Smell comes from washing machine drain pipe during machine use only

What's that about??

My two children work at Mcdonalds. Their clothes contain a lot of grease ( you can smell it in the fabric) could this cause a build up in the trap or laundry drain as the uniforms are washed and the residue goes down the drain?
Could this in turn cause a smell to be released from laundry drain pipe? If so, how to remedy? Can the grease cause damage to my washer?

The smell could depend on whether your water is on a septic tank or city. If you are on a septic system, it could just be time to have your tank pumped. If on city water, run a load of hot water, baking soda, and lemon juice through a cycle with no clothes.

Fast-food grease will not clog your washer; but if you are losing sleep over this whole thing, simply have them wash their uniforms at a laundry mat or give them a pre-wash by hand in the hose and have them use a good grease cutting detergent like Dawn, then throw them in the washer as normal. Hope this helps.

Angele47 - First of all I would Check to see if they put a Trap in the drain line. It sounds to me like you are getting sewer smell back out your drain, You need to have a trap in line that stays full of water so that the sewer gases don't come out, Good luck and GOD BLESS ;;; F.B.E.

FBE had a good point when he said,

Quote:

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First of all I would Check to see if they put a Trap in the drain line

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and how you do that is to place a broom stick down the washer stand pipe. If the stick comes back with 2 or 3 inches of water on the end you are trapped. If it comes back dry then you are not and a trap should be installed ASAP. Good luck, Tom