I’ve heard/read that just leaving the front door/detergent tray open between uses will prevent the mold/smell issues. Is that correct?
If only it were that simple…
A few other things one has to do:
[ul]
[li]clean out the drain filter at the bottom of the washer. Common items found here include loose coins (fallen out of pants pockets), lint, etc. This choke point creates a moist habitat for bad smells.[/li]
[li]cut back on detergent and liquid fabric softener. Fabric softener coats the insides of the washing machine attracting more bacteria.[/li]
[li]run an empty hot water cycle with bleach or Affresh once a month[/li]
[li]if the washer is in a damp basement, leaving the door may not be enough – may also need to have a dehumidifier[/li]
[li]if all these actions still don’t stop the bad smells, the backside panel of the washer has to be disassembled so the crud on the drum and liner can be wiped out. [/li][/ul]
Different washer designs have various combinations of the above problems in varying degrees.
Obviously, you have no cats in the household.
I have never heard of this problem, and where I live (UK) washing machines and tumble dryers have always been front-loading, or at least as long as I can remember. The only time I encountered a top-loader was in an ancient laundry room at university. Nobody knew what to do with it, and it screwed up your clothes, both literally and figuratively.
This is potentially a very bad idea. My washing machine manual specifically warns against underloading, stating that it can void the warranty. I would only run an empty hot water cycle if the manufacturer specifically recommended it.
I just leave the door unlatched. In the 6 years I’ve had it there has never been any bad smells. I’ve cleaned the lint trap once and there was very little dirt in it. Just be sure to clean behind the rubber seal once a year or so. Lint does tend to build up there.
I’ve also had my front loader for 7+ years and never had any issues with mould or smells. I clean out the lint catcher once every six months or so and always leave the door ajar between uses. Maybe it’s about placement? Anecdotally, it seems many US laundry areas are in basements, which I would expect to be less well ventilated? If there are also dyers there they increase the humidity of the room also. Or I could just be talking nonsense.
That reminds me, I need to go do some laundry now . . .
My washer has a drain filter!?! :eek:
This. I had never heard of mold in the washing machine until I heard of it… in the Dope, and in 2009. There is nothing to fix, people just need to learn to use them right, which includes leaving the door open. No need for all that other stuff like empty washes. The filters get cleaned once a year tops. Then again, I’ve never found coins in mine 
t-bonham, close the door to the room itself. It’s what people in houses with cats, dogs and little children do.
No little children in mine, but to my cats, any closed door is a curiosity that must be investigated. And their patience in standing at the closed door, pawing, scratching, & meowing loudly greatly outlasts my patience in having to listen to all that.
IMHO its the fact that the items in the washer are put through such a forward/backward agitation with little water on a horizontal axis that the threads acually rub back and forth and scrub each other clean. Yes I have sat and watched my washer work.
And I thought I was going to get the no-life-award-of-the-decade…drats!
I find the tumble action of the front loaders help reduce the incidence of hairballs in cats. Plus, their fur comes out nice and soft.
By the way, use the hand wash setting and not the higher cotton or perm press settings. I can tell you this from experience.
My only problem with my front loader is that every now and then it will completely distend something.
Like a shirt will come out about 50% wider (no joke!).
Or a towel will come out skewed into a parallelogram so it can’t be folded properly.
That really bugs me.
I thought that was common sense. You leave the door open for a day or two after washday so the drum dries out.
I have cats, and they have no interest in the washer. Why would they?
The only trouble I’ve had is that once for a couple days they were totally stalking the laundry room. I figured a mouse had gotten in or something.
When they ended the stake-out, I figured I’d start smelling the dead body soon, but I didn’t.
The next weekend, I put a load of clothes in and ran them.
When I opened the washer door and started removing clothes, everything stank.
It turned out, some sort of rodent had littered under the wood pile and they’d managed to fetch out one of the litter and bring it inside via the cat door. Then in the process of playing with it, they must have flung it into the washer, where it perished.
So I washed a load of clothes with a days-dead critter!
I removed the body, then ran the clothes back through with soap, borax, and some vinegar, and they came out smelling fine.
But note that the cats did not enter the washer, even when their quarry/plaything was inside.
Are these ( motor directly drives the drum via shaft) really superior compared to the motor + belt drives ?
I know a cat who perished in the clothes dryer. Seems harder to miss them in the washer, though.
Yeah, that was my reaction also. Looks like I need to find the manual and do some reading.