Hi Ask Me Help desk!

My house is all electric. Last spring I brought inside some outdoor chair cushions and put them in the washer. When the washing machine cycle was finished, I opened it to discover a tub full of fluff!

About two weeks later, a (methane?) gas smell started emanating from the washing machine discharge pipe. On the other side of the wall from the washer is the master bath, but there is no smell in there. My water heater is perpendicular to the washer, on the back wall of the house in a closet, and the smell is in there too!

I've been using the washing machine and the water discharges okay. How can I get rid of the smell?

Is the smell worse at the hose? The stand pipe or the washer itself. Where's it the worse. Regards, Tom

Yes, the smell is worse at the discharge hose, not the washer itself.

Yes, the smell is worse at the discharge hose, not the washer itself.
And would this be the hose itself or the stand pipe it discharges into? I'm attempting to narrow it down to the source. Regards, Tom

It's hard to tell but I think the smell is coming from the stand pipe.

Mom, You may have some unwanted sludge trapped inside the trap. Remove trap, clean it.