clean clothes are coming out of the washing machine smelling musty, your appliance might be in need of a thorough clean - and there's an easy way to get it back to its best again.
Mould can easily build up inside hidden parts of your machine that you may not necessarily think to clean, including the drawer compartment where detergent and softener goes. In a recent episode of Stacey Solomon's BBC One series Sort Your Life Out, which sees Stacey help families transform their homes, on-hand cleaning expert Iwan Carrington shared a helpful method you can deploy using common kitchen cupboard items.
Removing the drawer and pointing out the mould left behind, Iwan advised: "If your washing machine is starting to smell, this could be why." He then got to work by putting on a pair of cleaning gloves and pouring a generous amount of baking powder into his hands, before rubbing it around the mouldy areas of the drawer compartment, The Mirror reports.
The expert then grabbed a bottle filled with white vinegar and sprayed it onto the baking powder, causing it to "fizz up and bubble away". The solution helps to get rid of mould spores, which can quickly build up and cause freshly washed clothes to come out with an unpleasant smell.
Iwan explained: "Whatever the situation is, this trick is going to blitz it. Now not only will the family hopefully have less clothes to be washing, but when they do wash them, they’re all going to be smelling incredible."
Baking soda and vinegar can be used as an effective mould killer around the home, including on both hard and soft surfaces as well as clothing and other fabrics. It has the added benefit of being a natural alternative to branded chemical products on the market, meaning not only is it safer to use around your family and pets, but will likely be cheaper too - baking soda and vinegar can typically be bought for less than £1 each in supermarkets.
The solution has many other uses around the home, from disinfecting and removing dirt to getting surfaces looking shiny again - and you can even put it to use in your garden. Wooden fences can often be blighted with green algae after a season of damp winter weather, but this can be shifted by mixing baking soda and white vinegar in a spray bottle with hot water.
Alternatively, you could use a paint tray and brush to spread the solution over any affected areas. After letting it sit, take a stiff scrubbing brush to the algae, and your fences should be left looking a lot cleaner after being hosed down - read more about the method here.
