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My LG washer has a terrible mildew smell. I cleaned, drained the water and everything I could think of but cannot get rid of the awful smell. What do I do? email
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The first thing to do is to CHECK IN AND AROUND THE RUBBER DOOR BOOT (called a bellow) for small articles of clothing (like socks and underwear) that may have gotten lodged in behind the rubber. Pull the rubber back where it meets the wash tub and look behind it. It is common for small items to get stuck here, become forgotten and start to mildew. You should check this area after each wash and clean it periodically to get rid of the formation of soap scum, mold, and mildew. HINT: When you get ready to wash a load of towels, take a dirty towel and clean the door boot thoroughly (including the areas behind the rubber). Immediately place the towel in the wash and run it on a sanitary cycle. This way you eliminate the need for cleaning rags.
PERIODICALLY RUN THE WASHER ON A CLEANING CYCLE. Place the washer on the hottest setting you have (usually a Sanitary cycle) with nothing but bleach in the wash tub. Some newer models actually have a "Clean Cycle" available now just for this purpose. This helps keep the wash tub, drain lines and pump sanitized.
CHECK AND CLEAN THE DRAIN PUMP FILTER. Accumulations of debris in the drain pump filter can also cause odors. HINT: If you own a shop vac, pull the drain hose from the standpipe at the wall and pull a vacuum on the line. This will drain any residual water left in the tub, pump and drain lines BEFORE you remove the drain pump cover. This will prevent a messy clean up later.
LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN IF POSSIBLE. When not in use, leave the door open to allow the tub to air out and to keep mold and mildew from forming on the door bellow. I know this may not be desirable in some households with small children. If too much mildew forms on the rubber and it cannot be removed, replacement of the bellow may be required.
NOTE: This problem is common with front loader style washing machines. The doors on these machines have an air tight/water tight seal that is great for sealing the washer during the wash cycle, but can be terrible for collecting small garments and for not allowing the tub to properly air out when not in use. Following these simple preventive measures can go a long way towards preventing harmful mold and mildew, and towards extending the life of the door bellow and pump.
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This advice is for preventing or getting rid off that awful mildew smell associated with front loader style washing machines.
The first thing to do is to CHECK IN AND AROUND THE RUBBER DOOR BOOT (called a bellow) for small articles of clothing (like socks and underwear) that may have gotten lodged in behind the rubber.Pull the rubber back where it meets the wash tub and look behind it.It is common for small items to get stuck here, become forgotten and start to mildew.You should check this area after each wash and clean it periodically to get rid of the formation of soap scum, mold, and mildew.HINT:When you get ready to wash a load of towels, take a dirty towel and clean the door boot thoroughly (including the areas behind the rubber).Immediately place the towel in the wash and run it on a sanitary cycle.This way you eliminate the need for cleaning rags.
PERIODICALLY RUN THE WASHER ON A CLEANING CYCLE.Place the washer on the hottest setting you have (usually a Sanitary cycle) with nothing but bleach in the wash tub.Some newer models actually have a “Clean Cycle” available now just for this purpose.This helps keep the wash tub, drain lines and pump sanitized.
CHECK AND CLEAN THE DRAIN PUMP FILTER.Accumulations of debris in the drain pump filter can also cause odors.HINT:If you own a shop vac, pull the drain hose from the standpipe at the wall and pull a vacuum on the line.This will drain any residual water left in the tub, pump and drain lines BEFORE you remove the drain pump cover.This will prevent a messy clean up later.
LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN IF POSSIBLE.When not in use, leave the door open to allow the tub to air out and to keep mold and mildew from forming on the door bellow.I know this may not be desirable in some households with small children.If too much mildew forms on the rubber and it cannot be removed, replacement of the bellow may be required.
NOTE:This problem is common with front loader style washing machines.The doors on these machines have an air tight/water tight seal that is great for sealing the washer during the wash cycle, but can be terrible for collecting small garments and for not allowing the tub to properly air out when not in use.Following these simple preventive measures can go a long way towards preventing harmful mold and mildew, and towards extending the life of the door bellow and pump.
Sounds like the little flexible apron just in front of your washer drum has mildewed. Take a look and see if it is holding water, and look for mold while your'e at it. Use a good bathroom mold and mildew remover to kill the mess and deodorize it.
The first thing to do is to CHECK IN AND AROUND THE RUBBER DOOR BOOT (called a bellow) for small articles of clothing (like socks and underwear) that may have gotten lodged in behind the rubber. Pull the rubber back where it meets the wash tub and look behind it. It is common for small items to get stuck here, become forgotten and start to mildew. You should check this area after each wash and clean it periodically to get rid of the formation of soap scum, mold, and mildew. HINT: When you get ready to wash a load of towels, take a dirty towel and clean the door boot thoroughly (including the areas behind the rubber). Immediately place the towel in the wash and run it on a sanitary cycle. This way you eliminate the need for cleaning rags.
PERIODICALLY RUN THE WASHER ON A CLEANING CYCLE. Place the washer on the hottest setting you have (usually a Sanitary cycle) with nothing but bleach in the wash tub. Some newer models actually have a "Clean Cycle" available now just for this purpose. This helps keep the wash tub, drain lines and pump sanitized.
CHECK AND CLEAN THE DRAIN PUMP FILTER. Accumulations of debris in the drain pump filter can also cause odors. HINT: If you own a shop vac, pull the drain hose from the standpipe at the wall and pull a vacuum on the line. This will drain any residual water left in the tub, pump and drain lines BEFORE you remove the drain pump cover. This will prevent a messy clean up later.
LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN IF POSSIBLE. When not in use, leave the door open to allow the tub to air out and to keep mold and mildew from forming on the door bellow. I know this may not be desirable in some households with small children. If too much mildew forms on the rubber and it cannot be removed, replacement of the bellow may be required.
NOTE: This problem is common with front loader style washing machines. The doors on these machines have an air tight/water tight seal that is great for sealing the washer during the wash cycle, but can be terrible for collecting small garments and for not allowing the tub to properly air out when not in use. Following these simple preventive measures can go a long way towards preventing harmful mold and mildew, and towards extending the life of the door bellow and pump.
Thanks for using FixYa - a 4 THUMBS rating is appreciated for answering your FREE question.!!!!
Don't know if this is the same as your problem, but I had a Kenmore washer, (made by Whirlpool) that did the same thing. It was a high efficiency model without an agitator. I finally found out that this type of washer never drains completely but always has some water left in it. This water is somewhere internal that cannot be seen unless the machine is taken apart. That water goes bad and stinks. Everything smelled like mildew and for some while my husband thought I was was washing clothes and leaving them in until they dried. I ended up having to just buy a new machine and when the stinky washer was taken away, just tilting it caused all this foul water to come out everywhere. Also I found this on the internet http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/lg_washing_machine.html scroll down and see how other people feel about this machine. I decided that instead of buying the newest, latest, greatest, with all the bells and whistles appliances, from now on I will buy the time tested, plain jane models.
Run your washer with 2 cups of bleach, maximum hot water.After it starts agitating for a minute, stop the washer & let it remain for 2 hours.Then continue the wash.
The first thing to do is to CHECK IN AND AROUND THE RUBBER DOOR BOOT (called a bellow) for small articles of clothing (like socks and underwear) that may have gotten lodged in behind the rubber. Pull the rubber back where it meets the wash tub and look behind it. It is common for small items to get stuck here, become forgotten and start to mildew. You should check this area after each wash and clean it periodically to get rid of the formation of soap scum, mold, and mildew. HINT: When you get ready to wash a load of towels, take a dirty towel and clean the door boot thoroughly (including the areas behind the rubber). Immediately place the towel in the wash and run it on a sanitary cycle. This way you eliminate the need for cleaning rags.
PERIODICALLY RUN THE WASHER ON A CLEANING CYCLE. Place the washer on the hottest setting you have (usually a Sanitary cycle) with nothing but bleach in the wash tub. Some newer models actually have a "Clean Cycle" available now just for this purpose. This helps keep the wash tub, drain lines and pump sanitized.
CHECK AND CLEAN THE DRAIN PUMP FILTER. Accumulations of debris in the drain pump filter can also cause odors. HINT: If you own a shop vac, pull the drain hose from the standpipe at the wall and pull a vacuum on the line. This will drain any residual water left in the tub, pump and drain lines BEFORE you remove the drain pump cover. This will prevent a messy clean up later.
LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN IF POSSIBLE. When not in use, leave the door open to allow the tub to air out and to keep mold and mildew from forming on the door bellow. I know this may not be desirable in some households with small children. If too much mildew forms on the rubber and it cannot be removed, replacement of the bellow may be required.
NOTE: This problem is common with front loader style washing machines. The doors on these machines have an air tight/water tight seal that is great for sealing the washer during the wash cycle, but can be terrible for collecting small garments and for not allowing the tub to properly air out when not in use. Following these simple preventive measures can go a long way towards preventing harmful mold and mildew, and towards extending the life of the door bellow and pump.
Thanks for using FixYa - a 4 THUMBS rating is appreciated for answering your FREE question.
Same here. We bought ours January 2005. Love the machines and take great care of them, too. Then the smell in the washer which seemed to affect certain clothes, like thick sweat pants and t-shirts (they smelled really "sour"). After doing some searches I found on this site where someone had recommended using a product called Affresh. I figured I might as well try it since my other attempts failed. This really worked for me. I bought it at Home Depot for $7 for a pkg of 3. I used 3 tablets per their directions, as this was my first time using it (afterwards they recommend using only 1 tablet per month). I was totally amazed as the smell was gone. I hope it works for you, too!
Same problem and I was told to only use detergents with "HE" on the front of them for high energy. the soap without HE is too foamy and hence never truly drains out and causes a mildew smell. I also purchased something called "A" Fresh that I run in the washer every 6 weeks to keep the smell out. I got it at an appliance store for about $11.00 for 3 tablets
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