[marianmwitt]

run the washer through its cycle with no clothes using only liquid lysol. if washing clothes only once a week you can do this every other week. if more then should be done once a week. this eliminated my problem

[Kenmore No More]

Lysol? WOW! What a fantastic idea! NEVER even crossed my mind ... but you're *EXACTLY* right!

THANK YOU!!!!!

[amaro718]

I had same problem with mine. It was the water drain hose that was stuck to deep into the drain. Was touching the water inside the drain pipe.

[David F]

Affresh
According to the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) put out by Whirlpool they state that the ingredients are: Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Carbonate Peroxyhydrate (another name for sodium percarbonate), and Boric Acid. They further state that proportions of these ingredients are confidential. The MSDS further gives the pH as 10.5-10.7 with a 1% solution. Therefore it has the potential to corrode the aluminium of the spider should the required concentration be reached.
When all else has failed to get rid of the foul odours it has to be considered that the odours are originating from the build of ‘crud’ in the recesses of the spider. Even after the fastest spin small quantities of water and contaminants will remain in these recesses, on the shaft and on the spider. As the water evaporates the ‘crud’ will start to fester and smell. The only sure way of getting rid of it is to strip the drums down. Not an easy task for most people.

[kenmore35]

sorry you will never get rid of this smell all front loaders keep a little bit of water beneith the wash basket for some reason I don't know why. These he washers have been problem prone from the start have had so many issues and really expensive to fix good luck

[totsuka]

I used a cup of white vinegar when I had that problem a few months ago. I think it happened because I was using cold water all the time. Ran the vinegar on hot for one cycle and problem gone. I always leave the door open after washing and once a year clean out that trap, but only had the smell problem once. WP Duet model. I don't use that special HE soap because it is more expensive and the Arm and Hammer liquid soap does the job for us. 3-4 loads a week, 4 people.

[Link-82]

Originally Posted by JaneWEllis

Hello --

I see mold inside the large rubber ring (the seal) at the opening of my washer and it's hard to scrub off, even with bleach. Will the product some of you have mentioned (Affresh?) reach that mold if I use it? Thank you for help on this; it's driving me crazy.

I had the same problem with my Front-Loader however, mine was a Maytag (irrelevant). I tried literally EVERYTHING to get rid of the moldy smell and yeah, the smell was getting in my clothes too and almost impossible to remove. After a few months of dealing with this, I guess we started getting to where we didn't notice the mold like smell in the clothes but other people did. Thankfully, my family was honest with me and wasn't embarrased to tell me the truth that ALL of our clothes had began to smell moldy. At this point, I simply said to myself "NO MORE" and replaced the rubber seal around the lid/door opening of my washer. The smell went away immediately and the seal wasn't that much money, I believe a year ago it was $35.00 (Maytag Brand). If you decide to take my advice and replace the seal, be sure and use a cleaner for removing mold in bathtubs and showers around where the old seal was, after removing the old seal. Otherwise, with mold being what it is, it might take out the new seal too. GOOD LUCK!
Sincerely "LINK-82"

[Link-82]

W0W most of this forum centers around this "Affresh", I wonder if the manufactures of "Affresh" are "Aware" of this. (hmmmmm)

[derf70]

We fought the same problem for a while. Then on a hunch we spent a few dollars more for a more expensive laundry soap. Problem went away.

We switched to liquid Tide. I'm sure there are other well recognized brands that will solve this problem as well.

[David F]

Withe reference to the above it has recently come to my attention that Whirlpool have admitted in a Canadian court that:
1. They have altered the material of their spiders, to an aluminium alloy more resistant to corrosion.
2. Altered the design of the spiders to improve drainage.
3. Altered the design of the outer tubs to reduce pooling.
4. Altered the user manuals to give instruction regarding cleaning and introduced cleaning cycles to the machines.
The details can be found on pages 15 to 19 here:
http://classproceedings.ca/files/2012/09/Whirlpool-Certification-Denied-Reasons.pdf
In this document the spiders are referred to as braces or cross pieces.
These modifications were made to reduce the incidences of bio-film build causing odors and corrosion of the spiders.
Please note that this is is the judge's 'decision' and reflects what she understood the Whirlpool representatives to have said.
I guess only time will tell how effective they have been, it being noted that the modifications were stated to have been completed in 2008. Therefore anything manufactured after that should be OK
I have tried to find out if any of the redesigned components are interchangeable with the earlier one but so far have had no luck.