The washer has a very bad odor. I have tried using different soaps, but it still smells bad. The clothes smell "flat"----no odor----but the laundry room is getting to smell harsh. There is nowater outside the front-load tub. What could it be?

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You can use Affresh to clean your front loader. Deposits of soap and other such things can be stuck around the inside tub of your washer. Try this product, it works great on all front loaders. Use very hot water with the Affresh pellet with no clothes and run the machine through a cycle. Also helps with any stagnant water smells. Put the Affresh pellet inside the machine, not in the soap dispenser.

You can give me a ‘very helpful’ rating for the free help, can't you. Thanks.

There are several cleaners for front loading washers on the market, such as affresh, washer magic, smellywasher cleaner, whirlaway hot tub cleaner, and tide washer cleaner. Clean out the filter located behind the access door at the lower left front of the machine, then, if your model has a tub clean setting, use that with one of those cleaners, if not, use one of those cleaners with the longest, hottest cycle. If things were very bad, you may have to clean it twice. Now, after it is cleaned out,.....STOP USING SO MUCH SOAP ! Use only one tablespoon of HE laudry detergent per cycle, and only one teaspoon of fabric softener if you use that. (Note: Bath towels, used only to wipe off clean bodies, then tossed into the laundry are not dirty enough to require soap usage, and should never have softener used on them) The odors in your washer are caused by a build up of soap and fabric softeners on the inside of the washer's drum. Also, you may have a build up of soap or fabric softener on your clothes. Wash them again once with no soap or fab softener to rinse them out.

You have a build up of undesolved soaps in the system. Do 2 hot washes twice a day for maybe 3 days without washing in and no soap. Old soap needs to be desolved and drained away. See if there is a difference. Note, Put only 1/2 of the soap in and work from there.

It is normal for all models of washing machines to have a gallon or two of water left inside the bottom of the washer and in the drain pump. This is not the cause of odor. The smell is being caused by residue left on the inside of the plastic outer tub.


The best way to clean a stinky washer is to use a washer cleaner that is able to be used with clothing in the washer. The added bulk of the laundry will raise the water level to include the splash area 3-5 inches above the normal waterline. This splash area always has the worst buildup.
After the odor is gone you'll need to change washing habits to keep it away.

Hey 
try following tips:

1. Check that the drain line is clear
   
2. Check the drain hose for kinks or blockages
   
3. Check pump for blockages
   
4. Check for build up of soap in the outer tub
   
5. Check for article of clothing stuck in the outer tub
   

please rate my suggestion...

glisten and affreash is the cleaning agents
besides this only way to get smell out is a complete inner and outter tub job but also try leaving both soap dispenser and door open for the air to dry up and vent the washing machine

i have repaired appliance most my life i tested soaps and softer,at our own family shop,i can tell you that washers do not make mold or bad smells either does cloths its what and how much product that you are pulling in the washer that is molding and smelling and it stays in cloths building up load after load,i have a kenmore he3t front load washer i use 1/3 cup powdered only.armen hammer only. non he only.my washer inside is spotless smells clean and fresh all the time, you will need to clean yours inside out with bleach then use affresh weekly switch to 1/3c powered soap

I had the same problem, except it wasn't just towels. It was everything. I did some research and found that this is a common problem and nothing a tech can fix. I was about to go out this weekend and spend $1000 on a new washer because I couldn't use this washer on my clothes anymore. I did one more search for a solution and THANK GOODNESS found a solution on another site. A woman had the same problem and, after much trouble, someone at Best Buy finally told her to never use liquid detergent in the machine, not even HE. So I cleaned the inside of my machine, around the door, the rubber seal, etc. I ran the tub clean cycle with bleach and vinegar. The smell was gone and I have been using powder Tide ever since, and the smell hasn't come back!!!!!

try running about 3 cups of vinegar in your washer and always leave the door open when you are done doing laundry

You're probably using too much soap and softner and it's building up inside the tub. Run the hotest wash you have without any clothes in the unit and add a little bleach. If you see bubbles in the water when it's running that's excess soap you're washing out. Do it over and over until the water stays clear and then start using less soap. It only needs about a tablespoon for a full load.