HE Washers

[mumm]

I have one newly installed and now I realize I'm supposed to use a special detergent? And they get smelly? Any advice on detergents and do I need to do anything special with my diapers?

Thanks!

[Ironica]

They get smelly for some people, not for others. We always have let ours dry with the door open, and never had a problem (for over a year) until the housekeeper put some damp, used cleaning cloths in the washer and closed it, and I didn't notice for a couple of days. :-/ Even so, running it empty with baking soda in the detergent cup and vinegar in the fabric softener cup made it good as new.

You should use detergent that says it's for HE washers or has instructions for them. We use Bio-Kleen, which basically just says to use less of it (1-2 Tbsp.) in an HE washer. Again, have had it for over a year, no problems.

[mumm]

Can I just use less of the regular detergent? I have about $50 worth of tide and another $20 or so of the stuff I use for diapers.

[SeekingJoy]

I have periodically and no real problems. I use about 1/3 of what it recommends for a top-loader for regular clothes. Sometimes I run an extra rinse if it seems to need it (lots of bubbles, etc).

[Mosaic]

I've used regular soap with my front-loader for 3 years, no problems. I leave the door open: I've never had a smell, but I do get pink bacteria build-up (like you might get in your toilets/sink where there's standing water) inside the gasket, which I wipe out from time to time. For diapers, I do add an extra rinse cycle, just because it uses so little water and I want to make sure those dipes are 100% clean!

[chantald]

For years, I just used less of my regular detergent. Now that HE detergent is more readily available.. I use that

We keep the door to ours open at all times when not in use, and mine does get smelly. I run a bleach cycle regularly and that helps, and when it gets really bad I wipe out the boot with some bac out. I check the boot after every wash.. it tends to capture small socks..

I have washed my CDs in there for two kids now.. I do strip them once in a while.. they get special detergent too.. not the regular HE kind.. No issues.. We use pockets and inserts.

[chel]

I use Tide Free, I had used Seventh Gen but it didn't get the clothes as clean and always left suds no matter how little I used.

I leave the door open just a little bit, my washer is in a closet with a bi-fold door. It's not ideal, but 7m in and I have no smell. The washer has a bleach cycle but I've haven't used it yet. I do dry out the door gasket after each load (or the last load of the day) with a sock or wash cloth from the last load.

[Caneel]

We have had ours for about five years. DH is a bit OCD and will close the door every time I try to leave it open and ours has never smelled. It may have something to do with the chlorine in our town water as my aunt, who has well water, needs to leave her door open all the time or she gets an odor.

I have used both HE and regular (50% of the regular amount). A while back I switched to Charlies with no problem.

[mumm]

Thanks. I'm going to use up my tide.

I didn't realize until I did my first load of diapers that I can't just dump them in anymore. I have to pick each old gross diaper up and put it in by hand with a front loader.

And I usually have my 5 year old empty the dryer and bring the clothes up stairs, but now she can't reach the dryer up so high.

So many little things I never thought of!!

[DaMajha]

I use soap nuts for a lot of my laundry, and the HE tide for the really bad stuff. I have noticed that my water bills has gone down about $12 a month since switching to a HE washer!!

[SleepyMamaBear]

we use Charlies in ours. it ROCKS!
its low/no sudsing depending on how soft your water is. and it only uses one tbsp! everything comes out fresh and clean and delicious smelling. no yucky fake flower smells, just clean fresh laundry. mmm nothing better!
leave it open at least overnight, if not between each load. if you have a sanitize option, USE IT! for diapers, use a cold rinse, or prewash option, then a sanitize cycle, then an extra rinse, should be good to go

[His Own]

I use Charlie's Soap now, and like it very well, but before that I used any detergent or soap that I liked, just using a bit less than in a top loader. Our machine is 8 years old now, and I've never had any smell or mold. It just made sense to me to leave the door wide open except when washing. That way everything dries out thouroughly every time, so there is no chance for mold or smell to grow.

[sara_m]

Which HE washer should I buy?

I'm ready to make the commitment to save water! Any personal stories out there regarding which HE washer/dryer set to buy (or which to avoid)? From my initial research, I'm leaning toward LG brand. Any thoughts? As budget friendly as possible is important. Thanks!

Oh - and I will be washing CDs in the washer. Thanks!

[montlake]

I was having smell problems with ours until I switched to the HE detergent. It also gets finished a lot faster. The one I have would just keep rinsing over and over until it decided they were clean enough, no matter how much or how little I used of regular detergent.

The gasket/seal gets funky, so whenever I'm washing towels I will dip the corner of one in vinegar and wipe it out then just throw the towel in.

[suzyfakename]

my washer is super smelly. I will try leaving the door open and wiping the gasket... Thanks girls.

[montlake]

Yeah mine got pretty bad. For a while I was just pouring vinegar right into the gasket at the start of each load. After doing that for a while and switching to HE detergent it's gotten under control. Now I just have to wipe it about once a week. I keep the door open all the time, but that was just habit, I kept my top loader open all the time too.

[oneKnight]

we always leave ours open to dry out, the smell comes from leaving the door closed. HE detergent is low suds, very important for front loaders. I always used melted down Ivory bar soap and 1 cup Borax with about 5 gal water - one cup per load, and it was always low suds so I didn't have to switch soap when I got a new front loader.
I loooooove front loaders, the high capasity, the low water use, etc.


OTOH Our 8 month old Whirlpool Duet quit on us 6 weeks ago and we are STILL waiting on backordered parts. I would go with the Kenmore if you are in the market. Right now whirlpool is saving us BIGTIME on our water bill *sarcastic smiley*

[lovemyfamily6]

Originally Posted by mumm

I didn't realize until I did my first load of diapers that I can't just dump them in anymore. I have to pick each old gross diaper up and put it in by hand with a front loader.

And I usually have my 5 year old empty the dryer and bring the clothes up stairs, but now she can't reach the dryer up so high.

So many little things I never thought of!!

I have front loaders and never touch my diapers. I pull my entire liner out of the pail and push the diapers into the washer (pushing on the outside bottom of the liner) and then keep pushing to turn the liner inside out and throw that in the washer too.

Also, my kids were 2 1/2 and 4 when we got ours and they can reach just fine?? Oh, did you get pedestals for yours? We didn't, ours are on the floor.