How long can you really leave laundry sitting in the washing machine – and the mould danger zone to avoid, warns expert

WE’VE all put on a load of laundry only to forget all about it, leaving the wet clothes sitting in the machine for hours after they’ve been cleaned.

But how long is too long to leave the wet clothes there before you really need to wash them again?

Getty

Getting rid of the damp clothes smell isn’t as hard as you might think[/caption]

Hygiene and cleaning pro, Mary Futher, who goes my Madame Sweat on social media, has revealed all you need to know.

Taking to Instagram, the pro explained: “The rule of thumb generally is if you’ve left them sitting wet for more than 12 hours, that’s the cut off point.”

At this point, Mary said you’ll need to rewash your clothes, and add a special ingredient to make sure the grim damp smell is completely gone.

“Use half a cup of baking soda with your detergent to get rid of the mould and mildew,” she added.

After sharing her advice on Instagram, other cleaning fans shared their own advice for beating damp smells.

One said: “I always add some vinegar, makes my laundry smell fresher.”

“Front loaders with a rubber ring: Never close the machine door, leave fully or half open to air, wipe the moisture from the rubber also between washes. Leave the laundry detergent drawer open too if possible,” a second wrote.

And a third chimed in: “Smaller batches help with completion. Used to think getting it done in one big go was the way to go, but now I do small batches on quick wash and get it done quick.”

However, if your clothes are still coming out smelling musty, the issue could be with your machine.

But we are often so focussed on getting our clothes clean that we forget the machine need some TLC too.

The pros at Good To Know, explained exactly what the problem could be and how to fix it.

Low temperature cycles

They maybe better for the environment but washing your clothes on lower temperature settings can need to a pungent odour.

This is a simple fix as you just need to run a “service wash” on your machine.

Run the service spin at least once a month and the smell should be gone.

Dirty door seal

If you don’t keep your door seal clean, it can give off a nasty musty smell after a while.

Plus the grimey door seal can slow down the flow of water and result in mildew.

In order to sort it out, just wipe the insides of the seal – making sure you’re thorough and don’t miss any nooks with a dry rag.

If there’s mould that’s already built up, use a brush and mould spray to shift it.

Bad drainage system

When your machine doesn’t drain well it can give off a very far-spreading odour.

The water left in the machine becomes stagnant and can lead to mould, slime, scum and bacteria.

Try using a drain unblocker to sort it out and shift the accumulated water.

Once that’s done, you’ll need to give the machine a really good clean to make sure you get rid of any lingering bacteria.

Using too much detergent

It sounds silly, but using an excess of detergent means that the majority is left in the machine.

In time the residue can go mouldy and start to give off a nasty smell.

You can avoid this by ensuring you clean out the detergent drawer and filter once a fortnight.

Plus – always make sure you don’t go over the recommended amount!

Damp drum

It’s to be expected that the drum of your washing machine will get wet but if it starts to be continuously damp it could lead to a lingering smell that can also affect your clothes.

To solve this make sure you take your clothes out of the machine as soon as the cycle is finished – rather than leaving them in overnight.

Then make sure you leave the door open to air out the dry and help it to dry.