Why Does my Washer Smell Like Sewage?

Finding an awful sewage smell coming from your washer is certainly troubling. You may wonder whether you’ll ever be able to trust your washer to get clothes clean when it smells like that.

The good news is that you can fix the problem fairly easily and prevent it from recurring with some basic cleaning and maintenance tips.

What Causes my Washer to Smell Like Sewage?

Here are the common causes of sewage smell coming from the washer.

Front-Load Washer Smells

Front-load washers are notorious for emitting awful smells because they often lack the ventilation needed to prevent foul smelling bacteria, mold and mildew from forming in the bottom of the washer tub and the drain system.

Top-Load Washing Machine Smells

Top-load washers can develop smells but they typically aren’t as severe as the smells that emanate from front-loaders. Smells from top-loaders are often caused by detergent residue that builds up in the tub and eventually starts smelling like sewage.

Drain Hose Smells

Clogs of lint, debris and residue can cause the drain hose to start smelling.

Pull the drain hose out of the stand pipe and check the end of the hose for a buildup of lint, residue and debris. Clear out the drain hose to prevent the smell.

Dry P-Trap

Sometimes, the sewer smell isn’t actually coming from your washer. Plumbing problems with the house drain for the washer such as a dry p-trap can cause a sewer smell to come from the stand-pipe behind your washer.

The p-trap is the u-shaped section of pipe below the stand pipe that traps a small amount of drain water to create a seal that prevents sewer smells from wafting up through the top of the washer standpipe. You’ll see the same device under your kitchen and bathroom sinks.

If you don’t use the washer for a month or two, the water in that p-trap can evaporate and allow the sewer smell to enter your laundry room.

If you smell a sewer smell coming from the washer standpipe, simply pour a bucket of water down the standpipe to restore the p-trap seal and eliminate the smell.

Continue to pour water down the standpipe every few weeks if you go through extended periods of not using your washer to prevent the sewer smell from recurring.

Clogged Drain Vent Pipes

Your home's drain pipes have a vent pipe that prevents sewer gases from entering the home. If the vent pipe for your washer’s drain becomes clogged, it could cause the gases from the sewer lines to back into the laundry room.

If you notice the sewage smell coming from the walls around the vent pipe, contact a plumber to resolve the issue.

Clogged Washer Drain

Sewage or rotten egg smells might also be caused by a buildup of hair, lint, debris and soap scum clogging the house drain line or stand pipe for your washer.

Remove the washer drain hose from the drain pipe in the wall, and then run a drain snake through the pipe to clear out any blockages.

Pour water through the stand pipe to clear out residue and make sure the drain works properly.

How to Get Rid of Sewage Smell in a Front-Load Washer

Follow these expert tips to get rid of sewage smell in your front-load washer.

Clean the Drain Pump Filter

Most of the time, sewage smell coming from your front-load washer is emanating from the drain pump filter. Cleaning that filter will typically eliminate the sewage smell.

For many front-load washers, you’ll see a cover at the bottom of the front panel that you can open to clean the drain pump filter as shown in the image below:

On some washers, you’ll need to remove the bottom front service panel to access the drain pump filter as shown in this popular YouTube DIY video:

Clean the drain pump filter thoroughly. Use a brush if necessary. If you find mold and mildew in the filter and housing, don some protective gloves and clean those parts with a solution of bleach and water.

If you’re unable to clean the drain pump filter yourself, schedule washer maintenance service and we’ll send a Sears Home Services technician to your home to do it for you.

Run a Washer Cleaning Cycle

After cleaning the drain pump filter, run a cleaning cycle in your front-load washer.

Most front-load washer have a specific cleaning cycle on the control panel for cleaning the washer. Follow the directions in the owner’s manual to start that cycle.

To help clean the washer thoroughly, use a washer cleaner such as Affresh or Washer Magic to help eliminate mold, mildew and residue from the washer tub and drain system.

If your front-load washer doesn’t have a cleaning cycle, run a Bulky cycle or Normal Wash cycle using hot water.

If you found mold and mildew in the drain pump filter, run a second cleaning cycle with a cup of liquid chlorine bleach added to the tub. This will clean and help deodorize the washer. Run one more cycle after that to completely rinse bleach out of the washer.

These steps should help deodorize a front load washer. To prevent the smell from returning:

• Keep the washer door slightly ajar if possible to allow air to circulate through the washer when it’s not in use.
• Repeat the cleaning cycle using a washer cleaner monthly (or more often if necessary).
• Schedule professional washer maintenance & cleaning service yearly to keep your machine in top shape and smelling fresh.

Expert Tips to Eliminate Smells from your Top-Load Washer

Foul smells from your top-load washer are typically much less extreme than the nightmarish smell described above in a front-load washer.

You can typically eliminate odors from a top-load washer by running a cleaning cycle using a washer cleaner such as Affresh or Washer Magic.

The washer cleaner will help remove soap scum and deposit from the washer tub to eliminate foul smells.

Repeat the washer cleaning monthly and keep an eye out for drain hose and house drain clogs. Keeping the drain system and tub clean should eliminate and prevent smells in your top-load washer.

Having your top-load washer professionally maintained yearly will keep it running smoothly and smelling fresh. Annual preventive maintenance will also help your washer last longer.

Keeping your washer clean and well-maintained will restore confidence in your machine that it’s getting your clothes clean and fresh-smelling during each cycle.