Steps
- Identify the source. The main cause is usually use of a wrong type of detergent that creates too many suds. These suds collect in nooks and crannies and cause mold.
- Use only an HE (high efficiency) detergent. The HE detergent creates a lot less sudsing and is designed for the modern front loader.
- Clean. First wipe the inside of the washer, especially the area where the door seals to the inside. Mold can collect around the insides and folds of the rubber seals. Get in there and make sure you cleaned it all. You could use bleach or Pinesol.
- Use a quarter cup of dish washing detergent (powder is best, liquid if you must), along with a towel. Put the machine on the "sanitary" (hottest water) setting. Let it finish its cycle. This should get rid of the mold completely.
Tips
- Important: Use powdered bleach for coloreds and liquid bleach for whites, this helps to maintain the mold suppression.
- Leave the front loader door (and the soap dispenser) slightly ajar between washes to let in fresh air. Mold can only grow in stale air.
- This information comes direct from a factory appliance repair guy; now you can do it yourself and save money.
- One last thing: now you've eradicated the mold, but your towels still smell! It will take about 3 washes with the right bleach to recover soft and sweet smelling towels, so don't despair or trash them.
- Another way to remove odor from towels is to use baking soda and no detergent in the hottest wash and add vinegar during the rinse or in a Downey Ball (do not use fabric softener at the same time). Wash several times until you no longer see suds in the rinse cycle.
- Wash the soap dispenser at least once a month INCLUDING the spot that it sits in. I have found mold on the upper section of that.
- Soap dispensers come out completely and can be taken apart by tipping it over.
- Pinesol can provide good results.
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to How to Get Rid of Mold Smell in Front Loader Washing Machine. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.