Hi all,
We have a washing machine that of late has started to give off the smell of stale washing. I t has never been a problem before and it is used daily so it isn't as if stale washing lies around. I suggested to my partner putting in a small amount of bleach on a short cycle to freshen and flush it out. This did not work and I can't think of anything else.
Have any of you folks out there any other ideas?
Cheers Richard

Check and see if the smell is coming from the drain that the washer connects to. That is probably where the smell is coming from. It may be partically clogged. You can snake it out, pous bleach down it to neutralize the smell.

If there is no blockage anywhere, you can buy washing machine cleaners and fresheners from the suoermarket.

Bad smells and spider corrosion in front load washing machines.
When all other remedies for curing bad smells coming from front load washers have been tried and have not been found satisfactory I believe the source of the smell may well be corrosion of the aluminium spider with the products of this corrosion harbouring 'water' that turns foul as described below, or, should no corrosion have occurred the 'water' left in the recesses of the hubs of the spiders will, if left long enough, turn foul.
Aluminium, and its alloys, are corroded when immersed in an aqueous solution with a pH value below about 4.0 (acidic) [nitric acid is a well known exception] or above about 8.0 (alkaline), most laundry aids, detergent including HE detergent, borax, bleach (sodium hypochlorite), sodium carbonate (washing soda), sodium percarbobante (found in Affresh and OxiClean), sodium hydroxide, Affresh and OxiClean can have pH values above 8.0 should the required concentrations be reached. At the normal operating levels found in washing machines these values are not exceeded. However when the machine is shut down any water remaining will contain, inter alia, soil from the laundry, products of the interactions between the soil and the laundry aids used, unused laundry aids, and the chemicals found in the tap water. As the water from this mixture evaporates the concentration of the 'impurities' rises until such time as a 'smelly sludge' develops and/or a pH level above about 8.0 is reached and corrosion occurs.
Prime areas for these deposits to occur are, in my opinion, the recesses found at, or very near, the hub of some of the aluminium alloys spiders found in front load washing machines. The final spin, no matter how fast, will not, in my opinion, remove all the 'water' from theses recesses.

To view a corroded spider (not to the point of catastrophic failure) and one with a build of 'smelly crud' please visit: -
http://www.ripoffreport.com/appliances/electrolux-home-prod/electrolux-home-products-n-am-4cd6d.htm
These spiders were removed from Frigidaire built 'Kenmore' machines.

To see fractured spiders from Frigidaire built machines, Whirlpool 'Duets' and other manufacturers' please visit: -
http://fixitnow.com/wp/2009/10/28/front-loading-washer-corrosion-contagion-a-menagerie-of-metallic-misery/
Or, for a Whirlpool spider
http://www.mysears.com/aboutme/jpm0940

Not all manufacturers use spiders with recesses, Speed Queen do not (Speed Queen call them trunnions) and photographs at: -
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?30834
show Miele spiderss without recesses. There may be others.

Unfortunately the only way to cure the bad smell and/or corrosion in these cases is to strip the machine down, clean it, perhaps modify the spider, reassemble and alter your laundry practices. Not a popular solution I would guess!