Front Load Washers

[lonewolf]

Ours are full size and stacked, to save space in the laundry room. Works well for me, but my significant other has had trouble with the dryer when I have been on long trips. Despite her assurance that the lint filter has been cleaned, I've returned from jobs to find enough lint in there to knit a shirt.

Of course I just clean it out, bang around for a minute and go tell her its now "fixed".

She, of course, is extremely grateful to have married such a handy guy....

[rotor]

For what it's worth, the latest issue of Consumer Reports rates these and is worth reading. Could save you a lot of money in the long run.

[Abraham]

lonewolf,

Consider advising her that lint build up in dryers can cause a fire.

[CHLLady]

I love mine. I have Samsung brand. They sing to me when they're done. The drum is tilted back, so if it did break a seal, it wouldn't leak much. My washer never smells, ever. Could be that I use it very often and leave the door open, when it's empty.

I clean the dryer lint trap every single time i start the dryer. I never use dryer sheets and collect my dryer lint for fire starting purposes in zip bags.

I also make my own HE friendly laundry soap. 1 Tbsp. Per load costs me about 5 cents.

[Unicorn Rancher]

Thanks everyone. I have a frontload LG washer on order to replace my noisy topload bottomleak Whirlpool.

I'm keeping my current dryer because it still works.

[jimlongley]

I need to start this off with a caveat: I do not own a front load washer, and due to my wife's bias against them, I probably never will.

That said, I have spent almost 7 years selling appliances at Home Depot (I'm retired, but hey, it pays for the cruises every year, check out my pics on FaceBook) and when I went through my initial training, EVERY, without exception, manufacturer rep stood in front of the class and dogmatically expounded that THEIR washers did not need to have the doors left open because their machines didn't get smelly. Without exception, they were ALL wrong. At this point I have seen at least 3 generations of Maytag and (by extension Whirlpool, same company) washers go by, and 5 of LG, with upgrades in every generation and some of those upgrades aimed at preventing smelly.

First of all one of the major contributing factors to smelly is the HE detergent, it leaves a lot of soap scum, which you don't see on the inside of the drum because your laundry scrubs that away for you, but it builds up on the outside of the inner drum and on the seals where the mechanical action of the laundry getting tossed around can't get to it. Nothing to be done about it - due to the way the high efficiency machines (front and top load) work, if you use sudsy regular detergent you will quickly destroy the pump, you have to use low suds high efficiency detergent.

SOAP SCUM LEFT UNTREATED WILL GENERATE SMELLY

Second of all, the FL machines are sealed chambers so the doors DO - DO - need to be left open. All of those manufacturers have quietly set up their machines to do that or something like it these days. LG puts magnets on the doors of their washers to allow you to leave the door slightly open (and Kenmore Elite, made by LG will have the same) Samsung give their doors a bias like a car door, Maytag and Whirlpool added a vent to theirs to let outside air circulate, and although GE has lagged behind, they have a similar door bias thing.

Third, if you look at every HE machine, FL or TL, you will find a cycle to clean the machine - Maytag and Whirlpool say "Clean Washer with Affresh" and gues who makes Affresh, the others say "Tub Clean", "Basket Clean" or "Self Clean." And all but one require you to use a caustic chemical to do the clean. Samsung shot themselves in the foot a couple of years ago, they came up with a great idea, using hot water and pressure to clean their washers without chemicals, and they called it "Pure Cycle." Last year Samsung did a survey of their washer users and one of the questions they asked was how often they used "Pure Cycle" and more than 60% of the respondents said "What's that?" Samsung has changed it to "Self Clean."

So: wipe the seals down from time to time to keep soap scum from building up; use the washer several times a day, every day; or do regular self cleans; or use one of the "off label" preventives, like a quarter cup of white vinegar in the bleach dispenser for every load (one of my co workers machines is more than 5 years old and she has NEVER done a self clean, but wipes the seals and uses vinegar and leaves the door open between uses.)

And HE Top Load machines can and will get smelly, you just have to work harder at it, like leaving a load in the washer for a couple of days.

I could go on, because I do this all day long every day, but that should suffice.

Now if I could just convince my wife.

But hey, I got her from "I don't know if I can live in a house with guns in it." to a CHL holder who has aced the tests (written and shooting) over and over and has bought me guns, so washers I can let slide.

[Abraham]

Jim,

Great information!

I've an LG top load, H.E. washing machine. I've looked and don't see anything resembling a seal.

Perhaps, you can point out where to look for the seals...?

Thanks!

[jimlongley]

Jim,

Great information!

I've an LG top load, H.E. washing machine. I've looked and don't see anything resembling a seal.

Perhaps, you can point out where to look for the seals...?

Thanks!

No seals on top loaders, just on front loaders, and the open tops let ari circulate, which cuts down on the chance of smelly.

[Abraham]

Thanks Jim!

[kenobi]

Even with the old top load machines it helps to leave the lid open. Unless you wash with lots of bleach.

[jimlongley]

White vinegar in the bleach dispenser can be a preventive for smell. A young lady I work with use 1/4 cup per load and has never used that "clean washer" cycle and still does not have a smelly.

BTW,. those that have "walking" machines, a couple of things to check. The FL machines and many of the TL machines (with direct drive) have high torque motors. Particularly in the FL machines the load is going to be off balance as the machine starts, which means there has to be a pretty fancy suspension system to handle the load, and there are usually comparatively heavy counterweights on the outer drum.

This means that FL machines, and some TL, have "shipping bolts" or another arrangement to keep the tub from bashing around during shipping and handling. Two common things happen:

1, the washer is delivered to the customer and set up by the delivery people, and they remove the shipping bolts and neglect, for whatever reason, to leave them with the customer, or they do leave them with the customer who immediately forgets where they are and what they are for; which may lead to the customer making the error of moving the washer, at some later date, without the important shipping bolts, leading to damage to the suspension system with a resultant dancing.

2, the customer having retained the shipping bolts and remembering what they are for, places the bolts before moving the machine (EVEN to put a pedestal under it) and then forgets to remove the bolts from the machine after leveling it up, and the machine dances because the vibration prevention and compensation system can't do their job.

[ELB]

...
... and when I went through my initial training, EVERY, without exception, manufacturer rep stood in front of the class and dogmatically expounded that THEIR washers did not need to have the doors left open because their machines didn't get smelly.

Might be a legal/liability reason for that: Supreme Court Sends Smelly Washer Case Back For Another Look

...
Without exception, they were ALL wrong. At this point I have seen at least 3 generations of Maytag and (by extension Whirlpool, same company) washers go by, and 5 of LG, with upgrades in every generation and some of those upgrades aimed at preventing smelly.

"Your Honor, we the plaintiff's lawyers call to the stand noted washer expert witness Jim Longley..."

...
All of those manufacturers have quietly set up their machines to do that or something like it these days. ...to allow you to leave the door slightly open ...

When the legal sharks are in the water, best not to do a lot of splashing around...run silent, run deep...

... - Maytag and Whirlpool say "Clean Washer with Affresh" and gues who makes Affresh, ... Samsung shot themselves in the foot a couple of years ago, they came up with a great idea, using hot water and pressure to clean their washers without chemicals, and they called it "Pure Cycle."

But, from the article linked above:

[Plaintiff's attorney] Selbin said one of the strongest elements in their case is that Whirlpool has essentially admitted its washers have a problem by instructing users to apply a treatment called Affresh once a month to cut down on odors in its front-loading machines. Consumers only learn this after they buy the unit and it adds $300 to the lifetime cost of operating the washer, Selbin said. He wants a class action to determine whether Whirlpool has liability for that $300, times millions of front-loader consumers.

Maybe Samsung wasn't the one shooting itself in the foot.

[jimlongley]

. . .

But, from the article linked above:

[Plaintiff's attorney] Selbin said one of the strongest elements in their case is that Whirlpool has essentially admitted its washers have a problem by instructing users to apply a treatment called Affresh once a month to cut down on odors in its front-loading machines. Consumers only learn this after they buy the unit and it adds $300 to the lifetime cost of operating the washer, Selbin said. He wants a class action to determine whether Whirlpool has liability for that $300, times millions of front-loader consumers.

Maybe Samsung wasn't the one shooting itself in the foot.

MY customers know about it long before they purchase the machine, explain both cleaning the machine the way the manufacturers recommend, and the alternatives, such as white vinegar and other stuff found on the internet. I expound on it as one of the differences between HE FL and TL machines, including the fact that the TL machines include a clean washer cycle because they are using HE detergent which generates a lot of soap scum, and they could potentially, although less so, get smelly.

I can't imagine holding just Whirlpool liable because, of the 5 brands of HE washer that I sell, ALL of them have a "clean washer" cycle.

[DocV]

...

1, the washer is delivered to the customer and set up by the delivery people, and they remove the shipping bolts and neglect, for whatever reason, to leave them with the customer, or they do leave them with the customer who immediately forgets where they are and what they are for; which may lead to the customer making the error of moving the washer, at some later date, without the important shipping bolts, leading to damage to the suspension system with a resultant dancing.

2, the customer having retained the shipping bolts and remembering what they are for, places the bolts before moving the machine (EVEN to put a pedestal under it) and then forgets to remove the bolts from the machine after leveling it up, and the machine dances because the vibration prevention and compensation system can't do their job.

Nice to know. Looks like a call to the repair folks is in order.

[Unicorn Rancher]

Vinegar in the wash cycle seems like exchanging one bad smell for another. I could see running a weekly cleaning cycle with vinegar as with a coffee machine. However, I don't add vinegar when I'm making the coffee...