Clothes Smell

This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.

Hoover HW 120M clothes still smell after washing

The problem

A Hoover HW 120M was leaving clothes not fully clean, with persistent smells on socks and underarm areas and an old water or urine-like smell on the load. The user had already tried changing load size, temperature, detergent amount, softener use, an empty 60°C wash with Calgon, removing washing promptly, leaving the door and drawer open, and improving drying.

Likely cause

The strongest supported diagnosis was a partially blocked pump filter causing poor washing and rinsing. A further possibility mentioned was that an existing smell from the washing machine or household plumbing was being transferred into the machine and then onto the laundry. The cold-fill setup via a Y connector was specifically said not to be the cause.

What fixed it

Check the general causes of poor washing performance, especially inspect and clean the pump filter for partial blockage. Also check whether the machine itself or the connected plumbing is producing the smell. The Y connector feeding both inlet hoses from a single cold tap was not considered a fault and did not need changing. The exact repair carried out was not confirmed.

Checks to try

• Pump filter for partial blockage
• Whether the washing machine itself smells
• Whether the plumbing connected to the machine smells
• Cold-fill Y connector setup was considered and ruled out as a cause