[Neil]

Do you do lots of 30 or 40 degree washes and use washing liquid? We used to and had the same problem. Now all towels and bedding gets washed at 60. You will want to wash bedding at 60 after you go away and google about bed bugs just to be sure.

One problem is a build up of washing liquid and conditioner that forms a slimy layer. This then starts to grow bacteria and you get black spots in places you cant wash them off. The smell is most likely to be bacteria and its waste products. Try washing some towels at the hottest wash your machine will do. I tried the white vinegar as sugested on a web site and washing machine cleaners but nothing worked. Eventually I washed some white towels on hot with a lot of bleach in the machine as chlorine kills the bacteria and breaks down the slime. We do this at work to clean out water pipes that feed the machines. I do not recommend strong bleach solutions in your machine though for 2 reasons. It can degrade rubber pipes in your machine and the bubbles came out of the power drawer and completely filled the machine. At least this meant the bleach got everywhere in the machine. It was like a magic porridge pot that did not want to stop. The washer is in the garage though so it did not damage anything. It took a few washes rinses to get rid of but it does not smell any more.

I used to wash everything at 40 thinking I was saving money, now I wash bedding, towels and my work clothes at 60 and everything else at 40. I think Rhonda does the same. Not had the problem since and it was over a year ago it started to smell and I would guess the machine was only about a year old then. The old machine never did it even though we washed most things at 40.