Stubborn Front Loader Washer Stink No More!

Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com. Once again, in the laundry room, we have produced several videos with lots of interest about how to make the best use of these front loader machines, how to keep them in great shape and keep the stink out. But we've had some of you write in and say, we've tried everything you've told us to do and it still stinks. Well, stay tuned and I'll give you my top three power tips to get the stink away for good. Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com. Thanks for joining me today. Well, this is one in a series of videos about front loader washing machines, how to keep them maintained, how to keep them fresh smelling. Several of you said you have really solved my problems with some of the tips that you've given us in earlier videos. And you can check those out in the links below in the description, or they'll appear from time to time right above me as a link. But we've told you about the things you've got to have. Like for instance, these machines require ventilation. So when you're done, if you notice right down at the bottom, there's a button right here that that actually is a magnet. And what it allows you to do is to close the door. And as long as you don't slam it, it keeps it slightly ajar. And then you can close it if you want to, but see that? It keeps it ajar. And then when you pull open the dispenser drawer, that allows air to circulate through the machine and to dry. Now, Dirt Farmer Maggie, she prefers just to leave the door open like this because it's in the laundry room. But if this is in a hallway or where space is a premium, that little feature right there is really worthwhile. The second area that we told you about is that you had to just keep that filter down there clean. And that is the pump filter that just removes all sorts of sediments along the way and keeps the machine clean. And then minimizing liquid laundry detergents and softeners here that can build up biologicals over time. So between all those things, and from time to time running a tub clean cycle, generally you're gonna get great results. However, the machine over time, because it wasn't being properly ventilated or maintained, may get buildups inside. And those can be especially stubborn. Let me give you my top three areas that you need to pay attention to. And if you take care of these, I bet you the problem will go away. Number one, right here, the door seal itself is designed not only to keep water from coming out, but it is a filtration system itself. And so you can see these ports right here that return water back to the inner drum. And as water flows through this during the cleaning process, this captures a lot of gunk. So one of the things you've gotta do is wipe this out on let's say a monthly basis. And we use a tweezer to pull this out. How much stuff comes out of this? Well, let me show you this. We clean this machine on a regular basis. That's about after 60 days. Can you believe it? Of just the stuff that came out of that lower door seal using a tweezers and we use a chopstick. So that needs to be cleaned. And as you can imagine, if that's left to rot, it's gonna get pretty stenchy. So there's power tip number one. Power tip number two. When you open the door and you see in here, you see the drum right here, but that's not really the drum that's doing all the hard work as far as rinsing away water and all that. There is a drum behind this drum. And as you can see, it's tilted down. So the back part of the drum over here is gonna collect water and water tends to stand there even though it's ejected out and pumped out. But over time, if you've been using too many or too much detergent, too much product, you're going to get a big buildup of residue in that inner drum. And if there's a lot of biologicals in it because of the laundering process or perhaps tallow content in a softener or a cleaning project, then that's gonna start to stink really bad. How do you get to it? You can't get to it. What are you gonna do? Point little holes through it? The best thing I know to do is to take a pitcher like this, fill it up with hot water and pour in a cup of bleach, pour this in here, shut the door and put it on a long wash cycle with the hottest water you can do. Now you've not put any detergent in a dispenser, but I'll bet what you're gonna see is lots of suds start to create. And the reason is there's all this detergent residue that is in the inner tub that begins to break loose and let go and be rinsed away. You may need to do that two or three times and you can certainly use tub cleaner products like from Tide or a fresh OxiClean as well. But that may be and is the most common problem area in the machine is right there in the inner tub. Problem area number three. Right here in the dispenser area for your detergents, bleach, all that. Now this gets cleaned out on a regular basis, but if you push right here in the dispenser and pull that out, that whole thing comes out. And you can see down in the machine, there is a tunnel. There are dispensers, water dispensers above that come into these cups down below and then rinse it down into the machine. Well, this can get really gunked up, but there's a one area here that's easy to overlook and that's the ceiling of the tunnel or the cave here. So make sure you reach up in there, wipe that down and keep that clean. And you don't have to do this very often. We're talking probably once every three to six months of just removing the residue. This machine works really hard for you. And so you need to take care of it from time to time. One of the best analogies I know in the old days after you rode a horse and you brought him back to the stable, you'd wipe down the horse, water him, make sure he's nice and dry or she was because they'd work so hard. You gotta take care of the animal that's taking care of you. In this case, you need to take care of the machine that's taking care of you. And in case you're wondering, how is it this guy is so smart? Well, a lot of these tips come straight from the documentation that comes with the machine. This is the quick reference card and right down here, it talks about cleaning out the drain pump filter and down here, the seal around the front door. And in the owner's manual, it talks about ventilating, leaving the door ajar. The manufacturer knows about it. A lot of times we just don't read directions, but it's there all along. We always give you more than what we show on the video itself. If you wanna go back and see those other videos that go into more detail about all the other practices to keep this machine scent-free and running great, check out those links in the description below. And there are other appliances in your home that can get stinky. One of them is your food waste disposer in your kitchen. Check out this video where we tell you how to kill disposer stink fast. And then check out this other video that we think you're gonna love. Until the next time, this is Dirt Farmer Jay from DirtFarmerJay.com. Check us out on our website.