Mold can be a problem for some front-loading washers

Front-loading washing machines are more efficient than traditional top-loading washers. Sure, you’ll pay a $400 to $500 premium over the average top-loader, but your electricity and water savings should offset the added expense over the lifetime of the appliance. Plus, front-loaders are among the highest-rated washers in our tests.

But front-loaders don’t have a spotless reputation. We’ve received myriad comments from readers about water left behind at the end of the wash cycle, bleach spotting, excessive vibrations, unhelpful service reps, and other complaints common to all washers. But one issue seems unique to front-loaders: mold buildup in the rubber gasket of the door and the resulting odor on clothes.

The mold problem is so widespread that class-action suits are targeting LG, Whirlpool, and Sears, whose Kenmore front-loaders are made by Whirlpool. The Maytag Neptune front-loading washer line has been part of a similar lawsuit, for which a settlement was reached.

One Consumer Reports reader had a Whirlpool Duet for four months when it and her family’s clothes began to smell of mold. She contacted the manufacturer, which she says told her to clean the machine twice a week with bleach, wipe the door down after each wash, and leave the door open to dry it out. “I work full time and have five children—four who do their own laundry,” says Merryl Nall of Collierville, Tennessee, says. “Needless to say, that would not work.” Whirlpool took back the washer, and Nall has switched to a top-loader. (You'll find more discussions about mold in washers in this forum.)

Mold, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can cause symptoms that include nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, or skin irritation, fever, and shortness of breath. For people with chronic lung illnesses, mold infections can develop in their lungs. And exposure to mold can also bring on asthma attacks.

Suggested remedies to the mold problem abound. Whirlpool sells Affresh tablets as a way to clean washer residue and mold. Sears warns against using non-HE detergents, cleaners that could create conditions for mold growth. And LG recommends that once or twice a month you run a special hot cycle to which you add bleach to clean the washer.

Our advice:
• When washing, use warm or hot water unless a load requires cold.
• Wipe the door gasket and glass dry once you’re done washing.
• Clean the detergent dispenser and any attachments once or twice a month.
• Run a dehumidifier if your laundry room is damp.

If you see mold buildup in a front-loading washer, call the manufacturer for service and save all paperwork related to the purchase and service of your machine. In the Maytag Neptune settlement, plaintiffs eligible for restitution needed to document multiple authorized repair visits made during the warranty period and soon after the warranty expired.

In response to the many reader letters we've received, we're asking owners of front-loaders whether repairs they’ve had done to their washers relate to mold alone. We’ll report on the findings from the Annual Questionnaire, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, in future stories.—Ed Perratore

Comments

[Silvia]

We are a retired couple and have had an Asko front loader washer (model 6461) and dryer (T731) for four years. We have had absolutely no mold problems even though we wash only four or five loads/week on average. These are small capacity machines and probably would not work for many families, but I highly recommend them for smaller families. Clothes are very clean, and there are no smell issues. Each load requires two tablespoons of HE detergent.

[jeanne noll]

We purchased our Maytag Neptune some years ago...have not looked it up. Probably 2002-2003. From the onset I noticed I cold hear water and see water sittting in the gasket. So noticed mold, or black I assumed to be mold. Laundry had a musty. moldy mildew smell. Tried bleach and Solumel and anything else. Made certain door was left open. Never was made aware of Class action suit. Last year finally took time to call maytag. They said call a tech and have them look at it at my expense. Never suggested any leagal action had taken place. I missed the deadline anyway. They did quickly say" no design flaw" which I thought was strange.
We have a person in this houshold who has sensitivity to odors, scents, pollen, mold, mildew.
For the price of the unit this should never happen. I do not have time to follow up with mfg when I purchased someething in good faith with good money...for a good product! NOT.
What can I do if I missed the legal venue? anyhting to be compensated?

[liza]

I agree and have had the exact same disappointing experience with LG as Kerry has. Nobody ever told me that we had to do anything other than normal service, after paying 600+ and having a machine not work after 2 years, I am very disappointed.

[spenzoo]

For those of you saying you don't understand what the rest of us are talking about, just wait a little. Our Maytag Neptune was mold free for over 4 years when one day (of course, just after the class action lawsuit was settled) I noticed mold growing on the seal. I did everything I was told by Maytag. I used Fantastic to wipe the seal, I ran bleach cycles with hot water, I use HE detergent, I leave the door open. The mold grows. I try affresh, I try smelly washer, I try white vinegar, I try bleach directly in the tub....The mold grows. Once you get any mold, in my experience, you are done for. I've hung on to this machine way too long. My friend had the same problem with her Maytag replaced it with an LG, mold again, but only quicker this time. My mother was advised to replace the moldy seal in her Neptune with a black one, I guess so you can't see the mold growing, for $300. The repairman I talked to said that's just cosmetic, the real mold is in the inside drum where we can't see and replacing that, well just start over. I struggle with whether I could keep it at bay with a new machine or if it is inevitable. All of the care and cleaning instructions were not readily available when I purchased last go around. I wonder if I should give up and go back to a top loader. Why hasn't any company been able to figure this out?

[lloyd miller]

I bough my wife a GE front loder two and a half years ago, over her objections, and have had it serviced twice and had another appointment for today which I cancelled after she researched the 'stink' problem which seems to be inherant in all these models. The answer appears to be paper towels, an open door and/or special stench removing chemicals. We have our house on the market and one of the selling features is that the piece of crap washer and matching dryer go with the home. As does the smell which permeates the entire second floor. I'm thinking of getting an antique wash board and going down to the creek once a week and doing the laundry on a rock.
Do yourself a favor and stick with what works--top load washers. Or put your overpriced, energy efficient, water saving nightmare out on the front porch along with that couch you can't get the trash men to take and let the evening breeze take the moldy stink over to the trailer next door!

[neal B]

looking for help from david R posted a comment on june 24 2009 about problem with lg tromm he contacted sears blue ribbon department we have contacted sears they say no such thing.could anyone help with problem

[Water Damage Tampa]

Any area that has connection with water is bound to be hit by the mold problem.The laundry room is definitely one of those.

[James]

Almost all of these posts are about the mold problems with FL washers. Anyone have problems with the bearings going prematurely on your washer? I've had a Kenmore FL for only six years, and the bearings are shot already. The technician fears the spider arms are also broken, too. He recommended that I use it until it won't spin anymore and then replace it, because the repair will cost nearly as much as a new one. Anyone else having this problem with their FL? Any advice? This seems an AWFULLY short life span for such an expensive appliance! If this is going to happen to the next one in 5-10 years, I may be going back to top-load.

[MJ Cadle]

We have suffered from the mold smell in our Frigidaire washer since shortly after it was purchased despite cleaning it with a variety of products and always leaving the door open.

I certainly don't mind maintaining equipment, but this is a serious problem because of the toxicity of mold. Also, when I clean my washer, I find the mold is heaviest under the area of gasket that I can get to. I can only imagine how bad the mold is under the area of gasket I reach to clean.

[S.Schavoir]

Unfortunately, I purchased a Frigidaire Affinity ATF700 in late 2007 (didn't start using it until April 2008). Stupidly, I was swayed by the pretty blue color (I know, a ridiculously girlie way to choose an appliance!) It collects water in the gasket in the front, in the detergent drawer and it leaks out the bottom of the front door every time I run it. It is an expensive piece of junk as far as I am concerned. I leave the door open all the time now, which makes maneuvering in my very narrow laundry space difficult. I also wipe out the gasket and the door with an old wash cloth, but it still stinks. Grrr. Very frustrating! The matching dryer is fine...

[Debbie]

I have an LG steam washer. I love it. I wash pet stuff, rugs, clothes, everything and I don't have a mold smell. Everything comes out so clean. After I wash the pet bedding and rugs, I wipe down the door then fill the bleach dispenser as directed and hit the tub clean cycle which washes away everything. I have been very pleased. We replaced a Maytag Neptune when we bought the LG so I definitely know the mold smell and problems. There was no escaping it with the Maytag. I couldn't wait to get rid of it and donated it to a no-kill dog shelter. I hope there are others who like the front loaders.

[natalie e]

I purchased two Bosch Nexxt front loading washing machines about 3 years ago and will not buy them again. I have black mold on both machines rubber gaskets...I use the HE Tide, leave the door open, use the right amount of detergent yet, nothing seems to prevent the mold from appearing nor can I remove it. My house runs on a de-humidfier so humidity should not be an issue. Bosch customer service is not helpful...they just give standard advice. Next time I purchase a washing mashine, I will go back to basics. Something like the top loader that I had before these that worked for 15 years without fail (and mold!)

[Julie Rabey]

I have had a Frigidaire Gallery front loading washer for 12 years. It took quite a few years for the smell to develop, but eventually it started to smell like the sewer and I was checking vents and drains looking for the problem. I had never heard that the front loading washers themselves were the problem. My problem was the gasket around the door. It had all sorts of gunk under it. I had no idea this would happen and there was no mention of it in the owner's manual. Since discovering this, I have cleaned out the gunk and wiped it down with bleach. Also have used Afresh, but didn't see any difference with that. My clothes never did smell, just the washer. It's 80% better now, but not good enough. I am disappointed to hear that this type of washer still has this problem -- or worse. You would think that in all these years it would be solved. I did read that one brand was putting Microban in the gasket to keep it from molding. That's probably a good idea. I need to replace my set. I hate the matching dryer even more than the washer, and am hoping to have better luck this time. That is why I am researching. The dryer pinches the clothes and leaves rust streaks. This is even worse than the moldy smell from the washer. I need a stacking set because of space limitations. I hope to find something better. Wish me luck!

[Peter Mikkelsen]

We bought what we were told were high end, front loading, very expensive washing machine and dryer by GL. The washing machine has been causing a horrible smell in 5 rooms (only the laundry room is small – the rooms are larger) in our house every time even one load of laundry is done. When I smell it, I get a bad headache. The smell lasts for up to 8 hours after the washing is finished.

The smell is even in the drain now. Somehow, even though there is an elbow in the pipe, whenever we run the water in the laundry sink that the washer drains into, we now get the same horrible smell, just not as much of it.

I am worried it is going to make our 4 year old son sick

Since we wear and use the laundry that is washed and dryed in these GL machines, I am worried it may be the cause of my breathing problem (I am 44 - the cardiologist has not found any issues with my heart, I just can't catch my breath recently after running a short distance). It seems as soon as face towels get wet, they smell bad.

We REALLY do not want to run these machines in our house anymore nor run our clothes through these machines.

My wife never leaves laundry in the washer. She always watches the machines run and then moves the laundry from the washer to the dryer. So we know for 100% sure its not caused by us leaving the wet laundry in the washer after the washing is completed.

[Myra Russell]

We purchased our Neptune washer, dryer and stands from the Goodyear, AZ Maytag Store on 06/17/07. We also purchased a 5 year warranty. For the 1st 6 months the machine was perfect! Everything that our salesman told us it would be. Than our clothes started smelling like they were being washed in sewer water with no hint of detergent whatsoever. We went into the store where we were advised to reduce the amount of soap, once a month run an empty load with Affresh tablets, vinegar water in the tub, chlorine bleach in the tub, at the end of the weeks laundry cycle take a dry towel & dry out the door seal and leave the door open to air dry until we are ready to use the machine again. We were told to clean out the soap dispenser @ the end of each week's laundry cycle which we have done. We have tried every he recommended detergent on the market @ developed alergic rashes due to the use of some of them. I am now suffering from chronic yeast infections & have tested negative for diabetes. The Dr. said that it could be mold related. We have been into other stores that sell the same product & asked them what to do but we have already tried it ALL! We paid over $2,200.00 for these machines for our laundry to smell like filth. I am a professional & am required to meet with developers, builders, contractors & residents to coordinate building permit requirements for our City. It is embarrasing when I get looks & people ask 'what is that smell?' when I know that it is my clothes. I expect some action on Maytag's part to exchange these machines for ones of equal or lesser value. I heard about Consumer's Best Buy reports on similar complaints from other consumers & the pending lawsuit. I am choosing to give Maytag the benefit of the doubt and the chance to resolve this issue directly before contacting the Better Business Bureau and my local news company to get the resolution that I as the consumer deserve. We recommended other friends & family to the store that we purchased these appliances from when we were still in the 'honeymoon' period with these appliances. We have since recinded our previous recommendations and will continue to do so until this matter is resolved. I have asked that Maytag please give this correspondence the attention that it deserves.

[Paula]

I have had two top loaders; the infamous Maytag Neptune ( I was part of the lawsuit and received their worthless settlement - enough said about that miserable episode). When I went to purchase a new washer, I discovered that washer size has expanded over the years and with the door configuration and layout in my laundry room, the only size that would fit was the Frigidaire front loader. I was assured this would not mold. GUESS AGAIN!! Yes, I leave the door open and wipe and use bleach and do EVERYTHING I'm told to do. I am 56 years old, not a stupid person, do not use too much detergent or any of the other things I've read that may cause this issue. I am at a loss trying to explain to my husband why I want/need another washer when this one is not even two years old. Frigidaire is absolutely NO HELP and I refuse to pay another penny to repair a front loader. Thanks for letting me vent. Now, does anyone have any great ideas for a top loader?

[Kim]

Everyone in my family has had a red itchy full body rash for months. My son has had the rash for over six months. We have spent thousands of dollars on allergists and dermatologists including extensive allergy testing. Two of us are allergic to mold and have recently discovered mold in our 18 month old LG front load washer. My doctor agrees with me - GET RID OF THE WASHER IMMEDIATELY! We will pursue the class action law suit but not wait for customer service at LG or Home Depot to solve the problem. I will never buy an LG appliance again. I am so disappointed because we purchased a Consumer Reports "Best Buy" and it has become a serious health issue.

[CarlG]

Same experience with my front load washer. Mold and everything stinks. Ready to toss it.
Slightly off topic, what is currently the best high capacity top loader?? I want one with a proven reliability (and mold free) record. Thx!

[Zeynep Hall]

LG FRONT LOADER I HATE IT! I AM COPYING AND PASTING LISA S. 'COMMENTS FOR IT IS VERY VERY TRUE, DO NOT BUY LG FRONT LOADER WASHER!!!!

'DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT EVER BUY A LG FL WASHER THEY ARE SO NASTY AND STINKY AND SO IS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE.I LEARNED MY LESSON WELL I HAD RATHER HAVE A PORTABLE OR WASH ON MY HANDS AS TO BE MADE A FOOL BY LG&WHIRLPOOL.I HOPE THEY LOOSE MILLIONS ON LAW SUITS THEY DESERVE IT.JUST LIKE THEY HAVE MADE MILLIONS ON ALL OF US WHO PURCHASED THESE NO GOOD FOR NOTHING WASHERS.'

[jennifer]

I bought an LG front loader 14 months ago. I HATE IT. The machine has a horrible smell so bad that I have to leave the back door of our house open to air out the smell. I have tried the bleach and "clean tub" cycle routine, but it still reeks. DO NOT BUY AN LG FRONT LOADER!!!! I HAVE COMPLAINED TO LG WITH NO HELP WHATSOEVER. This is totally disgusting...I totally regret spending the money on this totally crappy machine. DO NOT BUY AN LG WASHER!

[JM]

Thanks for all the info on FL machines. I'll be looking for a new top-loader, hopefully one with metal parts, not plastic!

[Andreas Schonger]

Consumer reports needs to stop recommending these front loaders. It is a wide spread problem that the manufacturers are unwilling to resolve. No wonder there is a class action law suit going on:

http://www.murrayfrank.com/CM/Custom/LG-Electronics.asp

I bought a LG Front Loader and have "sour" smelling laundry now. Stop recommending this poorly designed product now!

[Chuck A]

Mold is the LEAST of your worries. That can be cleaned

I have just spent 2 weeks working on a GE front load washer. It is made by Frigidaire as is the Kenmore. My advice is stay away from front load washer unless you are going to spend over 1500.00 for just the washer. At that price you may, may, get one that will last 10 years.

I will absolutely guarantee that most , if not all front load washer under $800.00 will fail within 4 years.

Number 1 problem is the bearings that hold the tub will fail due to detergent getting into the bearing and washing the grease out. The washers come with cheap bearings made in China. The seal is poor quality also.

Number 2 problem is that the tub, which is stainless steel is held to the bearing shaft by an ALUMINUM spider bracket which will, unless somehow the builder defies the law of chemistry, corrode due to electrolysis. ( look up what happens when you place two dissimilar metals in a soapy( Ionized) solution).

These can problems are VERY WELL DOCUMENTED on repair boards across the web.

Honestly, if they had used stainless steel for ALL the tub brackets and better bearings I bet that these things would last 10 years - no problem! but the cost would be about 200-300 more

That is why I say, if you are going to get a front load washer please spend twice what you want to on the 1st one. You going to spend that amount in ten years anyways if you buy the cheaper one twice.

PS. I spoke with GE about the tub on mine, which does have a 10 year warranty on it. But you have to pay someone to come out and fix it which will run you around 200.00. They WILL not send a tub out to a customer - even tough it is warrantied

GE's price to me on the tub is $419.00 as I explain my problem to the customer service person she assured me that there were NO complaints on these washers and that I should stay away from repair web blogs. When I told her I was going to be buying 5000.00 worth of new stuff for my second new home and GE was not looking too good for the bussiness, she said that she could sell me the TUB for 125.00. I said that that was fine and I would go ahead and order the tub.

From 419.00 to 125.00 sounds like they KNOW they have a problem with these washers.

Good Luck

[Jeanne]

Do NOT buy a LG front loader washer! Mine not only stinks but leaves stains on my clothes, I can't tell you how many items this washer has ruined! I called LG customer service and all they can says is wipe the drum down after each use with vinegar.

[Tampa Mold Remediation]

Where ever there is a water supply there could be a leakage and hence formation of molds unknown and unseen.This is an extremely nice coverage which makes us aware of the problem and how to deal with it.

[Zach]

I have owned both front loaders and top loading washing machines. I do agreed that front loaders needs a bit more care and maintenance compared to a top loading washing machines. However, considering how energy efficiency a front loader is, I wouldn't advise anyone to ignore it totally.

[Jim]

We have a LG washer/dryer purchased in December 2007. We soon learned the door of the washer had to be left open so the unit could completely dry out. Great, the 24 year old Amana set, that still worked, was carried away when the LG's were delivered. About 4-6 months ago we noticed a smell. Mold is now growing in the washer. We now have learned we have to mix up some hone products to try to kill/clean the mold up. This issue is in the DESIGN of the unit and not our upkeep. DO NOT buy a front load unless you want to spend time battling mold or trying to keep mold from growing.

[Mold Removal]

This is quite a worrying thing...front loading washing machines are to be carefully handled in that case,I feel sorry for you with so much laundry and four children and now the mold problem.

[Beth Romberger]

We have a Kenmore HE3 which we bought in 2005. The mold is horrible!! Smelly. As investigate the affect mold has on people I am just shocked and astounded that Sears has not recalled these! I did not know that many of our health problems were due to mold... now, I considering having my home tested for mold. Has is spread? What kind of mold are in these washers? The Black mold has very serious affects, to the point that you have to have special clothing to remove it from your home! Does anyone know what type of mold you have? My daughter had her tonsils out... since mold affects your immune system and truly believe now that it is caused from the mold. Now I am wondering if it is in my pipes or gaskets that in the walls? Is it in the air of my house? Daily I wake up with headaches, a symptom of mold. You can't see it in your clothes, pillows, comfortors etc. So, it makes sense that in the morning after you have been sleeping with all this mold you are worse! I am reading about many law suits but it is the outcome??? I called Sears and the first 3 people I talked to claimed to know nothing about it! HA!!! So not true. I finally got a person on the phone who said they were aware of it and have a service person coming out and I am hoping it will be fixed. But now I am still concerned, one if it really will be fixed and the mold won't come back? And, how do I know if it isn't else where in my home? Do I throw all my clothes away? Trust that washing them will really get it out??

[Chuck]

We've had a Frigidaire Affinity for 3 years and had the mold problem right from the begining. We've had the gasket replaced under warranty, always leave the door open, wipe it down after use and it still smells.

I have found that if I put Clorox in a spray bottle (without diluting it) and spray the gasket, you can keep the mold at bay. The key is to make sure you pull the gasket back, especially where it gets tucked into the front of the machine. Spary all the way around, especially the top.

"Smelly Washer" also helps and can take the smell out of clothes, but spraying the gasket thoroughly is the key.

That being said, we'll be buying a top loader sooner than later.

[Jay]

Our Kenmore HE3, 5yrs old has always had a musty odor and mold in the dispensing tray. Our solution was to leave the door open and pull the tray out when not in use. This worked UNTIL TODAY. The fill valve failed and filled the tub with water which spilled out the open door and FLOODED OUR BASEMENT over night. Same thing would have happened if the door had been closed because it only locks after a cycle starts.

THESE are poorly engineered machines and all need to be recalled and redesigned. The concept off saving water and energy is not factual. If you have to run extra cycles to clear mold - you are not saving water or energy. The energy we have wasted cleaning up the spill more than offsets any saving.

We as consumers are guilty for the problem. We purchase items based upon looks, novelty and the idea of being energy efficient. We should demand better products for our money.

The only thing "Green" about front load washers are the mold and extra money they cost.

[amy]

I hate our new LG Front load washer. Our clothes/ towels always smell like mold.

I would never recommend a fr load. Traditional washer have been around for long time. Some thing should not change.

I wish I had found this blog before. Someone suggested spraying Lysol. I was SO Frustrated!

I wish GE would replace it. All they did was send me two bottles to add after I have done my wash. It didn't help.

[nlessing]

When it was time to get a new washer, I religiously read what Consumer Reports had to say -- as I usually do with major purchases. It's been 2.5 years and I do not have a mold problem, but I have plenty of problems with uneven loads causing the washer to walk halfway across the room! I THINK CONSUMER REPORTS SOLD US A BILL OF GOODS and this isn't the first time -- I HATE my dishwasher, which washes dishes WORSE than my teenager!
I THINK THIS IS A WATER-SAVING CONSPIRACY -- as long as they can claim that the "usual" cycle saves water, any lousy performance is acceptable. WHAT ABOUT HAVING TO RUN A RINSE-N-SPIN CYCLE after the machine once again gives you a load of sopping wet towels? If this thing is so super & large capacity, why can't it handle 3 bathtowels, one bath mat and a couple of hand towels? My MAYTAG top loader purchased in 1978 performed a lot better than this stinking thing! CONSUMER REPORTS - LET'S HAVE SOME HONESTY, EVEN IF IT SAVES H20 & ELECTRIC. P.S. the Maytag took only 30 minutes for a cycle. This stinkin GE takes a minimum of 43 min. for a "fast" cycle and 1 h 21 m for "regular." You think I'm saving much on electricity?
Now I've vented and I feel so much better.
Thanks

[dlockhart]

I am so thankful I found this blog. We have a Maytag Neptune that's about 8 years old and we have had every problem that everyone else has had (yes, I read every single comment posted here): terrible mold, smelly towels/clothes, trying affresh, bleach, vinegar, fights with repairmen, etc. The last straw was the black oily spots on clothes - ugh! Like someone else mentioned, it really was fine for the first 4 years or so, but it's been a nightmare since and we have had it! We're buying a top loader this weekend. Obviously, the front-loading technology is extremely flawed!

[Marge]

I too will never buy a front load washing machine again. Purchased a (very expensive) Bosch front load machine in 2006. It has been smelly for over a year; mold that cannot be cleaned off on the rubber seal, etc. When I called the consumer information number on the manufacturers guide, the rep hadn't heard about a moldy smelling washer and told me to run bleach through the machine. Of course, bleach didn't work, and neither has leaving the door open, or wiping the water off the seal after each load. Now trying out the Tide and Affresh products mentioned on another website (and instead of using liquid HE detergent switching to powdered HE detergent).

[K.K.]

We have had a Kenmore front loader w/d for nearly two years-I was warned by our neighbor about the mold problem, but really wanted the high efficiency washing machine-well, we got it-and the mold too. How disappointing to think you are being environmentally conscientious but instead end up with mold in your washing machine and a foul smell in your clothes-not worth it. Perhaps Kenmore and the others put the cart before the horse, more testing should have been done to avoid misleading consumers.

[biguggy]

Some of these front load machines have aluminium (Al) spiders connecting the spin drum to the drive pulley.
Aluminium is corroded by, amongst other things, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) otherwise known as ‘bleach’, Sodium carbonate, Sodium percarbonate, (these later two I found listed on the contents of a popular laundry aid), sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) (this one is sometimes used as a stabiliser in ‘bleach’ but I did not find it listed on the two containers of ‘bleach’ I found in our house).

To demonstrate what ‘bleach’ can do to aluminium just find a piece of scrap aluminium, without any coating, or remove the coating and let it sit in air for a couple of days to develop the naturally occurring oxide coating, then put one drop of ‘bleach’, straight from the bottle, onto the aluminium and leave it overnight. The following morning you should have a nice little pile of corrosion products on your aluminium. This is what can happen to aluminium components in your washer, albeit at a much slower rate because the ‘bleach’ is diluted.

To check if any of your laundry products are harmful to aluminium perform an Internet search for the material safety data sheet for the chemical concerned (e.g. Sodium Hydroxide Material Safety data Sheet).

I know these spiders are fitted to some ‘Kenmore’ (manufactured by Frigidaire) machines, some Frigidaire machines sold under their own name, and some GE machines. Very likely there are many others. Additionally any aluminium component in the water area is susceptible to the same corrosion.

This information has been passed to Sears and Frigidaire.
Sears advise that the information ‘will be passed to the appropriate departments’ but have refused to pass any further information on to us.
Frigidaire have assured us that they use only the best quality materials and that they will pass on the information to their design engineers, the very people who would have specified aluminium in the first place. Hardly re-assuring.

My wife and I have two Sears 'Kenmore' washing machines built by Frigidaire.
I recently had to tear down the old one (8 years old) because of bearing failure. Nothing to fantastic there, those bearings take one heck of a pounding. In addition to the failed bearings and failed 'spider shaft' seal, likely caused by the bearing failure, the brass sleeve on which the lips of the seal run was scored, by the spring in the seal, rendering it unserviceable.
What I also found on dismantling the machine was a build up of a deposit, resembling powdered detergent that had got damp and 'clumped' adhering, quite strongly, to the spider (a shaft [of steel], and aluminium hub with three spokes) which attaches to the stainless steel inner drum and the driving pulley. This ‘deposit’ would not flush away, as powdered detergent, being soluble in water, would have. I took my pressure washer to ours but still did not get it completely clean. Whereupon I discovered that the aluminium portion of the spider was quite heavily corroded towards the centre with almost no corrosion towards the outer third of the spokes.

At first I thought this was galvanic corrosion caused by the steel of the shaft and the aluminium of the hub. There is quite an informative paper on Galvanic Corrosion, use ‘Yahoo’ and search for ‘UN1001 Reactor Chemistry and Corrosion’ and open the link that gives ‘un1001_Galvanic Corrosion’, the authors are Lister and Cook. The ‘deposit’ though had me puzzled until I researched corrosion of aluminium and discovered that it is normally corroded when immersed in an aqueous solution with a pH value below about 4.0 or above about 8.0 (nitric acid is apparently an exception). Common household bleach (sodium hypochlorite NaOCl) is a strong alkali. I placed a drop of bleach, straight from the bottle, on an undamaged section of a spoke from my spider and a drop of vinegar (acid), which my wife favours, on another arm and left them overnight. The following morning there was nothing left of the vinegar and no signs of damage to the spider. Where the bleach had been was a small pile of a whitish powder, which resembled the ‘deposit’ and was also, for the portion immediately adjacent to the spider, quite difficult to remove.

Numerous detergents are alkaline, they have to be or they would not work, also alkaline are numerous other laundry aids. Reference to the ‘contents’ labels on the containers and the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on the Internet will give more insight. In addition to ‘bleach’ I have found sodium carbonate and sodium percarbonate in laundry products in our house. Sodium hydroxide, which is sometimes used to stabilize ‘bleach’, is also strongly alkaline, and corrosive to aluminium, it was not listed however on the two ‘brands’ of bleach I found in our house.

For some time prior to the bearing failure my wife had been complaining of a ‘moldy mildewey smell’ coming from the washer and leaving an odour on our laundry, particularly the towels. After I rebuilt the washer, new drum and spider, they are not available separately, together with new bearings and seal, it ran a lot quieter, no surprise, but here is the kicker, according to my wife ‘no smell’. Conclusion, the only thing different is no ‘deposit’. Now does the ‘deposit’ itself cause the ‘smell’ or does it collect undesirable compounds that cause the offensive aromas? I don’t know but it is certainly ‘food for thought’ particularly when I found two references on the Internet to people stripping their washers down and getting ride of ‘deposits’ which cured their ‘smell’. The odours, I fear, will return unless the owners alter their laundry habits.

To see what corrosion of aluminium can do perform an Internet search “Why Kenmore Front Loading Washers Fail” and watch the short video. I do not agree with the comment that it is galvanic corrosion between the spider and the stainless steel drum, should this have been the case one would have expected the spider to be corroded adjacent to its connection to the drum, that is at the outer end of the ends. Neither do I believe the deposit the gentleman showed to be caked detergent for the reason stated above (mine would not flush away).

Good Luck

[tamara]

I bought a GE front loader a 1 1/2 year ago for $700.00 on sale. Nothing but problems!! 3 gaskets at $175.00 each. Broken belt. Then it started on fire. Now I bought a top loader for 300.00. So I did my math I don`t think it`s worth want you can save on your water bill!!! I WILL NEVER BUY A FRONT LOADER AGAIN!!!!