Monday, December 21, 2009

How do I stop the mildew smell in my front load washing machine?

In between washes when the door is closed a mildew aroma builds up in the machine. Sometimes after a wash and rinse cycle the clothes have a slight smell to them. We have tried pouring bleach down the floor drain in our laundry room, but it keeps coming back.How do I stop the mildew smell in my front load washing machine?
The instruction manual for my LG front load washer says, ';...remove all clothing and close the door... add liquid chlorine bleach to the bleach compartment... press the Tub Clean option and press start... after cycle is complete leave the door open to dry...';





It doesn't say if it uses hot or cold water, but in the maintenance section it says to run through a complete wash cycle with hot water to clean the interior of the washer. Some of the newer front load machines have this ';Tub Clean'; option because of the tendency to have water sitting in the drum after a cycle. All of these other answers have good points like bleach and leaving the door open. I guess this is the one downside to having a front loading washing machine.How do I stop the mildew smell in my front load washing machine?
The smell is from the fact that front-loading washers always have a small amount of water in them after a cycle. Leaving the washer closed between loads creates humidity inside the machine, which then mildews the interior of the machine.





The simplest solution is to leave the door open after using it (which my front loader instructions recommend). This probably saves wear and tear on the door seals too.





To get rid of the current smell, run a cold brief cycle with bleach or hydrogen peroxide, or oxi-clean or a cup of vinegar or a half-cup of borax.





My last suggestion I'm a bit cagey about. If you put a spoonful of something antifungal in the machine between loads, you wouldn't have a smell, but you don't want anything corrosive. Leaving bleach in your machine between loads would be a bad idea, as it could hurt the machine components. Same goes for hydrogen peroxide, oxi-clean and even vinegar. And, it needs to be in solution so it will mix with the water left in the machine...





...the only thing I can think of is a homemade solution of borax and water. Use 1 cup of borax to 1 qt of hot water. Mix well and store in a bottle. Put about 1/4 cup in the washer after you remove the clothes. BTW, borax is an excellent clothes brightener, water softener, and deodorizer. And it's cheap. And it makes a great bathtime water softener too. Keep it away from children, as it's poisonous.
Use vinegar through the machine ..also with your clothes..you can also put a small dish with baking soda in it and leave it in the machine overnight ....it should absorb any further smell...you can leave the bowl with the baking soda for several night s as well to keep the problem at a minimal
perhaps the simplest solution would be just to buy a product that gets rid of the smell rather than making your own. Do some research on a product called ';purewasher'; which seems to come highly recommended from different departments.
Run a load of hot water (no clothes) with 2 cups of white vinegar. The vinegar will absorb the mildew smell. Also, add a cup of vinegar to your laundry. It will not only get rid of the smell, it will remove any soap residue (which attracts dirt and odors).
I haven't a clue, but I'm giving you a star, since I have the same problem with our front load machine..hopefully we'll find out.
Have you tryed leaving the door open? I know of other people how have the same problem.

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