Loving My Laundry Room Again (the laundry, not so much…)

Among the many little touch-ups I wanted to do in our new house to make it a home was our laundry room.  One of the features I liked about our house when looking at it for the first time was the main floor laundry – right off the garage.  Some people call it a “mud room” though I keep all shoes out of the room (“Shoes come off in the garage!”) so the name doesn’t apply here.  It’s not a big room, but it was something I wanted to make my own.

The previous owners had two shelves above the washing machine and dryer.  While somewhat useful, there was a ton of unused space and me being me, I have a ton of cleaning products and needed something more functional.  My husband and I found the perfect solution – a closet organizer!

Gorgeous, right?  I can’t tell you how excited it made me to have all those empty shelves in front of me – so much (storage!) potential!  Of course, my friends at P&G were ready to help and sent me a new home care package to get me started.  You see, I learned the hard way that when hiring a moving company to move you, they refuse to take all liquids.  Yep, that means all my cleaning solution, detergent, Febreeze and more had to be left behind with a friend.  I actually argued one of the moving guys on the “liquid” aspect of Tide Pods because they weren’t going to allow them to be packed – ack!

Once my shelves were full, we were ready to go!

Unfortunately, I learned pretty quickly that we had a problem.  It didn’t happen the first day we did laundry, but shortly thereafter one day I was doing laundry and smelled something.  And then I asked which kid had gone #2 in the bathroom beside the laundry room and no one would admit to it.

Because, you see.  That wasn’t the cause of the awful smell.  No, I learned right away that it was my washing machine giving off a sewage smell!  I had heard of front loaders smelling musty, but like sewage?? How does that happen?

It turns out there can be many causes of a stinky washing machine.  The door must be kept open when not in use to prevent that gross musty smell (I’m not sure if the previous owners did this) and if you check You Tube you can find a ton of videos sharing how to take off the bottom of the washer and clean a drainage pan and the pipes as well.  My husband did all those things yet the smell remained, less, but still there.  It was then that I decided to try Tide Washing Machine Cleaner.

I followed the directions on the package and poured the Tide Washing Machine Cleaner directly into the washer (not the detergent drawer) and then ran the cycle.  As it was running, I couldn’t smell the stinkiness, only the (strong) scent of Tide Washing Machine Cleaner.  If you’re opposed to strong scents, you may want to leave the house and open the windows while using this product, but I didn’t mind it at all.

From www.tide.com:

How does Tide Washing Machine Cleaner work?

Tide Washing Machine Cleaner takes a 3-pronged approach to cleaning:

1. Fights odor-causing residues with a powerful oxygenated bleach system that gets at the source of the odour;
2. Penetrates & lifts away residues and deposits from the surfaces in your washer with specially designed surface active ingredients;
3.Freshens your washer, while leaving behind a crisp, clean scent

Afterwards, my washing machine smelled like the product used – I wondered though if it was just the powerful scent covering up the gross odor but knew time would tell.  The Tide Washing Machine Cleaner directions suggest using 1 pouch per month for maintenance, but that if an odor already exists, to use 1 pouch once a week for 3 consecutive weeks, and then 1 pouch per month for maintenance.  I had full intentions of doing that but didn’t need to.  The Tide Washing Machine Cleaner took care of the odor after just one use.  I do intend to use 1 pouch per month because I do not want that smell to come back!  I’m extremely happy with this product and wanted to share my experience with you!

Now, I finally have my no-mud-room, well organized and great smelling laundry room!  If only Tide could figure out a way to put the clothes away after they’ve been washed, my life might be complete.  Until then, you can find me amongst the 3 laundry baskets I currently have in rotation (I quickly learned that you need a second, and then a third laundry basket when the folded laundry doesn’t seem to make its way out of the basket before the next load is ready.)

If you have a stinky washer, there are certainly a ton of solutions online. Definitely keep that washing machine door open between cycles, and if you want to try bleach and/or vinegar first go for it (it didn’t work for me beyond maybe the following load not smelling).  Wipe out the inside seal and look for grime and mold.  And then, try Tide Washing Machine Cleaner – OR, save yourself all that trouble and just use it first.