Comment by sumtechguy | Hacker News Reader

Comment by sumtechguy | Hacker News Reader

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When I first switched to the front load washer I started getting a terrible smell pretty quickly.

How I got rid of it.

1) do not use liquid detergents. powder only. My working theory is the medium used to make it gooey was sticking and giving the mold a good medium to live in.

2) do not use liquid fabric softeners. see #1. I use a fabric sheet on drying.

3) clean cycle once a month

4) washer tablet in with the wash clean cycle, I alternate with bleach every other month.

5) leave the door open between washes

6) drain out the water from the 'pigtail' once every 6 months, or whatever the documentation recommends. It is not just for when you move it. It is meant for the next step.

7) clean out the lint trap. Many have this just before the drain out and before the pump. That thing can get really gunked up. especially with liquid detergents/softners. I use the same schedule as the drain out.

#1 and #2 were the main sources for me. Took about 2-3 weeks before the smell was gone.

For my samsung I would say about a 1/4 gallon is left in the hoses.

Powder detergent leaves residue also, because it doesn't ever fully dissolve.

I think washers may leave a bit of water in the "sump" so that the pump doesn't run dry. Running dry is typically not good for pumps. Shouldn't need to be a lot though.

Oooo, #1 is fascinating. I've always used liquid and never considered this. I always run with the extra rinse enabled and no softener, so the fabrics come out clean enough that they don't smear optics. I really don't think anything's left behind, but it's an interesting theory.

7: I'm 99% sure none of my washers have ever had an integrated lint trap. I ziptie a mesh-sock trap onto the drain hose so it doesn't clog the washtub drain, and the amount of stuff it accumulates means that any machine-internal lint trap would've been clogged solid in the first few months. There's no mention of one in the manual, either.

I wonder if I didn't drain it upward into a washtub, but downward into a floor drain, if that would eliminate the water-left-in-hoses problem...

It is not much of a 'trap' it is basically a plastic filter just before the drain out. Think it mostly is to keep big stuff out of the sump. But bits of cloth and hair can get stuck on it. You also probably do not want to totally drain it all the time. The sump as someone else pointed out needs to stay wet.

On mine it is a circular item that you can twist out. If I do it before draining water comes dumping out of that. So I drain then clean that thing. Bit of hot water and a bit of scrubbing.

A note on liquid versus powder detergents. In the UK, at least, my understanding is that liquid detergents do not contain bleaching agents, whereas powders do. That is, unless you buy a colour-safe powder.

If you're pouring bleach into your machine, it can erode the rubber seals. I use Dettol instead (I think it's called Lysol in the States), which seems to do the job.

A bit of bleach once and awhile is ok. There is even a spot for it to be put in on the detergent tray. I do not use it all the time. I stick to the powder and a cup or so of bleach every now and then on a clean cycle (once or twice a year). Pretty sure it is a color safe powder I am using.

I'm lucky enough in terms of layout that I can leave the door wide open AND the detergent drawer open when it's not in use. That allows a kind of "fresh air circulation" between the drawer and the door. That ventilates the whole system. I don't get any smells. I use powder detergent, no cleaning cycles except the occasional wash at 90 Celsius. This is a UK machine though, US may be different.

> 2) do not use liquid fabric softeners. see #1. I use a fabric sheet on drying.

Have you tried vinegar in the wash and wool dryer balls? I pre-wash with vinegar and add an extra rinse cycle. It's way better than fabric sheets and the balls also speed up the drying process.

I could but my wife has an intense hatred anything with vinegar in it. It makes her gag.

Me too. Luckily the smell doesn't persist.

Vinegar is also good for dissolving lime, which builds up in the washer when you have "hard" water and will make it stink - not a mold stink, though, more some kind of bacteria that loves to live in lime. In this case it has nothing to do with residual water.

And vinegar is a pretty good cleaning agent all by itself.

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