No, it doesn't. But I read about the mold problems before I bought it so I always leave the door of the washer open for several hours after I wash a load. Letting it dry out seems to have prevented any problems.

I've got a top-loading Whirlpool Neptune and it is a hunk o' junk. It was a couple of months old when it required the first $300 repair (some bearing went bad.)

Every so often I've got to run an empty load with massive amounts of bleach or else it smells moldy. I have never been able to find any actual mold, but I'm guessing the smell emanates from somewhere I can't access. The bleach does seem to solve it for a few months though. Remember, this is a top-loading one, so I don't think the problem is limited to front-loaders.

I can honestly say that I won't buy Whirlpool again.

i've seen this problem before, but it seemed to be limited to those people that leave the door latched closed when they're not doing wash. a top loading wash doesn't have an airtight seal, so the inside dries out even if the lid is down. a front loader creates a airtight when it's latched closed (obviously that's desireable if you want to keep your laundry water from pouring out while doing wash). if you leave the front door open when you're not using it, even if it's just cracked open, you shouldn't have a problem with the mold.

My Frigidaire front loader will smell if I leave the door shut. So, I just don't. It's open unless it's full of laundry being washed.

That combined with the occasional load of whites with some bleach and hot water has kept the smell at bay.

Mine hasn't yet, although I leave the door open a crack all the time. (Unless I'm running a load of laundry!)

My washer also came with instructions to run a cycle with hot water and both dispensers full of bleach every month or two to clean it.

I have an LG front-loader, and I do get the occasional batch of "sour" clothes. It is usually when I have run a load and forgotten about it for a while. I do leave the door open between loads to let it dry out. Kind of a pain but better than smelly clothing.

Running a load with hot (not warm) water and vinegar once a month also seems to help.

We've owned an LG front-loader for about a year and a half and haven't had any problems. We wipe the gasket off after each load and leave the door open when not in use.

Never had a problem with my 7 year old Kenmore front loading washer, and I think the door is always left shut.

*just opened the door on the front end washer to air out*

Our Whirlpool fron-loader has only needed one repair - the door gasket was replaced, but not because of mold. It just kinda got "outta whack". Mold hasn't been a problem yet, but like others, the door is always open when not in use. I also found out that cleaning the big twist-lock filter behind the front bottom panel gets rid of a lot of "stuff" where mold might grow. The machine also drains much better if you keep that clean.

I've had my Whirlpool Neptune for over over 8 years. It has just now started a mold problem on the rubber gasket around the glass. I'll try some of these tips.

Now I know the deal about the occasionally stinky load of what ought to have been clean laundry (that's been sitting awhile) my wife was complaining about. Leaving the door cracked is a good tip, folks. Thanks. I'll give it a try.

Someone needs to create a "washer ball" that releases a mold inhibitor after the clothes have been removed, and can be left in the washer.

Also, what is CR doing recommending using warm water? Warm water would promote mold growth. And hasn't there been a HUGE campaign to switch to cold to save the enviroment?

@phnxamg: Me too.

@VA_White: Exactly what I do and I live in Houston TX where humidity is KING and it still dries out just fine if you leave the door open after a wash.

Damn, came up with this too late, but, if you have a mold problem starting very quickly in your home, isn't that indicative of having mold releasing spores in your home? Is this mostly a summer problem when people may have windows open, which lets spores in? I welcome opinions.

@Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity:

Actually, you can buy "Affresh" to clean it with once a month.. I have been using it in my Maytag neptune Front Loader with success;

[www.affresh.com]

@Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity: Billy Mays on line 1 for you.

i've never seen mold but it started to smell funky. Then I did research and found that doing an empty load with just bleach and warm or hot water would kill the offending odor. And it did. Now I leave the door open in between loads and it's stayed smelling fresh.

We recently had a new LG front loader delivered and installed and the installer made a point of telling us a couple of times to leave the door open until the door gasket and window were dry.

@thebluepill: Cool, but I was thinking more like my dryer balls, in that they stay in all the time. I'm sure a release mechanism wouldn't be hard to figure out as well. Perhaps something that attaches to the door. I'm no inventor, so I'll just curse myself when I see it hawked on late night TV.

@backbroken: I use OxyClean occasionally, and feel the need to do an impression of him when I add it to my wash.

My Amana (Maytag, Whirlpool) actually came with a warning in the instructions to leave the door open between uses.

So in confirmation of what others have said on here... if you have a front loader than please leave the door open. I think this is a non issue if you do that, and i'm sure that lawsuit helped Whirlpool put the warning in their manuals.

If nothing else is working on your mold/mildew odor, check behind the rubber piece! I'm a nanny, and have worked for 2 families with front-loading Kenmores. In both washers, I noticed a mildew smell and pulled back the rubber piece just inside the door (not on the door) to find old, old, old moldy socks. Who knows how long they had been there? Removing the socks fixed the odor, at least until the next random sock got stuck in that little area behind the rubber.

As much as I want one of these washers for my own home, I'm not going to spend my money until the sock gap problem gets fixed.

we leave the door open but have started to see mold anyway. I run the machine with just bleach sometimes and it doesn't seem to help. This is my last front loader

My mother-in-law had this problem, I did some quick research and suggested that since the washer was air-tight, after she is done with a load, leave the door open.

... well first was to do a load or two with heavy bleach to take care of any mold there... but then to leave the door open after the wash is done..... no more problems.

The rubber around the door of my front-loading washer is moldy. There's also mold around the glass and in the detergent container. We leave the door open also and try to wipe it down. Nothing seems to work. It's starting to make our laundry smell.

@Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity: I was going to say, wouldn't using warm water all the time defeat the energy savings that are the whole purpose of buying a front loader?

I just had a funky smell coming from our laundry room. I was a little annoyed as we just moved into a new place with a new washer. Turns out it had nothing to do with the washer but the floor drain trap had evaporated and I was smelling the sewer gas. Pouring a glass of water down the drain fixed everything.

And to think, I went w/ top loading just b/c they're cheaper lol

I too just wipe out the front gasket, wipe down the door, leave the door open for awhile after each load, and occasionally clean the detergent compartment. It's really, really obvious common sense stuff. My front-loader is a Kenmore, and it's been great. I'm never going back to the top loaders.

I don't consider this to be a defect, and a class action trying to make it so, seems frivolous to me. If the litigation firms keep abusing class action procedures, class action procedures will become more restrictive, which will make it more difficult for consumers with legitimate claims to get class action status.

PS I always left the door open on my top loading washers too, because they also need to dry out to prevent mold and rust.

We have front loading washers at my college, and they all reek terribly of mold. I use 20 Mule Team Borax every load, otherwise my clothes end up taking on a slight stench of mold. Not sexy. And it doesn't help that we have idiots that leave their clothes sitting in them for days at a time. They should either fix the design flaw or make the door automatically vent when a load is done.

I think the comments show people are smart enough to figure out how to use these things.

Those who are dumb, FAIL. Then sue to cover their incompetence.

@Orv: Exactly, and running a full load of hot/warm water once a month with no clothes in the washer seems like a waste to me too. How is this more efficient?

I've had a Frigidaire front-loader for over a year. Knowing about the possibility of mold problems, I've always left the door open when not being used. Usually, whatever water is left in the rubber gaskets and such is gone by a few days. I've never had any sort of mold or smell issues.

My advice is to definitely just leave the door open unless the washer is being used.

Oh my god. The friggen frontloaders are awful. My school has them in the apartments; let's just say college students don't really give a toss about keeping the door open to prevent mold from growing. I got in to my apartment a few days ago, and it is awful. Imagine having a wet frontloader with the door sealed shut all summer. I basically dumped a pint of bleach into the detergent cup and scrubbed out the whole seal and it STILL stinks.

If you run whites last with some bleach, you can cut down on the growth of mold and bacteria in your washer.

Use HE detergent! Use HE detergent! Use HE detergent! It has mold inhibitors. Don't dilute your old detergent or use less regular detergent thinking it's all the same. HE detergent is specifically made to counteract the mold problem (as well as foaming less and suspending dirt in less water)

Use the "clean washer" setting at least once a month. It runs bleach through your whole system, killing mold.

And oh yeah, and keep the friggin' door open!!

I've had a Kenmore front loader (5HEt) for over a year and it's clean and fresh as the day I bought it.

My Maytag/Whirlpool model definately gets moldy. But the salesman warned me about it. He recommended after you ran your laundry to wipe down the door gasket and leave it open, and once a month run a load of bleach through it. I occasionally follow his advice :-)

I live in a desert, and we leave the door open. No problems in 2 years.

Obtained front load washer in fall of 2001. Have never left door open when not in use. No mold. Maybe because when I wash whites, I use bleach, hot/hot and that is always my last load?

This is all news to me.

Okay, I was just looking online at front-load washers. We have a new baby in the house and I was wantin' something a little fancy for the million loads of clothes we now wash.

Leaving the door open is all fine and good, but how do you keep your pets from taking up residence inside? Our laundry room isn't closed off and our feline critters' curiosity could kill them. Any suggestions?

I have a front loading Frigidaire washer with no mold problems. I've always left the door open (it just makes sense), use powdered HE detergent, cold water except for very dirty whites (but in the coldest part of winter I must use warm as cold is just to cold to clean well), rarely any bleach as it's too toxic, and no liquid fabric softener. Actually I use vinegar instead. Liquid fabric softener will gunk up your machine quick as a wink. In the winter when I need something to combat static in synthetics I use a Method brand dryer sheet (less yucky than the more common brands).

Sounds like a lot of well-informed front load users here. Keeping the door open definitely reduces the risk of this problem. I also pull out the detergent tray and dump the contents in the sink, as my particular model tends to collect a lot of water there.

I try to remember to wipe down the rubber seal and the glass when I'm finished, but admittedly, I don't do it every time. I live in Arizona, though, and our dry weather tends to dry it out fairly quickly.

I leave the door open on mine. Lately Ive been lazy about manually drying the gasket, but since our laundry room is also home to a whole-house dehumidifier, the dehum seems to dry everything out for us.

Another tip Ive read is to use powdered detergent only, if possible. The liquid has waxes and stuff in it that stick to the outside of the inner tub, and will help sustain mold growth.

And while a hot wash with bleach is recommended monthly, it does NOT mean to run an empty load. So once a month get all your whites together, dump in some bleach and run them with hot/hot setting. Some washers have the Sanitary and/or Whitest Whites setting which accomplishes the same thing.

Have had my front loader for 7 months now and notice no smell except "clean" by leaving the door open and (mostly always) drying the door gasket. Its really not much work at all, especially to save some energy costs (our electrical costs have gone down A LOT compared to last year with the new washer/dryer combo)

Forgot to mention, I leave the detergent drawer open as well as the tub door. Mine retains a lot of water for some reason, but just leaving it open dries it out pretty well.

I have a front loading LG washer and I leave the door open for a few hours. The only time I have a problem is when using liquid laundry detergent --- never when I use powder. I had the same problem with my top loading (certain brands were worse than others). Powder is also much better for the environment.

@bluebirdred:

Since you have a new baby, why not use a baby gate to keep the cats out?

And congratulations on your newborn! I myself am expecting by the end of the year.

I have a LG front loader and leave the door open so that it dries out after we do a wash. Although we do have a closed off laundry room.

@Ihaveasmartpuppy: I use white vinegar in place of fabric softener as well. I had liquid Downey gum up a regular top load washer before, so I knew it would be a lot worse in a front loader.

Giving it up on my sheets and towels was tough, but I don't miss it anymore. Vinegar is a lot cheaper!