Front Load Washing Machine Poll

[lucyem]

Does your front load washer have smell issues?
Brand
Model
Does it heat its own water?
How long you have had it
Where you are located
Type of climate


I am so very sick and tired of smelly clothing. I had an Asko for 15 years and other then August, when I might leave a load in for a day by accident, I have never had this kind of smelly clothing problems. Asko has repair issues these days so we bought a Bosch. Clothing comes out smelly no matter what. I have run through vinegar, the packets of front load washing machine cleaners, changed detergents, tried every non smelling product I can find from biokleen to Oxiclean. We walk around in stinky clothing. It is horrible. We have tested our water. I thought when we first bought it the problem could be managed, it could be for a while. The problem just gets worse and worse. I am about to go spend $1000+ I do not have on a Miele out of desperation.

Edited to add: we always leave the door open

[koofie]

LG
Not sure of model (NAK) but it is a steam washer. Ours has a round opening, but the newer version has a square opening.
Nope, does not heat water
This is our second set. We've had this set for a year. We bought this set because we had the exact same ones in our old house. In total, we have owned these models for 4 years
Maryland
Temperate? Cold in winter, hot and humid in summer

I love our washer/dryer set and have had no problems with it except if I leave clothes in ~24 hours OR if I leave the door shut after removing the clothes. I have done this before, and I have found steam washing the clothes removes the odor and there is no lasting issues. I have only run a tub clean about 3-4 times int he last year.

[Drummer's Wife]

Does your front load washer have smell issues? no, not that I have noticed.
Brand - Siemens
Model - ?
Does it heat its own water? not sure.
How long you have had it - 2 years, it was here when we moved in.
Where you are located - NM
Type of climate - dry


I think leaving the door open between washings helps - though, I only do that sometimes...

we do have hard, well-water and use fragrance-free laundry soap - so I assume if the clothing was stinky, I would be able to smell it.

[Malva]

Originally Posted by lucyem

Does your front load washer have smell issues? No smell issues
Brand Kenmore
Model Not sure, it's one of the cheapest one they have
Does it heat its own water? No
How long you have had it About 5 years
Where you are located Ontario
Type of climate Four distinct seasons, very humid in the summer.
I leave the door and the dispensing drawer open between use.

Blue text is mine.

[sunshineafterrain]

Hi I have a Fridgedaire front load washer and matching dryer
Not sure of model but it's their higher-end machines, they're blue lol
I don't think it heats the water
We've had them going on 2 years
Northeast US our climate is cold winters and humid summers

When we first got the washer it gave the clothes a horrid smell, I am not sure if it was the washer or dryer but finally that subsided and was due to the newness apparently.

I do leave the washer door ajar between washes because I had read that helps with smells~ and it does work

Have you had your Bosch very long?
It took us several weeks to lose the smell. Dh thinks they put some sort of coating on the drum and it took a while to wash away

Good luck!

[cristeen]

We have a Kenmore HE3T, about 8 years now. Climate is damp - we're about a mile from the ocean, and we have 1 season throughout the year... moderate, with a period of cold and a period of hot, but never more than a few days at a time of either.

It does not heat it's own water, and we've never had smell issues.

What kind of smell are we talking about? Musty? Mildewy? Are the clothes not getting clean (so BO type smells)? Or are we talking sulfur type smells? If nothing is removing the smells, I would suspect the water more than the washer... Have you tried adding another rinse? Vinegar rinse? Does either affect the smell? Did your old machine maybe filter the water before it washed?

[Chamomile Girl]

Does your front load washer have smell issues?
Brand: Kenmore
Model
Does it heat its own water?: Yes
How long you have had it: 1.5 years
Where you are located: Nebraska and California


My mom has the same set as I do, and when it starts to get smelly we do a bleach clean cycle and it takes care of it. I have noticed that it was smelling more here in Cali than it did in Nebraska but I think that is because we wash cloth diapers in it now. So I have been adding borax to the diaper wash and it took care of the problem.

[lach]

I have an Asko too, and while I always hear about smell issues with front-loaders, we've never had that. However, we had such a ridiculous fiasco with our Asko dishwasher that I'll never buy Asko again and can't recommend purchasing one.

[solinox]

One thing about the front loaders is that there are all the rubber gaskets around the front, and certain areas around the door window, that tend to just collect gunk. If you take some good, strong household cleaner and wipe down the inside of the door, then clean out underneath the gaskets between the door and the drum, this may help a lot. Also, definitely leaving the door open when the washer is not in use will help.

[bigteamug]

Does your front load washer have smell issues? No.
Brand Miele
Model er, the biggest one
Does it heat its own water? yes
How long you have had it almost 1 yr
Where you are located Eastern WA
Type of climate dry, but the basement the washer in is damp.

We always leave the door open a bit. Do you use powdered detergents? I have heard about odor issues with liquids. Have you tried running a cycle with hot water and no soap or clothes? We also use the sanitize cycle frequently for towels, which may help. Is there a mold issue in the laundry room? Or junk building up in the washer? We have a clean-out in ours, and I regularly end up pulling out wads of hair from the seal - ugh.....I'd also try calling your washer repair guy and asking them. Might be some funky local issue with the water or something...

On the Miele's, make sure the one you get either matches the layout of your laundry room for the door opening, or get the ones with reversible doors. That's my biggest beef with ours, along with wishing I had got the smaller/cheaper models.

ETA: I know that they coat new dryers with diesel for shipping - the guys told me to run it empty for awhile first, to burn it off. Even so, there was a faint smell for a long while, gone now, though. Did you also get a new dryer? Could it be the dryer?

[pear-shaped]

Does your front load washer have smell issues? Yes, but not always...the machine itself tends to smell bad, musty/mildewy even though I always leave the door open between washes. Otherwise I've noticed that when I wash colors, they sometimes have a musty smell, perhaps because I prefer to use cold water to wash colors? Also, I can't leave the wash in after it's done for more than a couple of hours or it will stink.

Brand Indesit (Italian brand)
Model Don't know
Does it heat its own water? Yes
How long you have had it I think it must be 10 yrs. old, maybe more?
Where you are located southern Italy
Type of climate Four seasons, with fairly mild but very wet winters, and very hot, humid summers

We have very hard water here, and I'm sure that contributes to the problem. I've been using Calfort tabs lately and that seems to help the problem. (Although now everything smells like Calfort tabs instead! I want to use vinegar but haven't been able to track down distilled white vinegar here.)

Originally Posted by bigteamug

Do you use powdered detergents? I have heard about odor issues with liquids.

This is interesting, I've noticed this in my experience. I used to use liquid detergent to wash colors because the powdered stuff here causes them to fade and doesn't work very well anyway with cold water. I've since found a powder that doesn't cause as much fading and now that I use it even with colors I've noticed fewer problems with odors.

[broodymama]

Does your front load washer have smell issues? It has, but not currently. (Will explain below.)
Brand: Whirlpool Duet
Model: ?
Does it heat its own water? no
How long you have had it: since 2001
Where you are located: lived in Charleston, SC; southeast coastal GA, now western WA
Type of climate: hot & humid, then hotter and more humid, now temperate


Originally we didn't have any smell issues. Then the unit was in storage in steamy Jacksonville, FL in the summer for over a month (military move), and we would occasionally have mildewy smells. Leaving the door open when not in use would help prevent this, and making sure not to leave a load of clothes in the washer overnight. Then DH replaced the rubber boot around the door and we haven't had anymore smell issues, even if I leave a load of laundry in overnight.

[vm9799]

Does your front load washer have smell issues? No
Brand - Bosch set
Model - I'm drawing a blank
Does it heat its own water? Yes
How long you have had it - 3/4 years
Where you are located - Indiana
Type of climate - normal I guess. Have a damp basement but have a dehumidifier.

We have never had the stinky issues that I hear about and I'm 100% convinced that it's due to climate more than the unit itself. I have never left the door open, routinely leave laundry in the washer for a day (or more) and have never run a vinegar cycle other than when we first got it. I exclusively use liquid Tide detergent (and don't plan on switching so...) and I use bleach on our whites.

ETA: i also wash in warm or hot water. very rarely do i run a cold water cycle. not sure if this could have anything to do with it either. or maybe your water?? we don't have hard water either.

[Ms. B. Sprout]

Maytag EpicZ

I've had it for 2 months, no smell issues yet.

It does not heat its own water.

Super hot, humid climate in the summer but I just got it in early November.

I always, always wipe the gasket dry after each load, take clothes out promptly, and leave the door cracked at all times. I am paranoid about the smell. So far, so good.

[Red Pajama]

Does your front load washer have smell issues? No, not unless I leave clothes in it for more than 36 hours
Brand Maytag
Model Neptune
Does it heat its own water?No
How long you have had it6+ years
Where you are located: Purchased in Tennessee, moved it to Indiana
Type of climate: Humid summers

The machine does have a minor leak at the door that has developed within the last two years. The seal has mildew on it, and I could clean in with bleach, and do occasionally, but I don't find it to be a big deal.

We use All free and clear detergent, no fabric softner. I rarely use any bleach in the washer, and use vinegar each time I wash diapers.

[tessie]

Brand - Bosch

Model - I have no idea

Does it heat its own water? yes, cold water fill

How long you have had it Three years?

Where you are located UK

Type of climate Cold and damp, mostly


It does smell a little sometimes but I find that keeping the door open and a regular hot wash with soda crystals refreshes it. I also find bio wash liquid helps prevent smells better than non bio.

I also bleach out the soap drawer area and wash the drawer in the dish washer regularly as it breeds mould.

[Porcelain Interior]

Originally Posted by lucyem

Does your front load washer have smell issues?
Brand Bosch
Model Nexxt
Does it heat its own water? Yes
How long you have had it Since Spring 2005
Where you are located Western Washington
Type of climate Wet and rainy almost all the time


I am so very sick and tired of smelly clothing. I had an Asko for 15 years and other then August, when I might leave a load in for a day by accident, I have never had this kind of smelly clothing problems. Asko has repair issues these days so we bought a Bosch. Clothing comes out smelly no matter what. I have run through vinegar, the packets of front load washing machine cleaners, changed detergents, tried every non smelling product I can find from biokleen to Oxiclean. We walk around in stinky clothing. It is horrible. We have tested our water. I thought when we first bought it the problem could be managed, it could be for a while. The problem just gets worse and worse. I am about to go spend $1000+ I do not have on a Miele out of desperation.

Edited to add: we always leave the door open

The only time my clothing has EVER been stinky is when I leave it in the washer in the summer overnight.

I wonder if you have some sort of mildew that got into your hamper and that is what you're smelling? I know that if a towel is damp or wet and it gets put into a hamper with other clothing and doesn't get washed post haste it can stink up all the other clothes. That smell on things I've NEVER been able to eradicate and it had nothing to do with my clothes.

I know similarly if you let your clothes go sour in the wash sometimes the smell stays around for a really long time on the clothes even after repeated washings.

[crl]

Does your front load washer have smell issues? No
Brand Bosch
Model 300 series
Does it heat its own water? No
How long you have had it about 13 months
Where you are located San Francisco
Type of climate foggy and cool

If I leave clothes in for over 24 hours I have to rewash. Otherwise no smell issues. You might be interested in the laundry form at That Home Stite at the gardenweb forums. Lots of people obsessed with washers there so it's a bit intense at times, but a ton of information.


Catherine

[greenmansions]

Originally Posted by crl

If I leave clothes in for over 24 hours I have to rewash. Otherwise no smell issues. You might be interested in the laundry form at That Home Stite at the gardenweb forums. Lots of people obsessed with washers there so it's a bit intense at times, but a ton of information.


Catherine

I second the idea of visiting thathomesite.com - it is a fabulous resource. I have read a lot of discussion on there about FL washers being smelly.

[karne]

Yes to the smell issues with our LG. Musty. I've taken to using dryer sheets in the dryer-something I'd never done previously.

I too think it's the rubber gasket-an amazing amount of gunk builds up there.