I spoke to someone at Sears and they told me that this was a common problem with front loading washers and that they recommend a monthly tablet treatment to quot;fixthe odor. Has anyone else experienced a constant mold/mildew odor?
Yep, that's what you'll need. Otherwise, read your owner's manual and find out if they recommend a cycle with no clothes and a certain measure of bleach or other cleaner/disenfectant. This is a common occurrence with front-loaders, it due to the design that allows for so little water to be used, the way that the washer is configured. A little bit of water often gets trapped and will not drain completely following the spin cycle. Yeah, running an empty load seems wasteful and counter-intuitive to the whole energy- and water-savings idea, but you are saving so much water and electricity compared to a conventional washer that it is inconsequential.
Common problem with front load washers, possibly due to the amount of water used to rinse clothes and overuse of laundry detergent. Vinegar OR bleach may help (run through a cup or two without clothes) and is cheaper than anything you buy at stores. Use less detergent and washing with warm water may help also.
Same thing on my machine/ same type too. I now always use liquid fabric softener with each wash This has helped a great deal, but also I found that if I wipe out the rubber area by the front door on the machine (after using the washer) the smell isn't there when I go to reuse the machine the next time. The water seems to collect in that area, not much but I'm guessing that it's enough to smell musty if you don't wipe down the washer. Hope this works for you too!
Another good refreshing cleaner is a 2 litre bottle of white vinegar added to the machine run it through a normal wash cycle(without clothes of course!)
I had that problem and I tried bleach and vinegar and it helped but did not completely remove the smell. I found using powder detergent got rid of the smell completely.
