Laundry Smells Bad After Washing? Diagnose Sour, Musty or Sewer Odors
Separate fabric odor from washer/drain odor, then correct loading, detergent, drying delay or drainage instead of adding fragrance.
Separate fabric odor from washer/drain odor, then correct loading, detergent, drying delay or drainage instead of adding fragrance.
This page is the broad diagnostic for sour, musty or sewer-like laundry odor. If the smell is specifically sour after washing, use the focused sour-clothes troubleshooting guide. If the odor is strongest in the washer or drain, use the washing-machine sewage odor guide.
What to do now
- Smell laundry and empty washer separately.
- Reduce load size and use label-directed detergent.
- Move wet laundry to drying promptly.
- Clean the washer according to its manual.
- If odor is sewer-like near the drain, inspect the drain path.
Separate fabric, washer, drying and storage
Laundry odor can be created at several different stages. Change one stage at a time so you can tell whether the source is the textile, the wash process, the washer/drain, drying delay or storage. For this guide, begin with “Smell laundry and empty washer separately.”.
Use a small comparison load
Smell the empty washer separately from the finished fabric and compare a small normal load with the changed process. Odor present at cycle end points in a different direction from odor that appears only after slow drying or storage. Specifically, recheck after “Reduce load size and use label-directed detergent.” before you change another part of the process.
Stop treating the fabric when the source is elsewhere
If the empty washer or nearby drain smells, water remains where it should not, the machine drains poorly, or the room stays damp, move to appliance maintenance, drainage or ventilation instead of adding fragrance or detergent.