Posted on 08/02/2006 7:20:45 AM PDT by JamesP81
I am something of a do-it-yourselfer. I got my dad to teach me how to change the oil in my car so that I wouldn't have to pay someone to do it.
So yesterday, I succeeded in changing the oil in my car, although I'm a bit of a klutz so I ended up getting oil all over my clothes. Not a problem, as they were work clothes and it didn't matter much if they got dirty.
However, after I was done I blithely tossed my work clothes in the washing machine, and then considered that that might not've been the smartest thing I could've done. I washed my work clothes twice more just to be sure, and I think I may have lucked out: there doesn't appear to be any oil residue in the machine, at least not that I can tell. I washed a load of whites and socks afterwards and they seemed to come out of the machine the proper shade of white. Probably good luck on my part as I did get a hell of a lot of old oil on those clothes.
Anyway, there's just one problem: my washing machine still retains just a bit of engine / motor oil smell, usually more so when it's running and it's very annoying. I ran the machine a couple of times with detergent and no clothes, and this seemed to help but didn't quite eliminate the smell. Does anyone know of something that can use to get rid of this smell?
Wash a dead skunk in the Normal/Cottons cycle and that should do it.
Vinegar is usually pretty good at getting rid of odors. You could try running a cycle empty with a gallon of vinegar. (I'm just guessing)
Throw a tablespoon full of sulfur in the the machine and run hot water through it.
tossing in a box of baking soda in and
running it through a full wash cycle
without clothing might help.
Any idea on what amount of baking soda would be appropriate? I know that baking soda can fiz and foam a lot, and I'd hate to cause a mess in the laundry room.
Vinegar is how I clean the dishwasher - pour a cup in an empty dishwasher, then run the thing just like usual.
As far as the washing machine, I can't see how vinegar would hurt it.
A squirt of Dawn dish detergent will do the trick.
Not too much though, or you'll end up with suds all over your floor. :-D
I'm not 100% sure since I've never had this problem, but I would try the following three things, in order, on the largest warm cycle on your machine:
Dawn, to remove grease. As mentioned, don't use too much or you'll have suds all over.
Vinegar, to remove whatever Dawn doesn't. Maybe pour a gallan jug in there on the warm soak cycle.
If you still have an odor after that then run another warm soak cycle again and pour a box of baking soda in there to absorb the smells.
If you don't mind, let us know what you tried and what worked (and what didn't). I'l probably find myself in the same situation at some point in my life!
The other thing that works fantastically well is an orange-based cleaner available at auto parts stores. I ran a hotel and when I had railroad guys staying, they'd use our guest laundry and always put in this orange based cleaner. Clothes came out clean and the washer never smelled.
Wish I knew the name but I don't. Sorry.
Might be lava soap.
My uncle is a railroad mechanic, his wife swears by Simple Green and detergent.
Dump in a box of baking soda and wash a load with towels and rags
Fill up your machine and squirt just a little bit of Dawn dishwashing liquid in it...it should desolve the remaining grease and smell....mind you, just a little....and use hot water.
Do the vinegar and baking soda thing simultaneously.
Baking soda alone won't get foamy at all. If you were to mix it with vinegar like another poster suggested then it would foam up quite a bit due to the chemical reaction between the two (and I wouldn't recommend it).
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