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February 2013 Moms
elliespiral
member
OT: Recommend your HE front-load washer (+a few words on smelly towels)
elliespiral
member
Hi wise mamas! Long story short, we sold our condo but did not find a house to buy yet so we are going to be in interim rental housing. We are leaving our current Bosch HE front-load washer and (gas) drier in our condo and will need to purchase another set. I have spent so much time researching baby gear that I haven't had time to research washer-drier sets yet and thought I'd ask for your input, especially as Black Friday may be a great time to get a deal!
Here's the kicker: I have struggled with "Smelly Towel Syndrome" ever since we got our current front-load washer. (Google tells me that it's an epidemic!). If you are lucky enough to never experience Smelly Towel Syndrome, our towels, even if used an hour out of the drier, have a yucky smell when they become damp (no complaints about our clothing however).
I am specifically looking to try to avoid Smelly Towel syndrome in the future and have heard anecdotally that some machines are less apt to offend than others. Do you have one of these? It's the holy grail of laundry and I would love to hear which brand!
Lest my laundry skills are the culprit, here are the steps I have taken to remedy the smelly situation:
-Use free & clear 7th Generation soap for HE machines, and only use a fraction of the recommended amount
-Use white vinegar as a rinse agent--no fabric softener!!--and only Whole Foods veg/soy-based drier sheets
-Wash the towels last with hot water; add "allergy rinse" cycle to ensure no soap residue
-Dry out gasket and leave the washer door open after last load of laundry so it can dry out completely
-Run the machine on empty with bleach to clean out its innards
-Occasionally supplement a little OxyClean with my regular detergent
My towels and I thank you for any help you can provide!!!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: OT: Recommend your HE front-load washer (+a few words on smelly towels)
We have a Samsung front loader and dryer. I don't know the model off the top of my head, but it has VRT in it (something about vibration reduction). There's a sanitize cycle, and I use that on my towels pretty much all the time. I also usually leave the door open after a was to help air it out. We've had it just under 2 years, and I'm really happy with it ...
My brother and SIL have the Whirlpool Cabrio HE top loader and it broke within 6 months of having it. It got off balance (which is something the salesperson at the store told me was common in top loaders when I was researching - which was before I'd heard of their problem). They had it fixed, but they have to be careful about how the load or they have issues. My brother said he'd never buy the washer they had again.
DX: 6/9/2011: Azoo ICSI/IVF only option for biological child
IVF #1: ER - 9/26 * ET - 10/1 * beta#1 10/13 - 140 * beta#2 10/17 - 477 * beta#3 10/20 - 1101
1st u/s at 6w6d - one hb * 2nd u/s at 8w3d - no hb detected 11/10/11 * natural m/c 11/13/11
FET #1 Jan/Feb 2012 - 3 delays - cancelled 2/13
FET #1.2 - May/June 2012 - ET 6/6/* beta#1 6/15 - 95 * beta #2 6/19 - 322 * beta #3 6/22 - 940
7/6 1st u/s @ 7 weeks - one beautiful hb - released from RE
EDD 2/22/2013
PAIF/SAIF/PGAL welcome
Part of the issue could be the washer itself. We came to realize that even our brand new machine didn't always fully drain (we were still under warranty and exchanged thinking it was a one machine flaw, but it happened in 3 brand new machines), and even the little bit of dirty water sitting in the machine was apt to make super absorbent fabrics like towels/sweaters/etc smell gross the next time we washed. We fixed that issue by propping the door open just a smidge so the water can evaporate out of the barrel, and we run a "cleaning cycle" every few weeks with vinegar.
To help save your towels (because lord knows that smell is awful and sometimes is hard to kick) try washing them once with hot water and 1 cup of vinegar, then a 2nd time with hot water and half cup baking soda. It strips the residue that detergents and fabric softeners leave, takes out the majority of that old water smell, and leaves them fresh and able to absorb more water again.
We have the standard LG front loader that they sell at Best Buy. NO issues whatsoever and I love our machines. I second, however, the PPs who have mentioned leaving the washer door open after a load (I leave it open overnight and then close it in the morning) and trying the vinegar load-baking soda load method for towels.
Random thought - I have switched to making my own laundry detergent because I have noticed that I have become super sensitive to the smell of my laundry detergent (used to love it, now it just smells foul) since becoming pregnant. I thought it was my washer at first, but it was just the detergent smell...
When we first got our front loads, we had the smelly towel issue. I found out my problem was too much detergent. I now use about half the recommended minimum and if it's a really full load we used the recommended minimum. Since then I have not had one issue with it.
I pretty much do the dame routine you do with your washer except we use All Free and Clear HE. I also clean the washer once per week with a bleach cleaning cycle.
Recently I have started using the sanitize cycle (uses steam) for the towels and I love how they come out. The cycle takes about an hour and a half in my machine but it's so worth it.
We have the Frigidaire Affinity with Steam XL.
Best of luck, while I love front load especially with the belly, they can be a big pain.
06/12 - BFP!!!!
Beta #1 15dpo - 256
Beta #2 18dpo - 1097
6wk U/S on 07/02 ~ TWINS!!!
EDD 02/21/13
09/10/12 Found out it's two Boys!!!! Sam and Jake
Jacob and Samuel born 1/29/13 at 36 weeks.