Learned something new yesterday! And it worked!
 

One of our sons has a friend who is a wizard with appliances. He told our son to try putting Tang powder (that lovely orange drink) into an empty dishwasher. Run it on the longest cycle with the hottest water. It cleans and freshens up the dishwasher.

The measurement he said was a full container. The Tang I bought had a measuring cup as a cap, but I only I filled it up and scattered it around the bottom of the dishwasher. No more odor after a cycle (I have ran two loads of dishes) since the clean out.

Then I tried it out on my front loader and it worked there too! No more musty odor lingering about even after the tub was completely dry. I just finished two loads of towels and not only did they smell better the tub did too. I used the same amount as I did for the dishwasher.

This might be a regular thing for my washer and dishwasher.

Thanks for sharing the information. I think I'm going to try it in my garbage disposal!

Good idea, me too.

Chasing Hawk do you close the door of your front load washing machine when not in use? I leave mine open about an inch and have never had a musty smell in nearly 15 years of use.

Thanks for the tip! Sounds like one I will be using on the garbage disposal.

Orange KoolAid powder works too. Non sweetened.

I had a friend who did apartment cleanings and his secret trick to really bad soap scum was Coca Cola, he said store brands and Pepsi didn't work so well. Cover the drain, pour in a can and let sit for a bit and then it would just rinse away. That was back in the days of ceramic over cast iron, don't know how it might work on acrylic. But when I've had difficult ceramics (like little figurines that have collected grease and dust over the years) to clean I have had success in putting them in cola (I'm cheap and don't use name brand) overnight, and yep, just rinsing them off the next day.

Or lemonade flavor.

It is the Citric Acid that can sometimes be found with the canning items. https://www.amazon.com/Ball-Jar-Citr.../dp/B007CRHD4U There are also special products made according to https://www.consumerreports.org/dish...-a-dishwasher/ that are made specifically for cleaning dishwasher.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I leave mine open for several hours after I am done with the laundry. We have well water, even with a filter on the washer I still get mineral deposits.

Thank you. I wasn’t aware they still made Tang!

Interesting, I have a jar of Citric Acid for canning in the pantry. I use when I make dog treats, the citric acid keeps them from molding to quickly.

That’s useful info! I googled it, and it also says it helps remove hard water stains from toilet bowl too.

A good stand by is white vinegar. Good for cleaning lots of things. Adding baking soda to make a paste cleans dirty greasy tiles and grout lines. If real dirty let set overnight then wash off with plain water.

I will pick up some Tang next time I see it. I always liked drinking it as a kid, and my son absolutely loved it. My dishwasher and washing machine could use some. Thanks for sharing!

When Lowe's delivered my washer the delivery guy told me to be sure and leave the washer door opened when not i use. If not all the time then overnight. All the water needs to evaporate from behind the tub and drain. That stops the mold from forming and that is what you are smelling. You can kill the mold with bleach but then harm the seals over time. It's easy and cost nothing to leave the washer door open.

I've always left the door open on my washing machine for hours after use even though I have a top loader. I just figure anything that has had water in it had the potential to mold and smell if not dried out. I've never had a problem with smell in my dishwasher, but I do leave the door open there, too. I don't use the heat dry so I just let the dishes air dry for a few hours, some times overnight before I unload it

Ah Tang, as kids, my brother and I felt like astronauts when we drank it. Thanks for the tip. I have some leftover from making spiced tea (Y'all remember that recipe?). Don't drink it now because of the sugar.