thekid65

First of all, let me start by saying I'm mad as hell. Last year, I gave my wife a new washer/dryer set. One of the newer front-loader types.

The washer has this rubber/synthetic type material that makes the seal between the door, and the washer drum so the water wont leak out. There are lots of nooks and crannies in that seal, as its somewhat ribbed (for her pleasure ) Anyways, these nooks and crannies do not dry out, and now have mildewed, causing a pretty wicked smell. We've Lysol-ed the fucker, scrubbed it, and done everything we can think of to get rid of the mildew smell, all to no avail. It seems to have permeated the seal somehow.

Any suggestions would be appreciated from those of you who might have run into this same problem. Its a serious design flaw, IMO. And I'm a bit tweaked over it.

ritzy

hey kid i hope it wasn't a birthday/anniversary or christmas gift lol

anyway a good scrub with soda crystals might do the job

thekid65

Well, wasnt really a gift..more of a "anything I gotta do to stop the nagging cuz the older pair was fixing to crap out" situation. I'm pretty disappointed with this design flaw though.

Byrnison

We have one of the early versions of the Maytag front loader - later versions apparently added a drainage tube to allow the water in the seal area to drain away, but no such luck for us.

What we wind up doing is unplugging the washer after we're done and leaving the door open a bit. This allows the water to evaporate and has eliminated the standing water/mildew problem. It's a workaround no doubt, but not too big a pain.

ottopilot

I had heard about this problem prior to buying our Whirlpool FL set. We just leave the washer door open after every load (enough to allow air in). No sign of mildew in over one year of use.

good luck!

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thekid65

Thats what we are doing now, leaving the door open, plus taking a wash cloth and wiping away any excess water. Ours does have the aforementioned drainage tube, but it obviously doesnt work very well. By doing this, we think we've stopped the problem from getting worse, however we cant seem to eliminate that damned mildew smell.

jewels

Have you tried bleach? Apply with a rag or sponge dampened with hot water, let it sit a few minutes and then rinse well with warm water. That should kill the mildew that causes the odor.

Or you could probably do the same by running a load of whites in hot water using bleach.

If you don't like bleach, white vinegar will do about the same. You may need to run a straight water cycle to clear out the vinegar smell, though.

thekid65

I dont believe the wife has tried scrubbing with bleach, although we've washed a lot of whites with bleach. Perhaps some direct contact and scrubbing would do the trick. Thank you.

Redlemon

Have you tried calling the telephone support number for the model you purchased? For instance, Whirlpool Customer Support? On that site, I find:

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eribrav

The door on a front loader should always be left open between uses.
The only time it should be closed is when doing laundry.

ngdawg

Mine won't stay open (I have a Fridgedaire).
The washer does tend to hold odor and I've resorted to using scented fabric softener a lot.
The seal getting mildewy and smelly on all front loaders seems to be a prevailing problem and some reviews mention wiping it down after every load.

Daniel_

The vast majority of washers in the UK are front loaders - we don't have big enough houses to have top loaders in this crowded country.

I have never come across a mildewy washer in nearly 40 years.

As has been said - leave the door open to dry always. Clean with very dilute bleach, and periodically run a hot wash.

Also, if your machine smells, check the filters, and check the outflow drain runs quick. If the waste pipe cannot drain quickly enough dirty water may back up into the machine.

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And deep beneath the rolling waves,
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The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
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willynilly

We have the big kenmores we bought about 6 months ago. We always leave the door open after washing and have not had an issue. It also has a self-cleaning cycle with only bleach used. My work partner's family had a sock trapped inside and behind the seal, and that was leading to the mildew.

passthru

If nothing mentioned works, though I hope something does, call the manufacturer and tell them to fix it. That is most definitely a design flaw. Tell them to send you a cleaning kit, new seal, whatever it takes. If they don't feel like helping you with the problem they stuck you with, remind them that the Internet exists. Countless forum readers will be afraid to buy anything they make, since they make stuff that grows mildew and they won't help fix it.

I am curious now, what brand/model is yours? I currently use a front-loader but it belongs to the landlord. I'd like to know how your manufacturer treats you, for my eventual washer purchase..

MSD

A paste of Oxy Clean and warm water does wonders for odors that even bleach can't kill.