Know this problem well. The answer is to take a couple paper towels and dry out the rubber gasket after each use.
We just bought a Samsung washer & dryer set. Good to know.
Thanks for posting!
We leave the door open on ours. I haven’t noticed mold. Next time I am in the laundry room, I’ll check it out to verify.
Apparently, bleach hardens the rubber gaskets, leading to leaks.
We just leave the door open after the last load is done. The water will evaporate off the seal if it is not compressed against the unit.
Thank you for this thread, donna. My daughter just bought an Electrolux front loader and we had not heard of this problem. We’ll definitely follow what little advice the article gives to prevent this from happening. Dang machine costs too much to be ruined by mold!!
When Sears installed my new front loader several years ago, the technician advised me to leave the door open between washes to prevent mold. I’ve done this and I regularly wash loads in the old fashioned way with hot water and bleach. I have never had a mold problem.
No, I have an old top-loading washer.
Does GE still own MSNBC, or was it sold to Comcast? If so, does GE make front loaders? I’m sorry, but MSNBC is so totally corrupt, I can’t hear anything from them and not wonder about a hidden agenda.
My daughter was the first to use a front-loader, and hers definitely got mold. She was in a student house and there was virtually no way to train the kids to keep the door open or add vinegar or any of these good suggestions. It’s a hazard in that way, for sure. On the other hand, without the center post, it does a good job on even delicates. Some good, some bad.
MDL No. 2001
Caption IN RE: Whirlpool Corp. Front-Loading Washer Products Liability Litigation
Transferee Judge James S Gwin
District Northern District of Ohio
Transfer Date 12/02/2008
Website http://www.ohnd.uscourts.gov/Clerk_s_Office/MDL_Cases/MDL_Cases.html
Master Docket No. 1:08-wp-65000
http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/Docket_Information/docket_information.html
Plaintiffs counsel have been advertising for clients for a couple of years.
I have no idea why people close the doors to these machines, it simply replicates conditions found in a petri dish...
excerpt from article, Desperate for relief, she hired technician Scott Wiseman to remove and replace the disgusting rubber gasket. Once he took the washer apart, Wiseman found mold inside the machine, too. The job cost $300.
Its a very common problem, Wiseman tells me. I get calls about this all the time.
Whats going on here?
After a while, all washing machines can have some odor caused by mold, mildew or bacteria. But the problem seems to be worse with front-loaders because they are designed differently from top-loaders.
Front-loaders are tightly sealed. Close the door after removing the laundry and any moisture inside the machine will be trapped inside. With a top-loader the water is more likely to evaporate.
Having the tub on its side, rather than up-and-down, can also create problems.
= = =
Sigh. Will start using paper towels around the door seals. And distilled vinegar in the liquid fabric softener dispenser.
I have a front loader washer and dryer and I love it. I have never had the moldy smell..why? Because I read the directions and follow them..After I finish my loads of laundry, I wipe the drum and the window dry, remove the tray where the soap etc are put, let that area dry and I put a thin towel on the drum just enough to keep the door from closing..no smell. Also there is a product called Afresh and my machine alerts me every 30 loads to run a hot cycle using this tab which cleans out all the lines. Works just fine.
My gosh. Isn’t anything safe from mold?
Reading the comments I am reminded of a movie a Western. Character (hero?) pulls a fast one by selling a bunch of wild horses to unsuspecting farmers who can’t even catch them & they run away. When the love interest takes him to task for his misrepresentation he answers: Oh, they’ll catch those horses and they’ll break them and they’ll get their money’s worth.
Reading all these comments about these products I see the same theme. Those who are careful prudent people don’t have a problem or see potential for a problem and solve it (leave the door open, add vinegar, hot water, bleach). Those who are not careful & prudent resort to lawsuits, government and resultant rules, regulations, intrusion and inteference in the free market, not to mention the enrichment of an army of attorneys and government officials.
And I think here is another argument for why it is self-preservation to limit immigration to those who of our own kind — Kulaks.
I have a Duet which has a cleaning cycle on it that you are to run once a month with an empty washer and bleach. If you don’t shut the door when it is empty you will never have problems with mold.
I wipe the gasket with the wash coming out and leave the door open.
Front loaders are worse than Hitler.
repeating what others have said...
leave the door open after last load, I use an old washcloth to wipe the gasket after each load as well. Also,you have to drain the pump and clean the filter one a quarter or so - that helps the most. Look in your owner manual for how to do yours.