LG washing machine has AWFUL mildew smell

Wash with bleach, leave the door open when not in use.

Sounds like the little flexible apron just in front of your washer drum has mildewed. Take a look and see if it is holding water, and look for mold while your'e at it. Use a good bathroom mold and mildew remover to kill the mess and deodorize it.

lg has a known problem with smelly mildew cloths. If you call LG they will tell you its not there problem. Cheapest solution is to wash door gasket with some clorox and then betwen washes leave door open. On the washing supply shelves there is a product you put in the washing machine run a wash without cloths and it does the same thing except it costs $7.If you bought it a t Lowes go back and ***** to store manager my friend did exactly that and got the machinje replaced

Don't know if this is the same as your problem, but I had a Kenmore washer, (made by Whirlpool) that did the same thing. It was a high efficiency model without an agitator. I finally found out that this type of washer never drains completely but always has some water left in it. This water is somewhere internal that cannot be seen unless the machine is taken apart. That water goes bad and stinks. Everything smelled like mildew and for some while my husband thought I was was washing clothes and leaving them in until they dried. I ended up having to just buy a new machine and when the stinky washer was taken away, just tilting it caused all this foul water to come out everywhere. Also I found this on the internet http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/lg_washing_machine.html
scroll down and see how other people feel about this machine. I decided that instead of buying the newest, latest, greatest, with all the bells and whistles appliances, from now on I will buy the time tested, plain jane models.

Causes of grease, slime and black mould inside washing machine Your problem has nothing to do with the washing machine, any washing machine - even the best can be affected. I suspect your problem is mostly related to using liquid detergents that contain no bleaching agents

I have an LG washer that had the same problem. Go to the site www.nufreshnow.com and read all about why this is happening, how to fix it and how to keep it from comming back. A few different ways of cleaning the machine are explained.

The site sells a product that you may or may not need but the explanations are really good.

If you're not used to seeing water come down the front of the inner glass portion, then your return tube, and/or gasket drainage is most likely clogged. I have the LG WM2277HW front loader and this is what worked for me:

1. Locate water recirculating outlet at the top inside of the gray rubber door gasket- it will have a white plastic piece that directs the water flow inward.

2. Check for blockage at that outlet. Mine had one about 2 inches long. Pull it out with your fingers or tweezers.

3. Check the 3 small rectangular drain holes at the bottom of the gasket; make sure they're not plugged up as well. This is where the smelly water pools from bacterial growth

4. Run through a sanitizing cycle- no detergent, just bleach and watch for more blockage that might come out the tube from the top...it collects on the glass before falling all the way in. Don't wash any clothes before this step, or the gunk will end up in your load.


Hope that helps...pictures posted.

Same here. We bought ours January 2005. Love the machines and take great care of them, too. Then the smell in the washer which seemed to affect certain clothes, like thick sweat pants and t-shirts (they smelled really "sour"). After doing some searches I found on this site where someone had recommended using a product called Affresh. I figured I might as well try it since my other attempts failed. This really worked for me. I bought it at Home Depot for $7 for a pkg of 3. I used 3 tablets per their directions, as this was my first time using it (afterwards they recommend using only 1 tablet per month). I was totally amazed as the smell was gone. I hope it works for you, too!

Same problem and I was told to only use detergents with "HE" on the front of them for high energy. the soap without HE is too foamy and hence never truly drains out and causes a mildew smell. I also purchased something called "A" Fresh that I run in the washer every 6 weeks to keep the smell out. I got it at an appliance store for about $11.00 for 3 tablets

LG model WM2688H front load washer Once you follow this, the smell will go & you only need to run the tub clean mode with oxiclean once a month. This has worked for my client. Her washer made the entire house smell & your eyes tear when you got near it...not any more. 1) Leave the door open! Detergent door too when not in use. 2) Clean the filter (bottom left below door on front) You need a container to catch about a cup of water, or a towel to clean up the cup of water that will spill. Remove the rubber hose...twist off the cap...drain water out of tube. replace cap, replace tube. Next to tube is a twist cap. Turn counter clockwise, remove and clean filter, put back in. 3) I boil water (2 gallons) mix in some bleach 1/2 cup, and put the solution inside the washer. I let it sit for 10 minutes. With my hand I rotate the drum 1/5 of a turn and let soak for 10 minutes. rotate 1/5, sit, rotate, sit until entire tub has sat in the boiling water for 10 minutes. Boiling =212 degrees. Kill Mold= 108 degrees. Water Heater= 120 typically 4) If there is a sink nearby, run the hot water prior to starting a cleaning cycle!!! Screw the environmentalists. (sorry, but you want to get rid of your mold) Because of the minimal quantities of water used in a wash cycle, the water in your pipes does not remain hot all night long, and the washer does not have a built in heater to raise the temp. So you're using cold water to wash everything...including the clean cycles &/or bleaching. 5) I leave the boiling water in, add a scoop of Oxiclean. There is a "Tub Clean" mode on the LG. It's a 1 1/2 hour hot wash made especially to clean the inner tub. Check your owners manual!!! It's in there, for some reason they think people read these things...or if you don't like reading on this model it's the 3rd button on the right side options. The button says EXTRA RINSE in BIG BOLD Letters and in smaller letters...tub clean. Hold the button down for 3-5 seconds, the door will lock & it will ask you to add bleach. Fill the bleach compartment. Use liquid bleach Clorox, NOT the HE gel bleach. 6) Don't use AFFRESH!!! Oxiclean 1,000 times better. 7) HE Powder over HE liquids definately. You should be mold free. Do this once a month.