My m.i.l. is in a nursing home. I do her laundry because the facility's laundering beats up her clothing and loses things. We visit once a week, so things pile up and sit in the hamper. I have been setting the washer on pre-soak, heavy soil, extra-rinse. I use medium warm water (setting 4 out of 5). I use Tide Free and Gentle He. I have tried both washing soda and borax. But the odor remains.
I'm not a 'measurer' - throw in about 3/4 of a cup. REMEMBER -NEVER mix with bleach!
I like OdorBan not only does it remove urine odor in laundry but diluted in different concentrations it is an air freshener, deodorizer, sanitizer. It is enzyme based so it does not just mask or cover odors. It works on hard surfaces as well as soft.
This also works really well on dog pads.
Hope this helps.
also do a second rinse cycle
I do give my front load machine a deep clean with a brush in the nooks and crannies around the door as needed, but otherwise i leave the door open in between loads and the Lysol seems to freshen up the machine at the same time-this comment is more towards OP who have had issue with front loaders.
Those of you who complained about the new washers are right on. I hated my front loader and replaced it with a top loader that has a deep water option, but even that is much less water than the old top loaders. The only solution I have found is to dump buckets of water in the machine, let it agitate a few minutes Then I have unplug the machine because after about 10 minutes it will start a drain if I don't unplug. I don't have a sink in the laundry room, which means carrying bucket after bucket of water from the kitchen to the laundry room. Grrrr.
https://odoban.com/
I sometimes refrain from washing one or two items - water bills - so I purchased the fragrant Hefty trash bags for when things are not too bad and I cannot wash immediately -
(they have different hefty scents and really do help when you can't do it in the right now mode)
I have soaked for hour prior at times-- depending -
I have switched laundry detergents -
I have tried the Downy beads with the detergent - clothes have a camouflage fragrance that let me know I am camouflaging -
I am now trying Gain laundry but am also doing a second rinse cycle with vinegar-- it does seem to help !
All I can say is I can't continue to buy clothing for my mom so I try ----but repeated wear of the same clothing even freshly washed time after time the odors may not always go completely away -
Good Luck
I use only cold water and add to the laundry detergent, oxi clean and always use
Lysol (cost only $3.99 48oz) you can use the Lysol for everything. If fact I love the clean smell so much I use it on everything I wash. My clothes smell clean too.
Pour it on the clothes when you put them in the machine, I just pour it on. It will take all the smells out. Try it, it does work! If you like add it to the rinse cycle too.