My Purchase of a High-Efficiency Washer and Dryer
About 10 years ago, I purchased my first front loader high efficiency (HE) washer machine and dryer. High-efficiency washer machines use less water and are more energy efficient making this a great purchase right?
Well yes and no… let me explain my struggles. I remember when I first brought my new washing machine home. I did my first load of laundry and thought something has to be wrong here.
First, it sounded like a plane was taking off in my laundry room! Second, there is no water or very little water at that when my clothes were washing! How can these clothes get clean?
So I called the manufacture and started to ask questions. This was normal and she assured me the clothes would get clean.
Why Aren’t My Clothes Getting Clean?
So over time I accepted the loud noises coming from my laundry room and learned to accept the really low water levels, but I do have to say that I was and am not impressed with how these HE washer machines clean my clothes.
I have to pretreat my stains and pretty much get the stain out before I put them in the wash or they just don’t get clean. Now I should put a disclaimer on this. I have always been the type of person who just throws my laundry in the wash, adds a bit of soap and expects them to come clean.
Laundry isn’t one of my favorite chores, to say the least. So maybe if I put a little more effort into pre-treating my clothes I might have better results in this department.
There is one challenge that I just couldn’t conquer however and that was the smell that was coming from my HE washer machine!
What is that horrible smell?
So over time, my washer machine began to smell. Not only did it smell moldy and musty but my clothes were starting to smell this way too.
I researched what to do about it and there was advise all over the place on what you should and should not do for bad smelling HE washer machines.
I hired someone to come out and clean and balance my machine. That worked for a little while but the smell came back in a few weeks. I kept my washing machine door open when not using it so it could dry out, but that didn’t fully work either. I purchased the expensive HE washer machine tablets to do on a monthly cycle but those failed very quickly.
Finally, in a last-ditch effort to have clean smelling clothes, I added this one ingredient and everything changed!
Add this one ingredient to every load for fresh smelling laundry & for a clean HE washer machine!
So just what is this ingredient I am talking about? Well, it will cost you about a $1.00 per gallon and can be found in any grocery store! Wait for it 🙂 ….alright, it is vinegar! Vinegar you ask…yep, that’s right vinegar! Now I use plain white vinegar and here is how I use it.
Just like you buy laundry detergent, I buy a gallon of vinegar and keep it right next to my washer machine. I load my HE washer machine up with clothes, add my soap and then in the bleach dispenser, I fill it all the way to the top with white vinegar.
The vinegar helps kill the bacteria that grows in your washer machine and kills the odor. Not only does it kill the odor, but it helps with cleaning my clothes too. If that wasn’t enough, it also softens your clothes naturally.
Is Vinegar The Answer To Everything?
So let’s take a look at this: vinegar cleans clothes, gets rid of nasty smells in laundry and in the machine and it softens your clothes too!
Wow, I would call vinegar my little miracle in the laundry room! Who knew one little ingredient could do so much!
So finally I have clean soft clothes and a washer machine that doesn’t smell. I still have a plane taking off in my laundry room, however, but I can live with that :)!
My New Book ~ Natural Solutions for Cleaning & Wellness
Did you like this natural solution? Then you’ll love my new book! I’ve written a book that can help you and your family to transition into a Toxic-Free life!
Natural Solutions for Cleaning & Wellness is dedicated to giving you the information you need to remove toxins from your home and supply you with natural remedies to protect your health. This practical guide gives you in-depth solutions on how to protect yourself and your loved ones for generations to come.
You can Click here to view more details about this amazing book and to learn about the incredible gift bundle included with a book purchase.
This book has over 140 great recipes that are super easy to make with everyday ingredients! Here is a sample of a few solutions featured in this book!
Toxic-Free No-Wick Candle
All Natural Deodorant
Grease-Free Lotion
No fancy ingredients…just everyday, easy to find ingredients. This book is a must-have for EVERY household! Learn more details here.
Thanks for the tip! Guess i got lucky my front loading washer really does do a great job getting stains out & cleaning.
Well, I have to say that I have tried all of the many suggestions mentioned in this and other posts and none of them work. Vinegar, baking soda, borax, bleach, fabric softener, etc. nothing has worked. I wear my clothes and 15 minutes into a slightly hot day and they smell! Too late to bring the washer back. Anyone have other suggestions?
Just bought the latest GE model and it’s not a HE model, and having the same problem.
I have not tried the vinegar trick but did find every time I ran our front loader on warm or hot water the smell was worse. I had read detergent buildup was most likely the culprit and with two teenage daughters switched us to the pods to avoid overuse. I also had tried the cleaning agents they sell for he washers to no avail but found that the instructions for cleaning out the gunk called for cold water which kept me thinking why cold? I started doing all laundry on cold. I then noticed the outer “shell” of the pods didn’t always fully dissolve from the dispenser leaving a thick gunk I had to manually clean out so I started cutting open the pods before use and pouring the soap in dispenser then tossing the shell. I also switched from liquid fabric softener to dryer sheets but still use liquid bleach on the whites scented or unscented does not seem to make a difference. I use All Free pods not sure this matters as I had always used All free but still had odor before cutting open the pods. I truly believe my issue was detergent build up and since making these changes I don’t have the mildew like smell anymore. I have not used any cleaning methods in at least a year. We live in Colorado so I don’t dry out the washer after use but leave the door cracked following use. I was like many on this site hated my he washer but these changes have made all the difference!
Thanks for sharing Vail!
I had a whirlpool he washer and dryer, a new pillow with the edge to it (cannot think of correct name for this) was shredded to pieces and ruined not only the pillow but the rubber door seal.
I got a new seal, and continued using it until I went to Lowes and bought a pair of maytag he washer and dryer.
Judged mainly on the seal looking so much better than the whirlpool.
I always take out the dispenser drawer and flip it over in the washer and leave washer drawer open all the way between wash days. No smell, never have cleaned it yet. Am going to try vinegar and maybe some hair conditioner if vinegar smell prevails even though I always use extra rinse. Also will try 7th generaltion clear (?) to get away from the chemicals. Loved Lowes sales people and bought what the clerk bought and loved also. She got me the best price also..
Ok, so I stopped using fabric softener to reduce the bad smell because the sticky residue molds the new HE washer. I now use white vinegar instead (no more stink) and I use fabric softener sheets in the dryer. My clothes come out of the dryer smelling like nothing in particular and having 2 stinky boys and a husband, when I open the dryer door I still smell a light sent of body odor from their gym clothes. Using vinegar and no softener in the wash and dryer sheets in the dryer is not working. Any advice?
You might want to try a soak setting on your washing machine for an extra deep clean. You could also try baking soda to neutralize the smell. Just don’t mix the baking soda and vinegar together. Add one to the wash cycle and one to the rinse cycle and you’ll be fine.
We Just bought a samsung H.E top loader washer machine & I was noticing that there was a not clean smell to my clothes after washing and then drying . Before I had the normal agitator drum washing machine loved the cleaning part just hated the load size wasn’t big enough for my large family so we got the xl load capacity machine . I noticed that the machine did clean but left it without my normal clean laundry smell it was just blah no odor . I didnt understand what was going on same detergent but no smell after being washed and dried . I like to smell clean lol . So i just did a load with this suggestion and the clothes came out the machine and the dryer smelling like laundry detergent !! So Thank You for the suggestion .
My Husband told me last night we are getting rid of our front loads and doing back to a top load with agitator. my clothes NEVER smell clean…..my towels smell gross! I CLEAN it, i leave the door OPEN, I pull clothes out as soon as the cycle is done….. I have used vinegar…and they don’t smell as gross… but they don’t smell nice… you know.. like you see people in the gain commercial smelling their clothes… I NEVER have that! I’ve tried different detergents… scent balls… everything…. any suggestions? otherwise this set is out the door……
I have 2 washers and dryers. The whole family fights over who gets to use the old set which are not HE. I would never buy another HE set because it takes the clothes to wash and when you dry them they aren’t all the way dry. The smell is awful and I’ve tried many thi!ngs to make the washer smell better. I look forward to reading all of the posts to see what their solutions are.
I have been so frustrated with the smell that I’ve considered that maybe we are dirtier than other families!
Hi Teresa,
I had a front loader HE, and switch to a top loader HE and although it is better, I still miss the conventional older models. They use more water and I just feel that they get cleaner. I have learned how to add more water to my top loader and that has helped tremendously. Have you tried contacting the company who manufactures your washer to see how you can add more water?
I bought a Kenmore top loader that is He. I hate it. It has no agitator. I fought with sears to return it after I discovered the smell and the fact that it does not use enough water to actually clean the clothes. Sears would not take it back because it was over 90 days so I will never buy another thing from Sears. I recently went washer shopping looking for a machine that is not HE. In Canada you cannot buy one because of new regulations. I can smell the clothes when I have them on and it is sickening. I can also smell them on other people. Soon we will be forced to go down to the river and wash out clothes like they did way back when.
Hi Liz!
I feel your frustrations! Do you have a soak cycle on your washer machine? That has helped me and I also have a sanitize feature which helps me disinfect my clothes. Might be an option for you??
I have a HE washing machine and I had problems with bad smelling clothes too. It turns out the smell comes from bacteria. It is the synthetic materials that hold on to this bacteria, at least this is true in my experience. I have a bunch of males in my home that play sports and their clothes absolutely reek. These clothes typically have to be pre-treated before they are washed. I soak this clothes in water and oxyclean for at least several hours if not overnight. This kills the bacteria. That is why the top loading washers seem to do a better job… the soaking kills more of the bacteria. Unfortunately, the top loaders are much harder on clothes and use a lot more water… much less energy efficient too. I love my front loader now that I know how to get the smell out of the clothes. The extended wash cycles sometimes work, but not consistently… just easier to soak the synthetic stuff.
I read that some soaps need to be alkaline in order to clean-and vinegar is acid.
So, instead of putting the vinegar in the bleach section-I put it in the rinse section
and program in an extra rinse. (Note: NEVER put bleach & vinegar together-a deadly
gas is formed that can kill you.)
This means the clothes are washed in soap, rinsed in vinegar, and rinsed in plain water.
And I, too, leave the door open on the washer after I am finished with it.
I wish your site would have been visible when I first set out to buy and HE front loader. My 3 week old LG washer-dryer combo has a terrible chemical Drum odor ever since the first use. Today, I somehow got a huge whiff of it while removing dried clothing and It made me red-faced and I have wheezed&coughed thru-out the rest of this day. This is a chemical smell due to manufacturing and it has not gone away after multitudes of washing and drying.:-( I will do a drum clean now and start using vinegar daily now. Will update soon. So Happy to have found you! Thank you! And thanks to your readers!
I had a new LG TOP-loader HE washing machine delivered just 2 days ago. I can return it within 30 days, no questions asked. So I am running as many loads as I can right away. I want to give it every chance to perform well because the only old fashioned agitator machine I saw was a very small one. I did smell a horrible odor after only 4 loads–not time for mildew or mold to grow. The clothes themselves did not stink. I immediately googled stinking HE washer and found this site. The next 3 loads included a cup of vinegar in the bleach dispenser. I did not smell the odor again–yet. Still I was not pleased with the water level, even though I used the “add wash water” feature. And it took 3 washed to get my husband’s dirty pants clean even using the “soak” feature. I told him, I’ll try this for a week and then back it goes if I can’t figure out how to make our clothes come out clean.
Next came bed the sheets. Using Oxyclean in the tub and vinegar in bleach dispenser, and a commercial HW detergent. This time I used “heavy duty” with hottest water, and “high soil level.” Also extra wash water and extra rinse. Finally, I saw the water level come up to a reasonable amount and the clothes really did move around well. And finally the clothes came out clean. I have decided to keep the machine and program it like this every time. Also if I don’t have enough clothes to get a reasonable weight so that the machine will give me enough water, I plan to place 3 soaking wet bath towels around the inside of the tub. During the “load sensing” phase the extra weight will be taken into account and more water will be added. I can’t speak to the front loaders but you might try the soaking towels to fool your machine into giving you more wash water. This worked for me.