Hi! My name is Samantha and I am the blogger behind Simply Organized! I LOVE reading along here on Anna’s blog. She has taught me so much, especially when it comes to natural cleaning with white vinegar, and she throws a pretty awesome themed party too! Anna has a GREAT post for cleaning a standard top-loading washer, but if you are struggling with a mildew smell coming from your HE front-loading washing machine, I truly hope my guest post here on Anna’s blog will help you out! Thank you SO much to Anna for letting me share this with her sweet readers!
A few months ago, we were experiencing an awful mildew smell from our HE washing machine. After hours of research, our machine is now fresh and better than new.
*Maytag (our machine’s manufacturer) said the number one cause of odor is from using the wrong detergent or too much detergent. The wrong type can cause too many suds. The more suds = the more residue to get stuck in the nooks and crannies where mold can live and breed. You should be using detergent that specifically states it’s safe for use in a HE machine. There is a little HE emblem on the detergent bottle or box that clearly states it’s safe for your machine, and the machine requires a very small amount when using the correct detergent.
This goes for anything you are putting into the machine: fabric softener, color safe bleach, etc.
Simply pull back the rubber to expose what is hiding and growing underneath. Take a look at what was hiding in the rubber seal of our washer…
Pretty yucky, right? It doesn’t always look like this. I let this build up for more than two months in order to take this photo.
Make sure you take the tray apart for a complete cleaning. Here’s a look at the inside of our tray…
I soaked the tray and its pieces in hot, hot water and a small amount of dish soap.
After 15 minutes i wiped it clean with bleach spray and a rag. good as new!
Step 4: Clean the inside of the detergent compartment: Don’t stop with just sanitizing the detergent tray. You’ll also want to clean inside the detergent compartment. I was shocked to see the inside of our compartment…
If you are having a tough time getting your cleaning solution back there, try using a spray bottle. I used clorox clean-up bleach spray to reach the back and into the nooks and crannies up top. Do you see these nooks in the top of our detergent compartment?
I used a toothbrush to scrub that area clean. After spraying into the compartment, let it sit for about 15 minutes before wiping clean.
Step 5: Clean the inside of your washer door: Using white vinegar or bleach, clean the inside of the washer door. Sometimes you can clearly see residue built up here – but most times you can’t even tell anything is lurking. You’ll be surprised how much cleaner the door looks and the amount of scum that was hiding on the door. Here is my door looked after cleaning – sparkling new!
Step 6: run a clean cycle on the machine: Once you have completed steps 1-5, add 1/4 cup of bleach or white vinegar to the detergent tray and run the machine on its clean washer cycle. Most HE machines have a “clean cycle” or “affresh cycle”.
There is a product called affresh that you can use with your clean cycle on the machine.
Step 7: completely wipe down the inside of the washer again: Once the clean cycle has finished, open the door and thoroughly wipe down the inside of the washer again. Why? Here is the washcloth I used to wipe out the inside of the rubber seal AFTER the first clean cycle.
Again, gross! I couldn’t believe there was still dirt in the ring after the above steps.
Step 8: Air out your washer and the detergent tray overnight: Once the washer is clean and dry inside, leave the door and detergent compartment door open to completely air out any water residue that was missed or is hiding in areas you can’t reach.
After airing overnight, smell the washer with a fresh morning nose to see if the odor still exists. If the odor is still there, you may want to do 1 or 2 additional clean cycles to completely remove all of the residue. Don’t worry – the smell will go away. If you haven’t run your washer through this cleaning process before, you may need to do this 2-3 times to remove all of that built-up residue from the internal parts of the machine. I could tell a huge difference after one clean cycle and one overnight air dry, but it took a few additional cleanings to make it go away completely. Don’t give up too quickly!
If you have done this process 3 or more times with no success, you may need to get a little deeper into the machine.
If the machine isn’t level, it may not be draining completely.
*Consult your owner’s manual to find out if the manufacturer has specific cleaning advice for you.
*If your machine has a filter or drain opening that you can easily access, that area may need to be inspected and cleaned. In some machines, items can get caught in the filter or drain area. A few reports I read mentioned coins or debris being stuck down there, and those items can be the mold and mildew culprit.
*Bring in a professional or a very handy person you know to help solve the issue.
*Contact the maker of your machine. Since the printing of your owner’s manual, the company may have new or better tips for you to try, or they may work with you even further to help solve the problem.
*Use less soap! After owning a machine for a while or doing laundry for years, many of us don’t measure out detergent before adding it to the machine. We aren’t as precise as we were when we first started doing laundry. This isn’t good for an HE machine. Especially because the suds can be one of the main culprits for mold and mildew. Make sure you read through your owner’s manual completely to understand exactly how much detergent the machine requires. Sometimes for large loads you may need only a few tablespoons of detergent. Our owner’s manual gives you an example of what types of clothing should be washed on each cycle, and how much detergent you should use in those cases.
They are called HE for a reason = less water. Because they need less water, chances are the machine needs less soap.
*If possible, use detergent free from dyes and perfumes. Those additional additives may add more residue to the washing machine.
*If you are using a detergent that says it is “2x the cleaning power“, you may need to use even less of it.
*If you are concerned that you are adding too much detergent, but don’t want to cut back, consider adding the extra rinse cycle to each load. This will ensure your clothing is getting rid of the additional soap residue, as well as any residue inside the machine.
*Sanitize your washing machine each month – religiously.
*Try to remove wet clothing from the washer immediately. I know sometimes this is easier said than done, but if you leave the wet clothing in the washing machine too long, the mildew smell is more prone to return.
About Anna
Thank you so much for posting this, I have been having mildew problems with my washer and now I know what to do. Can’t wait to try it.
Hi Debbie! I’m glad this post was helpful. :)
Anna
Hi Anna! Great discussion. Just an FYI on cleaning the filter in the HE washer –. some of the older washers do not have an easily accessible filter, but all have a filter and they all need to be cleaned. On my GE Duet HE Washer, I have to take the front panel off (the screws are under the panel, which is a ^&*(! to get off. From there, you can access the filter (ours had a baby sock, pen cap, one of my hair elastics, and a handful of change, and they were all gross and nasty. Also, you can get items inside the rubber gasket around the door. That’s where we found the other baby sock hiding out.
I take my detergent drawer out after each washing. Water sits in it. I dump it out and I also leave the door open when I am not using the washing machine. If you have had to clean out your front loader more than once, this was the answer for us. We now don’t have any build up. We do however, run the machine empty on hot with bleach and vinegar about once a month.
Happy cleaning!
Hilary
This is a great tip! Who knew vinegar was so useful. Wondering if you have tips on getting the lint of
all the hard to reach places of the front loading dryers…it seems like lint is always inside the lint trap building up?
I don’t have an HE washer so I don’t have any tips for you but I’ll FB this and see if any of my other readers have any ideas! :)
I keep an old toothbrush near the washer and dryer. I take the lint screen out and carefully use the toothbrush to collect the lint inside the front of the dryer. I also use this toothbrush to clean out the soap dispenser and the gasket on the washer.
Hi Anna:
I just bought a Maytag HE machine and there are puddles of water left behind on the gasket after each wash cycle. The glass door also has lots of water droplets on it. A repair person came out today and said this is normal. It scares me because of what I’ve heard about the potential for mold in these machines. I specifically asked him to make sure the machine was level but he said that wasn’t an issue– without checking at all. The machine is mounted to a dryer and I am pretty sure that it isn’t level. As the machine model (MHWE251) looks almost identical to the one displayed above, I am interested in hearing your thoughts. Please advise. Thanks in advance for your comments.
Best,
Sheryl
Sheryl I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to respond. I emailed the author of that post but still haven’t heard back from her. I don’t actually have front loading machines so I don’t really have any great advice for you. I’d say if you’re pretty sure it’s not level then have a handyman, or your husband, level it and see if that takes the problem away. Water definitely shouldn’t be puddling like that so if it continues I’d call the manufacture. Sorry I don’t have more to offer. :/
I use Charlie’s Soap and always leave the door open so moisture inside the machine can evaporate. Two years ago I wanted to buy a front loading HE machine, but heard about the “smell problem”. Did a LOT of research before buying my machine. At that time I found Charlie’s Soap mentioned in consumer reviews of HE machines. After reading a huge number of positive reviews, I ordered some Charlie’s to use in my new machine and I have never had a problem. You only use 2 teaspoons for a regular load. Charlie’s Soap does not contain the extra waxes, colors, and fragrances, etc., that regular grocery store detergents contain (even the HE ones). So it doesn’t build up on the outside of the drum. I order it online and a small container of it lasts a long long time because you use so little. And the cloths some out smelling clean, not perfumed. And things are soft without ever using any fabric softener. If you use Charlie’s and leave the door open, you will never have a smell problem with an HE machine. If you have been using regular detergent, or too much of the HE detergents, you may have a waxy buildup on unseen parts like the outside of the drum. The buildup is what the mold and mildews grow on. Do a machine cleaning, or 2, or 3 depending on the buildup and then use Charlie’s and leave the door open. I love this product, and no I do not have any connection to the company.
This is the very best HE washing machine post I’ve ever read. Thank you so much!
My washing machine doesn’t have a noticeable odor, and I do leave it open to air dry in between loads of laundry, but my bras (of all things) have developed a mildewy smell. It’s awful! Anyway, I’m going to go through your steps first thing in the morning. Thank you!
Tara Ziegmont recently posted..Substance Over Style – Our New Old Christmas Tree
I am writing to tell you my method of getting rid of the nasty smell… i mix my own laundry additive [i use instead of downy pills things or the gain pill things found in the softner section]. i mix 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup super washing soda, 1 cup borax, and 1 grated fels naptha laundry soap bar. i reused a gain container – i add one cap full to each load of laundry [in addition to my tide and downy] – my laundry has never been fresher!
make sure your washing powder has a bleaching agent, some like liquid do not hAVE IT
Awesome post. So thorough! I may be purchasing a second-hand washer and this cleaning job will make me feel so happy. :)
We have a $2000.00 machine, and our clothes stink! We’ve cleaned it several times, but I have an exceptional nose, and I can smell it, in fact it gets so bad when I start sweating at work (construction worker here!), that I can’t hardly stand it.
If I could get my money back, and buy my older machine back, I would.
You might try adding vinegar to your wash.
The salesman we bought ours from told us to always leave the washer door open when not in use, and we’ve never had much problem. Of course, I agree with all your advice, but also leave the door open!
I made my own laundry soap recently. http://whynotsew.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-make-homemade-laundry-detergent.html. But it occurred to me that it might not be good for HE washers. However, the blogger mentioned that suds can cause the mildew. Any advice on which way to go on this?
I really don’t know, sorry Kathleen. I still have an old school washer and dryer. I would call a service man or try it and see what happens.
This is a great article, thank you in advance. When I bought my front loader, they told me to make sure to clean the front of the washer ring area. I now have this smell I need to get rid of. I will defiantely follow the steps you posted, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been doing laundry for 40+ years and never washed the machine itself a single time and I never had mold or mildew. Enter my new top loading HE machine and after one month of use the smell is awful. Why in the #@!&% would anyone want to buy a machine, costing way more than my last one (that never had an ordor problem) that requires pages of cleaning instructions. I have way better things to do than spend hours scrubbing and investingating every nook and cranny of my new high-dollar washing machine. I think I’ll be reading the newspaper ads and looking for a gently used “old” machine that doesn’t require I scrub it inside and out once a month… What is wrong with applicance designers, are they insane? Which reminds me of the refrigerator that has coils underneath the bottom freezer door and no way to get a vacuum nozzle in there to clean the gunk…
Thank you so much for your suggestions. They really work! Especially for windows, dishwasher and clothes washer cleaning.
When all is said and done, HE washing machines are NOT SUFFICIENTLY WELL DESIGNED, since the mildew smell is pervasive. I’ve had goo results with simply using the product sold for cleaning the washer and leaving the tray open that holds the detergent. It would be a simple design improvement to add ventilation to HE washers. Shame on the manufacturers.
I don’t do many loads a week (maybe 1 or 2 maybe 1 every 2 weeks, it varies) but I also leave the door open when done to let it dry out. Seems to help quite a bit.