Foul odor from front load washing machine

Smelly washers can be cleaned by soaking the "splash area" just above the normal waterline. This is invariably the area of worst area of buildup of odor-causing residue. To compare washing machine cleaners go to or copy and paste
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua6OJPn0-fU

Washer smells foul...this is often a build up of soap, water, too many chemicals and this has left a residue, and the mildew moves right in and it stinks. This builds up is often on the inside of the outer tank.
Many times that this happens is when people use to much soap and then they only do laundry once a week.
One good solution to help your odor problem...it works well...in a top loader I recommend 2 cups of cascade and 2 cups of bleach, fill your machine with hot water and let it agitate. At the end of the agitation/wash cycle, let the machine sit and soak for about 10-15 minutes to work on your scum, then close the lid and let it complete. Next load run whites to be safe all bleach is out. This should help.
On some really bad odor problems, you may have to remove the inner basket to scrap off the build up from the inside of the outer tank. You may will need special tools to remove the inner basket.
Fabric softener is also nasty for building up inside and under the agitator.
It is recommended to use half to a quarter of the detergent that the package recommends.
Other things that may help, leave the washer lid open between laundry days. Never cover your washing machine with those plastic covers.

front load washers are known for foul odors, There are many products available to eliminate these odors. Affresh and smellywasher are two products for removing the odor

Betty, this is problematic of all front loading washers. I have some helpful suggestions, which have helped us with our own front loading washer.

First, whenever you're done doing a load of laundry, don't close the door all the way shut. Leave it open a couple of inches for a day to let it air dry out, which will prevent the nasty smelling odor you're getting.

I also take a small rag/washcloth to wipe out the door seal/gasket after we're done washing, that way, there's less water to contribute to foul odors, etc.

The other thing we discovered is to make our last load of wash the hot water wash, whenever we're doing whites, or the stain cycle. This helps get rid of any gunk that might hang around between wash days.

Now we don't always have a hot water wash everytime we do laundry, but by just wiping out the gasket and leaving the door open, we eliminated the odor issues completely.

Frankly, the gasket shouldn't have to be wiped out when you're done washing, but that's a design issue that we've overcome with a simple washcloth. So just do these simple steps and you'll save yourself some frustration.

We really like how clean our laundry gets with the front load washer and how little water is needed to do a load, so we've decided it's worth taking the time to wipe the gasket once we're done for the day, and to leave the door open to prevent any nasty odors.

Hope you find this Very Helpful and best regards!

Obviously this problem exists on this manufactured machine (Cabrio). It has to do with the design of the machine and the HE detergent required to be used. We are on city water and the smell is sewage gas. Hence, do your whites last with lots of Clorox/bleach, cause the detergent isn't strong enoug to kill the bacteria growing in the pipes. That being said, P

This is most likely caused by laundry getting stuck in the front seal of the washer.

what kind of washer?
all front load washers get this issue
the way to get rid of the smell is by doing an acid wash to your machine
set the washer to the highest temp setting (sanitize would be best)
mix in 1/2 to 2/3 cup of javex or white vinigar, either one will do it
run your washer through the longest cycle possible with no clothes in it
may need to be done more than once. and up to once a month

the smell is caused by leftover detergent and leftover fabric softner gathering on the interior shell and in the rubber boot at the door.
front load washers do not require much detergent at all, and even less fabric softner.
be careful on how much of these you are using, more is not better
this will help prevent the odor from comming back
as well when laundry is not being done, the front door should be left open a bit to allow air movement in the washer.
hope this helps

How old of a unit? The new high energy effeciency washers are known for their "odors" due to the fact they dont drain out all water and it can mildew inside. Some solutions...leave door ajar after wash cycles , water will evaporate, there is products you can add every so many loads, one product being "affresh" ,,,some other people will run strong bleach load every so many loads it will kill mildew. These washeres have been out for years in Europe and they have same problems, its just inherent with product

Please see - washerhelp.co.uk

I hope this helps.

This does not apply to only Whirlpool Duet washers

Bad smells and spider corrosion in front load washing machines.

When all other remedies for curing bad smells coming from front load washers have been tried and have not been found satisfactory I believe the source of the smell may well be corrosion of the aluminium spider with the products of this corrosion harbouring 'water' that turns foul as described below, or, should no corrosion have occurred the 'water' left in the recesses of the hubs of the spiders will, if left long enough, turn foul.

Aluminium, and its alloys, are corroded when immersed in an aqueous solution with a pH value below about 4.0 (acidic) [nitric acid is a well known exception] or above about 8.0 (alkaline), most laundry aids, detergent including HE detergent, borax, bleach (sodium hypochlorite), sodium carbonate (washing soda), sodium percarbobante (found in Affresh and OxiClean), sodium hydroxide, Affresh and OxiClean can have pH values above 8.0 should the required concentrations be reached. At the normal operating levels found in washing machines these values are not exceeded. However when the machine is shut down any water remaining will contain, inter alia, soil from the laundry, products of the interactions between the soil and the laundry aids used, unused laundry aids, and the chemicals found in the tap water. As the water from this mixture evaporates the concentration of the 'impurities' rises until such time as a 'smelly sludge' develops and/or a pH level above about 8.0 is reached and corrosion occurs.

Prime areas for these deposits to occur are, in my opinion, the recesses found at, or very near, the hub of some of the aluminium alloys spiders found in front load washing machines. The final spin, no matter how fast, will not, in my opinion, remove all the 'water' from theses recesses.

To view a corroded spider (not to the point of catastrophic failure) and one with a build of 'smelly crud' please visit: -

http://www.ripoffreport.com/appliances/electrolux-home-prod/electrolux-home-products-n-am-4cd6d.htm

These spiders were removed from Frigidaire built 'Kenmore' machines.

To see fractured spiders from Frigidaire built machines, Whirlpool 'Duets' and other manufacturers' please visit: -

http://fixitnow.com/wp/2009/10/28/front-loading-washer-corrosion-contagion-a-menagerie-of-metallic-misery/

Or, for a Whirlpool spider

http://www.mysears.com/aboutme/jpm0940

Not all manufacturers use spiders with recesses, Speed Queen do not (Speed Queen call them trunnions) and photographs at: -

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?30834

show Miele spiderss without recesses. There may be others.