Stinky Front Laod Washer

I have the Neptune front loader and I hate it!! It stinks so bad!! That front little wedge right inside the door always holds water. I usually just run my white load with bleach as my last load just in case I don't use it for a couple of days. the bleach really helps, too!

Looking forward to the response....I have the same problem

This might be too late for this problem...but we have had our front loader washer for two years and have never had the smell...I think it is because we never shut the door when it is not in use. We leave it open. It isn't in the way of anything though because it is in our basement. So I don't know if that would be possible for you??

Clean out the lint trap. The part in the front that has the gap seperation that small things end up in.

My cousin just told me they use tilex (for mold/mildew) on the rubber area on the front where the water gets trapped and that helps.

I know my old top loader smells sometimes and I do a quick rinse with vinegar. I actually switched to vinegar as a "fabric softner" and it works great.

Hello T., Run a load with bleach (kills bactiria) in it once a week. I do mine with my white towels. Then once a week run an empty load with a cup or two of white viniger(kills molds). Using the hottest setting for water also helps with mold. Open the door in between loads to let air in to dry it out, and never leave wet cloths in for any length of time. Hope this helps. Happy holidays.

i have that problem too and also do not know what to do someone told me just to run it empty load with bleach didnt work

The old front loaders they told us to use a load with heavy bleach as our last load. Wipe off the rubber with bleach and leave open when not in use to prevent to nasty smell. Fortunately or unfortunately I guess, The washer finally bit the dust and we got a new LG frontload. No bad smells with this one, and we leave the door open just in case.
Good luck

I haven't found it necessary to run it empty. At least one load with hot water and white vinegar per week seems to do the trick. I make that my towel load and the vinegar keeps the towels from getting that musty smell, too. Works like a charm for me.

T.,
I have had my front load since 2000 I use Oxyclean one scoop in every load. I have only had the musty smell twice once the summer after we bought it and were gone for a week that is when I talked to a dealer and the second time when I forgot to use the Oxyclean. I also stored it for over a year. Now it gets run maybe twice a week at the most there is only 3 of us as home. I still use Oxyclean in every load. Another thing I was told by a small indepent dealer who serviced the washers was to always was your whites as the last load with bleach.
The thing with these washers is there is always water left in the washer that is why they get the musty smell. I have always had well water with mine no city water that has been treated. I hope this helps the oxyclean also helped to get out stains from the baby when he was little. I would soak the cloths in a oxyclean and water then dump them into the washer.

Hi T.,
I just had my front loader serviced (because of stopping during washing) and the service guy told me that I need to run the washer with 3/4 cup of bleach with empty load on the Heavy Duty cycle (hot water and choose 2nd rinse). He said to do that about once a month. Oh and to leave the door open when not in use (which I have been doing all along). He checked the rubber area to see if there is anything underneath and to remove anything there.
L.

I'm not sure what you do with the vinegar but would be very interested as I also have a front loader the gets smelly sometimes. I do find though if I leave the door fully open when it's not in use it really helps prevent the smell.

ok, I have wondered why mine smelled so bad too. I was talking with my aunt who also has one and she told me what she found...on that rubber flap, if you pull it forward, she had found a washcloth in hers. Ok, I found 7 socks and 2 washclothes and they were GROSS!! I am hoping that takes care of the problem-I didn't know anything could get in there!

I had the same problem and was able to take care of it this way.....
1) Wipe rubber with Tilex and make sure to get under the rubber
2) Run it empty on Heavy Duty cycle w/hot water and 3/4 C bleach when it was really bad
3) Leave the door open when not in use
4) Use "Washer Magic" - I bought it at Kmart for under $4

Other than the odor problem, I couldn't live without my front loader! With 5 kids, we do laundry every day. We've had it for over 3 years and have never had a problem.

HI i have a front loader as well and,have the same problems..i clean it every six weeks with 2 cups of vinegar. If you have temperature boost set it on that and put the vinegar where the detergent goes. It works well for me but i have to do that every 4 to 6 weeks.Good luck!

M.!