Kenmore elite washer smells

keep door open after you use it....keep them open until you use it again.... door can be opened just a little, but can not be closed

let machine work once with highest temperature without anything inside..... with little detergent you always use.....to wash away that smell...

if you keep it closed, then moisture will remain in and provide good environment to bacteria causing black mold to live there.....

you can remove that only mechanically..... take some old dry dampcloth and wipe it away.... it will take some time and hard work.:)

smelly front loader???all front loader tend to leave a little water left over in the inner tub after every load,always leave washer door a crack open to reduce smell/mold on seal,to get rid of smell simply run a normal cycle,no clothes,with a dose of bleach or better yet AFFRESH,made by whirlpool,a bleach tablet with fragerance,sanitze and smells good!!answer,,,AFFRESH

The odor that you are experiencing may be from the growth of mold. Inside the washer, some small pools of water may be left standing and is harboring mold spores. Even though you may operate the washer regularly, the mold spores are not being washed away.I have a couple of tips that might help to eliminate odor issues in your washing machine. First, leave the lid, or door to the unit open. By leaving the door open, it promotes air circulation and evaporation of standing water. The reduction in odor, will occur quickly and dramatically. My second tip is to run the washer empty for a quick rinse cycle. Add an entire cup of bleach at the start of the cycle. The bleach is effective at destroying organisms, such as mold and bacteria. However, running it once will not be completely effective. I suggest pouring another cup of bleach into the wash tub, after the cycle has completed. This will leave bleach as the standing pool and should prevent the growth of mold or bacteria. However, if you do this, before doing a load of laundry you should run an empty rinse cycle again, to avoid damage to the clothes from the bleach left standing in the wash tub.

Run a cycle ,no clothes in, with about 3 cups/ 750 ml of bleach in it. How? put a fil a plisticbag with the bleach and set it in the washer. It will tip up when you start the cycle. You should end up with a clean washer and clean empty bag.

Front loaders are known for building up mold and the smell.
It’s caused by using liquid detergent which is made from animal fat. Use powder. And use the minimum amount.
It’s caused by using fabric softener. Dilute it 50/50 with water.
It’s caused by the water remaining in the tub between washes. Leave the door open to allow it to dry. .
Pull the rubber door seal back and clean the mold off .

I agree with your concerns, but, unfortunatly, leaving the door open and emptying the drain trap is all you can do. I would also start washing your laundry with at least a 1/2 cup of borox with each load. This will help with the smelly cloths as well as running the monthly clean cycle or an empty express wash with only bleach.

Hi! I have Kenmore Elite 4t and had this same problem: Musty, Moldy smell in washer and on clothes. The Sears Technician suggested that I use a half a cup of Clorox Liquid Bleach and put it in the tub (not the dispenser). NO CLOTHES! Use the longest hottest setting and when it's done clean the inside (underneath rubber tire thingie) and the undernath part of the door with a papertowel. And to always leave the door open. I did what he said with the bleach and it worked. I didn't want to leave the door open because I have 2 cats & was afraid that they would want to go in it, but ended up repeating the bleach thing again because a few days later the horrible smell was back. I leave the door open all the time now and the cats never go in it. They've watched laundry spin around, so I guess they're smart enough to not want to go in it. I have not had this problem again since I always leave the door open and I did this over a month ago. I hope this helps!

Have had machine for 6 years.  Mold is an issue.  Occatioinally I clean out the drawer and behind the grey rubber seal with vinegar.  After a load is washed, I dry off seal and leave door slightly open.  Occationally I also wash a load of nothing but bleach.   Hope this helps.  

I too have a HE4t washer. When I bought it, the Sears sales man said that after doing the wash for the day, you have to always wipe out the insides of the rubber gasket. If you do not do this, you will get mold build up. I an anal about doing this and for 6 months now have had no mildew smell. However, I went on a trip for 2 weeks and when I got back, there was an awful mold smell. I checked the gasket and sure enough, there was gunk build up. Needless to say hubby and kids did not do the maintenance. I had to wipe it up several times with bleach to remove the mold spores. Then I ran a sanitary cycle with pure bleach. Smell is gone thankfully.

But don't you think it's ironic to have a $1500.00 machine that needs to be babied after the end of the day?

there is always some water left inside the machine and that is probably what you are hearing are you using liquid detergent? if so this is almost certainly the cause of the smell. liquid detergent leaves a nasty slime inside thge machine and smells like drains. put on a boil wash with no clothes and revert to using powder detergent