Front Load Washers

WinstonsGirl

Ok, so I never left the door open on ours, but since you ladies all wrote that they can get stinky, I've started doing that.  Well, since I've been doing that this summer, my washer is starting to maybe smell??  It's not quite stinky, but there was no odour before, and now there's maybe something starting??  Any cleaning/de-smelling suggestions??  It could also be that DH forgot to turn the soft water back on a while ago, so water has been harder for a bit.  

onefootinthebayou

This is a very common problem with front loading washers, and I've heard the culprit is the gasket.  It may be possible to actually remove it and clean it.  We just moved into a place with one and it already smelled when we moved in.  I was just recommended to try the project "Affresh", which can be found on Amazon.  I'm going to give that a try.  Keeping the door open has definitely also helped us. 

beachyone15

I like to use vinegar in mine every so often when I wash a load of towels (no detergent). That seems to help.

OliveOilsMom

I was also going to say white vinegar.  Tide also makes a washing machine cleaner, its specifically for high efficiency washers.  So if you have an HE, I'd also try that.

Wegl13

Ps- cleaning out that gasket is also SUPER IMPORTANT when you have a hairy dog. We got a new w/d as a wedding present and I was showing my husband how it would occasional leak water onto the floor. He opened the gasket and pulled out a huge hairball. It was so gross!

teddygirl9

Affresh is a popular brand name, but you can also use vinegar. Your washer might also have a specific cycle to clean it (like an oven) - in this photo, deep clean & sanitize.

labro

The gasket, and then your instruction manual may provide instructions on finding/removing/cleaning the filter if there is one. My dad had to do this with their front load washer when leaving the door open and cleaning the gasket still didn't get rid of the smell. The filter in the washer was pretty disgusting. Obviously this all depends on the model you have and everything else but it's something to check for.

WinstonsGirl

Thanks ladies.  I think I clear out the gasket once in a while, but I may be thinking of something else.  This seems to be the rubber seal.  I'll go pull out the manual too

hellohkb

I too suggest white vinegar.