Moth Ball Odor in Washing Machine

By

kimhis

09/18/2007

Spray a rag with pan coating oil. Wash it in your washer, because you need the oil to collect the mothball substance. You could even wipe the insides of the washer with oil first. Be sure to use enough detergent to get the one inch of suds after two minutes of agitating.

How can I get mothball odor out of my washing machine PERMANENTLY? I have done a wash of ammonia and water and that worked for one load but now it is back to smelling and it ruins all clothes that are washed.

Background: I was given a lot of clothing which smelt VERY strongly of mothballs after reading posts on this site I washed them in vinegar and baking soda, used freshener sheets and febreeze only to find that the best solution was BRIGHT SUNSHINE FOR DAYS and washing in ammonia! Items that were cotton however still smell strongly. Now my dilemma is how to get the smell out of my washing machine as it has taken on the mothball odor and is passing it on to all my other clothing! HELP!

Stephanie

---

RE: Moth Ball Odor in Washing Machine

Try spraying the inside of your machine with vinegar straight from the bottle. If that doesn't work, try mixing a cup of vinegar with the least amount of water and take through the rinse cycle and see if that eliminates the moth ball smell. (08/11/2004)

By toni k.

---