Washer issue driving me nuts

If the unit does not completely dry out after use and you close it up, it can start to get a moldy smell. We went through that on a front load washer. Now we leave it open for a day and no more moldy smells.

We have a Splendide 2100XL going on 6 years fulltiming. Only time it was not used was one summer in Alaska. Wife does the cleaning routine monthly and only adds vinegar. She leaves the door open a inch or so when not in use. I clean the lint vent every couple months. Hopefully it will last another 6 years.

Using an HE (High Efficiency) washer is different than the previous generation of washers. You can't just shove dirty clothes in a big wad. You have to use a light hand and run a smaller load of clothes. I used to get stuck in the appliance dept at Home Depot. I learned a lot about HE washers because so many people had problems with them. Turned out they just needed to adjust how they loaded the machine. Kinda like going from a 700W microwave to a 1000W microwave. There will be some adjustments that need to be learned. HE washers just work better with liquid detergents. So do HE dishwashers and the small countertop dishwashers.

I have a Whirlpool Cabrio TOP LOAD HE washer. I find that I need to put clothes in the bottom of of the tub in a single clump, one item at a time. I start out spacing the clumped items, 6 items in the first layer, evenly around the tub. Then I put a second layer, lightly laid on top of the first layer but off set between the first layer clumps. With shirts, I can run a 3rd layer. I add a Color Catcher sheet and about a cup of baking powder on top of the dry clothes. I buy baking soda in 15 pound bags from Sam's Club.

I use 2 TBSP of a low sudsing coconut oil based liquid dish detergent. The brand I use is the PINK dish detergent from Sam's Club. I use white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. I don't use fabric softener in the washer or dryer. I have allergies to many of the fragrances used in laundry detergents.

I run most loads on Normal wash/Heavy soil/High spin/cold wash-cold rinse/Deep clean cycle. My daughter works at Harbor Freight and her work clothes are full of dirty mineral oil. They do come out clean. I don't pretreat her clothes either.

Bedding, coats and towels (I have bath sheets which are heavy oversized towels) are washed on Bulky Wash with all the other settings the same. Bulky Wash uses a higher level of water. But it's still not like the non-HE washers.

I used the same settings and methods when I was using my other daughter's front load HE washer. I also wiped out the door gasket with every use since we had dog hair in the laundry loads.

The reason you need to leave the washer door open/ mop water from door sill/ spray bleach is because you need to press in and peel back the wide door gasket dead center at the bottom of the door sill and clean the drain holes in it. Ours clogs with dog hair and we clean it regularly. The gasket is attached on one side just for this purpose.

Dave

Thanks for the responses, had a lot going on yesterday

Is the dryer vented to outside? if so, has it been cleaned?
Have you checked the washer drain vent?

First unit was unvented, new one is vented. I don't really run the dryer ever. The vent/drain below: I opened and drained, also the rubber hose there, opened that and drained. Strangely, the water never smells.

Can you do a smellcheck to see if the clothes smell bad after the wash cycle or the dryer cycle?

first unit, only ran dryer when i first got it, haven't in like a year
just tried with new unit, after dry, they still smell slightly

Do you have a lot of iron in your water? The bacteria and sulfur oxide can make it smell bad. perhaps add a particle and carbon block filter to your supply line and might fix the issue.

not that I know of, i'm on city water down here in the FL keys. I could try a carbon filter

Different location???? Different water supply.

same location/water supply

Yep and all my HE appliances are awful. They're high efficiency either because they use less water, spin less and slower or in the case of my dishwasher don't dry properly because the element is weaker and doesn't stay on long. All these things lead to smells. Water remaining in any appliance will lead to mildew or lingering sulfur smells. Modern appliances simply do not work as well as older models for the sake of efficiency.

I am actually thinking this is what's happening. Since I got the unit brand new and it didn't smell for about 2 weeks (running every day). I figure the water is in the basin left behind from previous cycle and smelling.

Stupid me I bought a bucco bucks Bosch dishwasher for the house, 4 yrs later a repairman asks how often do you run this? I said we have a son, his bride and newborn living with us as they find a house, and I do daycare for the grand kids, so 2 maybe 3 times a day. He stated MODERN DISHWASHERS ARE ONLY DESIGNED TO RUN 3 TO 4 TIMES A WEEK!!! I wore it out!! Energy efficient means less water, smaller motors, smaller heating elements, ETC. Pretty sure it's the same for all modern appliances.
With our HE washer I often have to wash clothes twice to remove dirt/odors, or use a heavy perfumed detergent and softner(not going to happen). I also have to wipe the water out of the rubber door gasket to avoid moldy stagnant water sitting in it, and removing the detergent tray and spraying with a bleach & water solution to prevent mold in that dark moist area.
But hey we we're saving the planet even though we are having to run the appliance twice as often to get the results of the old ones running once. Truly I don't understand it, but what are the options?
Wipe out every area, spray with a bleach/water solution and hopefully you can get ahead of the smell & mold.
Sorry for the rant, but its my challenge too.

i leave the washer door open 100% of the time it's not running. When I had a dishwasher I left the door open as well. I do agree though, the "HE" garbage just means "Hardly Effective" IMO

Stupid me I bought a bucco bucks Bosch dishwasher for the house, 4 yrs later a repairman asks how often do you run this? I said we have a son, his bride and newborn living with us as they find a house, and I do daycare for the grand kids, so 2 maybe 3 times a day. He stated MODERN DISHWASHERS ARE ONLY DESIGNED TO RUN 3 TO 4 TIMES A WEEK!!! I wore it out!! Energy efficient means less water, smaller motors, smaller heating elements, ETC. Pretty sure it's the same for all modern appliances.
With our HE washer I often have to wash clothes twice to remove dirt/odors, or use a heavy perfumed detergent and softner(not going to happen). I also have to wipe the water out of the rubber door gasket to avoid moldy stagnant water sitting in it, and removing the detergent tray and spraying with a bleach & water solution to prevent mold in that dark moist area.
But hey we we're saving the planet even though we are having to run the appliance twice as often to get the results of the old ones running once. Truly I don't understand it, but what are the options?
Wipe out every area, spray with a bleach/water solution and hopefully you can get ahead of the smell & mold.
Sorry for the rant, but its my challenge too.

Campinghoss@51 wrote:
HE - stands for high efficiency

Yep and all my HE appliances are awful. They're high efficiency either because they use less water, spin less and slower or in the case of my dishwasher don't dry properly because the element is weaker and doesn't stay on long. All these things lead to smells. Water remaining in any appliance will lead to mildew or lingering sulfur smells. Modern appliances simply do not work as well as older models for the sake of efficiency.

HE - stands for high efficiency

When we had our motorhome we noticed that some of the cg's potable water was very hard. Our washer/dryer combo would have an off order sometimes. I purchased a on the go water softener and never smelled the off odor again. Sold the motorhome and went back to the fiver in my sig. The washer smells fine all the time now. None of our faucets have any signs of stain either. I highly recommend a softner if you don't know your water supply.

LMHS wrote:
HE washers, top load and front load, are supposed to have a "cleaning" cycle run once a month (I think Splendide manufacturer says every 30 washes). It should have come with the directions for your washer. My HE top loader has a "clean" cycle (just add bleach) just for cleaning. I find it easier to run the clean cycle on the 1st day of every month. Otherwise you can buy a product called Affresh and run that in a cleaning cycle OR a short cycle (NOT a fill and dump cycle but an actual wash cycle). On a front loader, you MUST wipe out the backside channel of the flange around the door as it will smell nasty and can also make your clothes smell. You may not notice your clothes smelling if you use a heavily scented fabric softener or detergent (do you smell like "Eau de Gain" or a similar detergent/softener?). Don't forget to clean the detergent/bleach/softener dispenser cups.

OK, I give up! What is a "HE" washer???


Never mind, I figured it out!