PSA - front loader washers and the moldy smell

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Forum -> Household Management -> Cleaning & Laundry

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mazelandbracha

Sun, Jan 01 2012, 9:23 pm

I battled the mold recently and won, so I'm passing on my info. The liquid he detergent can really build up, especially around the gasket, and get moldy. Run a "clean the machine" cycle (I bought Affresh at Home Depot, but you can try bleach or white vinegar first. Didn't work for me. Three consecutive cycles of Affresh worked) and then switch to the he powder. Use very little (I fill it to UNDER the #1 line) and add Oxyclean directly in the drum before the clothes. Add a splash of vinegar in the fabric softener slot. Where my clothes were coming out smelling like mildew before, now everything smells clean! And the gasket, which was black and gunky, is now sparkling and smells clean! I hope this helps someone else! Credit goes to the gardenweb.com website, where I found a really long thread about people whose front loaders stunk.

chocolate moose

Sun, Jan 01 2012, 9:56 pm

are you saying that the powder is better for the machine than the liquid ?

Sudy

Sun, Jan 01 2012, 9:59 pm

Which company makes a he powder?

And why is it better?

btw I have the same problem

Hashem_Yaazor

Sun, Jan 01 2012, 10:27 pm

My neighbor just used 8 C of bleach on the clean cycle to rid her machine of the smell.

B"H I have never had this problem, and never ran the clean cycle either. I use Purex detergent (free and clear or whatever) which is ok for HE and non-HE use...

Bleemee

Sun, Jan 01 2012, 10:29 pm

Are you always using powder now? Should I stop using the liquid? And the vinegar is a safeguard or just once it smells?

shiam

Sun, Jan 01 2012, 10:32 pm

The best advice

Always leave the door open when not in use. Also every so often run an empty cycle with bleach.

Fabulous

Sun, Jan 01 2012, 10:46 pm

shiam wrote:

The best advice

Always leave the door open when not in use. Also every so often run an empty cycle with bleach.

that's exactly what I do. Bh, bli ayin hara, no problems in the almost four years I have my machine.

chocolate chips

Sun, Jan 01 2012, 10:58 pm

My machine reminds me every 50cycles to put the machine on a clean cycle and I use tide machine cleaner powder. I also check around the seal every so often to remove stray hair and dust.

BH I have no problem with smell/mold. Its funny that in USA a lot of people complain about this and in the UK where most most people have front loaders, the problem is almost non-existent.

Hashem_Yaazor

Mon, Jan 02 2012, 10:31 am

My neighbor and I have the exact same machine, gotten at the exact same time.
She has a problem, I don't.
I used to leave the door open, wipe it dry, but I don't any more since I don't seem to feel that it affects anything and I can't close the door to my laundry closet if the washing machine is open, and that takes away a significant portion of walking space in the skinny hall.

Liba

Mon, Jan 02 2012, 10:53 am

I have a front loader, only use powder, and still get an awful smell in my laundry if I don't remove it promptly. Leaving a load in overnight = The Smell. If I don't leave it in there is no bad smell though.

6coop

Mon, Jan 02 2012, 11:14 am

Fabulous wrote:

shiam wrote:

The best advice

Always leave the door open when not in use. Also every so often run an empty cycle with bleach.

that's exactly what I do. Bh, bli ayin hara, no problems in the almost four years I have my machine.

Same here, and I've had my machine for rover 5 years. On the rare occasion, when someone accidentally closes the door, the machine will smell when I first open it, but will go away as soon as I let it air out. My clothes have never smelled.

letschat

Mon, Jan 02 2012, 1:16 pm

Thanks so much for the advice!

mazelandbracha

Mon, Jan 02 2012, 5:19 pm

So I use only the powder now - I was told that it is much better for the machine. The Oxyclean every load definitely helps, too. The vinegar is instead of fabric softener, and it keeps the smell away. I have always kept the door open and wiped out the gasket and drum, but the liquid detergent still built up. I probably was using too much detergent, and possibly overstuffing the machine, too. The powder supposedly dissolves better, plus it's easier to measure.

mazelandbracha

Mon, Jan 02 2012, 5:21 pm

Oh...Tide makes an he powder. Also Sears brand, but I haven't tried that one.

chocolate moose

Mon, Jan 02 2012, 7:53 pm

Isn't that funny. Most repairman say the powder is the eveil doer. in regular washing machines and dishwashers.

runninglate

Thu, May 04 2017, 8:25 pm

I never heard of this, but for some reason my dryer has a very moldy smell! Any ideas how to get rid of it?

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