In recent months there has been a number of grumblings about Front Loading Washing Machines. Maybe it’s been going on for awhile, but it’s new to me. It wasn’t until December when La Jolla Mom did a post about Mold building up in her Front Loader (read here) that I realized I wasn’t the only person having a problem.
There have actually been a couple of Class Action Lawsuits in the past couple of year. Though my front loader wasn’t apart of the Class Action Lawsuit, I have had some issues with mine. I’m always battling a mildew smell. I try not to let wet loads sit in the washer longer than an hour, but as we all know life happens and this don’t always get done. If I leave a load in over night, the smell can last for weeks!
While talking to the kind folks at Kenmore last week I mentioned my front loader issues and they had a number of helpful hints. I want to point out that I don’t have a Kenmore washer and drier. Mine are GE.
1. Read your owners manual! Honestly, I know that I didn’t read mine.
2. Take clothes out of the washer as soon as possible. Never let it go more than a few hours. This is something I have a hard time remembering or getting around to do!
3. Leave the door and detergent cup open slightly for an hour or two after cycles to let it dry out. I had no idea you should do this!
4. You should run the clean washer cycle once a month in the washer you have. In addition, once or twice a month wipe the gasket down with a cloth damp with a bleach/water solution. The maintenance is the key bit a lot of people miss and skimp on. Until last week I don’t think I had ever wiped down my washer! I ran an empty load with bleach for the first time to and that pretty much got rid of the mildew smell.
5. Always always always use HE detergent. This is the number one cause of problems for people. People tend to assume HE detergent is like high performance gas – completely unnecessary. And even when they do use HE detergent, they use too much. If you see suds, you probably used too much detergent. That leaves a film in the washer and causes all sorts of issues. The New York Times even did an article on HE detergent! (Read it here)Again, I had no idea! I guess I should have read my owners manual.
See these shiny red robots Washer and Drier to the left? This is currently the Washer and Drier I’m longing for!!! Do you know how HOT they would look in my Laundry room?
In March Jessica Gottlieb had the opportunity to review the New Kenmore Elite Washer and Drier. Here’s what she had to say about it.
Anyone else out there have a Kenmore Elite? What’s your feedback?
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing this post. I honestly thought it was just me who had this problem with our front loading washing machine. Getting laundry out of the washer within a few hours is doable sometimes but more often than not – it sits for hours and hours. I will definitely do a wash with just bleach. Thanks for the much needed tips!
What is the best HE detergent for front loading washers and are HE detergents really necessary?