What do you use to clean your HE front loader?

[mad hatter fan]

Do most of you use a brand name washing machine cleaner like Tide or does a mixture of something like vinegar and baking soda do the same thing? Also, how often do your lean your front loader?

 

[JosieGirl71]

I would love to know this too. We've had ours for about a year now and DH left a load in it for a couple days before I found it. Yuck!

 

[bettymae1121]

Mine has a "basket clean" cycle and recomends either bleach or one of the front loader cleaners on the market. The owners manual says you should run the cleaning cycle once a month. I've only had mine for three weeks so I haven't done it yet.

I've found that water sits in the bottom of the door seal and also in the detergent dispenser, so I dump the dispenser out and use a rag to soak up the door seal water after I'm done doing laundry for the day, and also keep the door open so it can air out. So far no moldy smell, but again it's only been 3 weeks.

 

[marie1203]

I run a cleaning cycle with just hot water and lots of bleach. After I usually do another hot water cycle to make all bleach is gone before I put clothes in there. I do it about once a month.

 

[ForeverDance]

We've had ours for a couple years now. At first, we were using that product they make for cleaning them "affresh" or something like that. But I still found after about 6 months I got the dreaded moldy smell. It didn't matter how many times I used that stuff it didn't work.

After a little research I found out that you can pretty much eliminate the need for the clean cycle if you do the following:

1. Use only the powdered HE detergent (the oils in the liquid detergent get trapped).

2. Run a load of laundry in hot water with bleach once a week (I don't know if it needs to be once a week but I do all my "bleachables" that often anyway).

3. Make sure you leave the door open after doing a wash so that it can air dry (the seals on those are great, but that also means the inside won't dry if it's closed). Edited to add: I was actually doing this right from when I got the machine but still got the moldy smell due to the liquid detergent.

Within a week my moldy smell went away and it has never come back

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I have been using Clorox washing machine cleaner, I got it at Target and so far it has been good.

Suzanne

 

[taylor3297]

I guess I am lucky that my machine has never had any moldy smell or any other type of offensive smell. Also, I don't use bleach on any of our clothes.

I have always kept the door open after using the machine. When I read the manual before using the machine for the first time it was stressed that leaving the door open was very important.

Now if I ever do get an odor in the machine, I know how to correct the problem.

 

[LoriNSC]

I bought my cleaner tablets from HH Gregg when we bought the washer. (sorry-can't remember the name of it & I'm just too tired to walk upstairs & pull the pedestal drawer open to look.) I know they sell it at Lowe's too.

My washer has a clean cycle that I use with it. Seems to work great. And I only use HE detergent too.

 

[mikehn]

I dont know about all front loaders, but the LG front loader we have has a rubber gasket around the door opening that should be cleaned by hand. If you take a close look under the lip of the gasket, over time there is a bunch of crud the builds up under the lip that needs cleaning and this is what causes the rank smell. You will not be able to see the buildup, but if you run a white dish towel under the lip of the gasket you will see what I mean.

 

[ceecee]

I dont know about all front loaders, but the LG front loader we have has a rubber gasket around the door opening that should be cleaned by hand. If you take a close look under the lip of the gasket, over time there is a bunch of crud the builds up under the lip that needs cleaning and this is what causes the rank smell. You will not be able to see the buildup, but if you run a white dish towel under the lip of the gasket you will see what I mean.

Mine is an LG and it stays wet for days if it's not wiped out. I bought the Tide cleaner and it smells awful! I will try bleach. I use vinegar in every load and it doesn't make any difference. The best thing I've found is wiping it dry and then air drying for a day.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

Tide makes packets of powder cleaner that should be used once a month according to the package - of course, this gets expensive, so I alternate using this with using store brand bleach and hot water. So far, so good, and I've had the machine for almost 2 years. It's been helpful reading other tips on here though!

I think the most important thing is to keep the door open in between loads.

 

[lisaisanurse]

when he's done cutting the grass, picking up after our little dogs and hopefully he will get to the windows today, I will ask him..

 

[ceecee]

Tide makes packets of powder cleaner that should be used once a month according to the package - of course, this gets expensive, so I alternate using this with using store brand bleach and hot water. So far, so good, and I've had the machine for almost 2 years. It's been helpful reading other tips on here though!

I think the most important thing is to keep the door open in between loads.

That smells horrible...don't waste your money.

 

[Frannie115]

Believe it or not, I've had my Bosch front load machine for 7 years and have not cleaned it yet. Been using liquid detergent (All, Purex, etc.). I have been slightly propping the door open after each wash since we got it. I do occasionally wipe/clean the detergent dispenser and door seal.

I guess I've been lucky. No moldy smell

 

[ameraumi]

I use either Bleach or the machine cleaner from LemiShine. I have tried the Tide and Affresh cleaners and I do not like the smell of them.

 

[findmewdw]

We have hard water and our soap tray has turned yellow from the iron. Our washer is about 5 months. We always leave the door open and I wipe the door and opening after each load. I have cleaned with the Affresh several times, but that doesn't touch the soap tray. The last poster mentioned Lemi Shine. We use that for our dishwasher all the time. It is amazing stuff! However, it doesn't say that it is for washing machines. Is this a different type of product made by the Lemi Shine company?