How Do You Make You HE Washer Stop STINKING

Yes, they are annoying. But, there are products out there that take care of the problem. Tide just introduced a product that actually cleans all the gunk that builds up on the outside of the drum that you can't see, you can find it at Target. Another product I bought is called Smelly Washer, google it. BUT, the big thing people don't remember, is the rubber gasket around the door, it has a lip, you need to take a dry towel every now and again and wipe under that fat lip and get the mold out. I'm excited to try the new Tide clean washer product though, I'm hearing good things about it.

I always heard it was the seal around the door that mildewed easily. That is one reason to leave the door open after washing. Good luck! That is the exact reason I did not buy a front loader.

Tide has begun selling a new product to address this issue, Tide Washing Machine Cleaner. I've seen it advertised on TV and saw it in Target last week:
http://www.tide.com/en-US/product/tide-washing-machine-cl...

Regardless of the machine you want to keep the door open although on front loaders it actually seals which makes it a bigger problem. You also need to make sure the trap is cleaned out. That is the little door in the front towards the bottom. You have to unscrew it and get the debris out.

My machine never smells.

I'm in the same boat as you and the only thing I know to do is what you have already done. Every once in awhile I run a bleach cycle without clothes and it helps. I also try to make sure that the lip is dry because it has a tendency to collect water. Good luck!

I've always heard you are supposed to leave the door open, so that's what I do with mine. Call the manufacturer and ask them for advice.

Clorox also sells a washer cleaner.
Also washing with vinegar might clear it up.

Tide sells washing machine cleaner at Walmart. (I havent checked anywhere else). I use this every few months when my washer starts doing the same thing. Or have you tried vinegar? Some people prefer vinegar though I myself prefer the tide washer cleaner. Hope this helps.

Sometimes with front loading washers mold and mildew build up under the rubber seal around the door. Check there.

Ive had mine for a year now. This is my routine and have non problems with it. Once a month I use the affresh tablets that you can buy at Home Depot. You run a cycle with the tablet and it cleans it. Every load I wipe out the rubber seals, and leave the door open. Leaving the door closed will cause a smell no matter what. It has a tight seal so nothing can get in or out. Also, on mine. There are a drain and catch trap at the bottom left. Things can get stuck in there as well and we drain the water a couple times a year. HTH

run a cycle with vinegar....

if that doesn't work - run a cycle with baking soda.

The water should NOT be in the drum. The point of the HE was to get the clothes cleaned and almost dried to save energy in the dryer.

I would call Sears and have them come look at it too. We have a warranty program with Sears and once a year they come out and inspect the washing machine and dryer as well as the dishwasher...our fridge is too old or we would have that covered too.

The cost for the warranty for our 3 items is $327 for 2 years. it saved us a year ago when the belt went on my dryer and washing machine at the same time!! (oops for washing TWO sleeping bags instead of one).

Any way - try the vinegar and the baking soda. Leave the door open to get the air in their to help dry it out.

I leave my door open when its not in use. It helps alot. But I am considering tryign the Tide thing others mentioned. I figure it can't hurt, right? Mine is slowly slowly getting worse.

I also take my soap dispenser drawer out and clean it regularly. Mine is a bad design and it gets black with goopy gross nastiness (Its soap..I mean really?) Its disgusting but I have to use an old baby bottle brush (the big and small parts) an old toothbrush and a lot of hot water to get it all clean. Its just a stupid design with all sorts of little nooks and crevices that get this goo in there. UGH. But I do LIKE my machine. LOL

Well, DON'T close the door - leave it open a crack at all times, why do you have to close it?

Check/clean the rubber gasket around the door - get a rag soak it in white vinegar, and wash/rub it all around the gasket, in every fold and crevice - these can accumulat LOTS of slimy gunk from leftover detergent and dirt form clothes.

Run several HOT cycles with 1 cup or more of White Vinegar in the machine, then maybe a couple with baking soda.

Leave the door open in between loads.

Make sure you are using HE detergent, and always use less than even the reccommended amount on the detergent package for HE.

Do a once a month vinegar or baking soda hot cycle as a smell defence measure.

Good Luck!

i didn't read through, so hope you didn't get this already.....

start with a basket clean (if you have that option) using vinegar instead of bleach. my HE manufacturer told me not to use vinegar because they couldn't be bothered to actually think about it. but since you don't have a warranty and don't have anything to lose at this point......vinegar is much, much better and deodorizing than bleach.

after that (or instead of if you don't have a basket clean), run just a rinse cylce with vinegar in the softener dispenser. then dump baking soda directly into the drum - a 1/2 cup or so. let it sit, with the door open for a day or two. then run a rinse cycle (no vinegar - you don't need a "volcano" in your drum). then run a rinse cycle with vinegar again.

smell the door seal - the odor may be in the rubber - in that case, pour baking soda on and in the door seal and let it set a while.

and, you can't ever leave the door closed where you live - the door must always stay ajar (I have to keep mine ajar for at least day here in Colorado where we have maybe 10% humidity). a pain, I know, but if you get this under control, it will prevent it from happening again.

good luck.

They make detergent for this, but I have found vinegar works well. You will have to clean where the rubber piece is, just inside the door. Get a cloth and wear gloves and wipe out all the buildup inside there. You will need to start wiping it out after every wash. Does your machine have a clean cycle? The front loader we had in PA did. I would run it with white vinegar and baking soda with the hottest water setting, and then wipe out the inner rim with the cloth.

Have you tried putting vinegar with essential oil in the rinse cycle? I find that that works everytime. I also always leave my door open. It makes a world of difference. I never use bleach. My clothes smell fresh and clean. When I don't use the vinegar or if we leave the door closed for some reason, the machine stinks, which transfers to the clothes. HTH

I recently read my owners manual and searched the internet for solutions to this very problem. Other than what others have already told you, make sure you aren't using too much detergent and/or fabric softener. Technically, you don't need any detergent at all to get clothes clean. (There have been studies) But I like how they make my clothes smell. Use the recommended amount or less. NOT more! Since I have started measuring (vs. "guestimating") my washer has been smelling better.

I haven't read through the other comments to see if anyone has already mentioned it but try the monthly HE cleaning packs. I think I bought one made by Tide. I had the exact same problem as you and this seemed to do the trick. I also made a point of staying on top of the laundry so that it isn't sitting in the machine for more then 30 minutes after the cycle ends.

Its possible that there is mold in the drum of the washer. This happened to my Maytag Neptune top loader. We'd paid $1000 5y ago. We had been having the same problem. Hubby finally pulled the drum out and there was mold! I had him toss that thing out. Literally! I went out that afternoon and bought a new LG that was delivered 2 days later.

Did you get a home warranty package? The seller may not have offered it, but as a new homeowner you can purchase it yourself. Some cover washers, some do not.

So my advice is to either pay for a service tech to come pull it apart, or to just buy a new one.

HI Martha.
You can't.......many of them have standing water in the pump at all times. You HAVE to leave them open.
And all of the repair guys we had- 6 btw before the insides of our imploded when it had brown sludge in the pump with each cycle of residual soap- said to NEVER buy another. They keep in business now with them.
They also said you had to use HALF of the recommended soap listed- because with a high efficiency they don't rinse all of it away-- not enough splash in the bowls to even reach more than half way up on a top loader - the front loaders better with that.
They develop mold in the seals.
There are cleaners you can buy-- give that a shot before you totally give up.
If you get it clean- leave it open between washes.
much luck and if you do have to buy new-- go to the old dial style of regular.

About me: 51 yo perfusionist, wellness coach, mom with 10 yo fraternal twin girls

B. J

1) you need to use 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of soap ( this machine uses 15 gallons VS. 40 gallons of water to wash... hence needing so little soap)

2) you must leave the door open after each wash

3) There are Tide and other brand pellet products that you throw in and wash (w/ an empty load). You need to do this several times to get rid of the stink... and then once a month for maintenance. They're expensive - but well worth it b/c they work!

4) you also need to push down the lower rubber rim and look for socks as they get stuck in there and stink! they also get gross dirty in there and really can't be salvaged if they've been there too long.

If you do the pellets it will get better.

You have to use detergent specifically for HE washers. Regular detergent leaves a film and builds up in the seals. We had this problem with our old front loader but we used regular soap, just less of it. That is a big no no! Clean out your seals and then run a sanitize cycle if you have one. Hope that helps!

I've had mine for almost a year now and I've not had any problem yet. This is what I do:

I leave my door open after a wash. I put a dry towel or washcloth in the seal to suck up all the water that gets left in there. Then my washer has a reminder on it that after every 30 loads it recommends that I run the clean cycle. So, I use the Affresh tabs that another person recommended. With these tabs also comes a Grit Grabber cloth that they recommend to use to wipe out the rubber seal. And of course I use only HE products.

Hope this helps!

In addition to other suggestions, make sure your water is at a high enough setting. My HE top loader started smelling like sewer (ugh), and we knew there were no sewer problems, so we called Sears (we have a warranty). The repairman said to make sure our water heater was up high enough and then I remembered that we did turn down the heater a few weeks before that! Turned it back up and no problems since! Just make sure that you do a some loads in hot water (towels, socks, etc). He also said to use bleach in the clean cycle instead of the Affresh!

Try putting a sock with about a 1/2 cup of baking soda in it and leave it in there between washes and it will help to absorb the extra moisture that is in the washer. I have this same problem so I'm going to try this as well. We shall compare notes. I'm doing laundry today so maybe Monday we can look at this again.

I was told by a repair man to put bleach in the soap dispenser when I clean the washer. With front load washers you need to wipe the seal with a towel when you are finished for the day and leave the door open. They have such a great seal when you close them it makes the perfect environment for mildew to grow. I would not use vinegar unless the manual says it is okay. If you don't have the manual, look it up on line. You just need the the model number.

I am having this same problem in my washer that is 3 or 4 years old. I've always washed my white towels with bleach, so it's had plenty of bleach loads over its lifetime. But, I got lazy and sometimes left clothes in overnight and I also didn't tell DH that the door needed to stay open, and unfortunately I ended up with mold around the lip. I remove it, but the lip is stained. I've done a bunch of different washer cleaners and I still have the problem. So, recently I switched to powder HE detergent and that seems to be helping. I also plan to try to clean out the drain thing as some others have mentioned. Good luck!

The HE front loaders are the worst! With ours, the stink comes from socks getting lodged in the front opening by the door. Then, they clog up the pipes and the funkiness begins. Have you noticed that your wash is a little wetter/heavier than it should be? Usually the stink & heaviness coincide reminding us to clean the socks out of the pipes. We have only had our HE front loader for 2 years and on Wed it is going out to the curb and we bought a new washer b/c we have had nothing but trouble with it.

I had the same problem. Running a cycle with bleach is not enough. Clorox actually sells a product to clean HE washers. I've used that and not had any problems since.