Thursday, October 21, 2010

Why do front load washing machines make clothes smell moldy?

I am so annoyed by this!  My parents bought a brand new Kenmore front-loader a few years ago, and every time I would go to grab a towel at their house it would smell like mildew.  I swore I would avoid this.  So when we finally decided to buy a front loader we went for a Maytag Neptune.  For the first month, it seemed we had no problem.  We took some advice from the BF's mom to leave the washer door open between washes and still, just a few months after purchasing, our towels are smelling like mildew.  What gives?!  I would definitely ditch the front loaders, but the issue is that we're in the middle of renovating the basement and adding a organized user-friendly laundry room like the one below.

Does anyone else have this problem?  Does anyone have any good remedies?

4 comments:

  1. i don't have any solutions except maybe try throwing white vinegar in with the wash. it removes odors fabulously.
    our washer broke a couple months ago and they guy that fixed it told us we should keep it forever because it is a nice top-loader and he said he is not a fan of the front loaders. he said their life expectancy is shorter, but the manufacturers are switching to them for just that reason- so people have to buy more over time. just throwing it out there- it came from a repair man who knew what he was doing, but i really have no idea how true that is.

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  2. My washer does the same thing but it's not a front loader. Makes me crazy!

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  3. This is Krystin's mom.....I have ran several cycles of just bleach water just to remedy this problem. It seems to last for awhile, but eventually returns to a mildew smell. Krystin and I both have our laundry rooms in our basements....wonder if that has something to do with it?? I will however try adding vinegar to my wash and see if this does help with the very annoying moldy smell.
    Happy Laundrying!!!

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  4. Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely have to try the vinegar.

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