Well Consumer Reports ratings of green detergents is usually dismal. I would imagine that 1 TBS of a "green" detergent is akin to washing in plain water. Dirt and body oils aren't being dissolved and flushed away...instead they are building up in the machine.

If you insist on using a green detergent I would at least dose it according to the package directions.

And in my experience the only thing that effectively kills mold is chlorine bleach. Regardless of what ASKO says about bleach I would make an exception to kill the mold.

1 TBS of Bi-O-Kleen for a front load washer *IS* according to the package directions. The detergent is the best I've ever used, as it cleans better than a scoop full of Tide HE, but it also seems to be encouraging mold for some unknown reason. That's why I'm so baffled.

Has anyone else had this experience?

I tried the Bi-O-Kleen dishwasher detergent. It cleaned my dishes fine,but sometimes it would leave a white powdery residue on the tops of some glasses. Later I started noticing the top rack was harder to push back in. I first thought it was just something with the rack, but it got harder and harder to push/pull. I then looked at the tracks and there was a build in those. I stopped the Bi-O-Kleen,ran some Dishwasher Magic through, then went back to Cascade 2in1 pacs. The racks were soon gliding in/out like always. Not sure about the laundry detergent but I do know the dish detergent builds up. Maybe the cleaning with Cascade will help your clothes washer. Good Luck!

Thanks Sparky, I noticed the exact same thing with the Bi-O-Kleen dishwashing powder as well as the Ecover tab products. My dishwasher also got gunked up over time -- I noticed a healthy build-up of grit and other nasty stuff towards the back corners of the cutlery tray.

I ran a wash of LemiShine through the unit and have since been using Cascade 2-in-1 Pacs with Bleach as well as the Cascade Complete w/ Bleach powder and the build-up issues have disappeared. It seems that the green dishwashing detergents may do more harm than good over time, and that may be true of the washing powder as well.

I'll try to run a load of Tide HE every now and then to keep the washing machine "clean". I think the mold is caused either by build-up (which is counter-intuitive since green detergents are supposed to cause LESS build-up) or the lack of chemicals to kill the molds.

Or try a monthly wash cycle of 1 cup white vinegar--no clothes. Vinegar is very good on mold.

I would think the vinegar in your hottest water should do the trick. Vinegar is also a good cleaner, though I wouldn't expect it do clean laundry, but it should handle your washing machine OK.

I will give the vinegar a try. The machine itself actually has no odor, it's just the clothes that come out smelling musty if I let them sit in the machine for a couple of hours. If I empty it out right away, everything smells just fine. I've never had to deal with this issue before, and it coincides with several months of using the "green" detergent. Perhaps it's just a coincidence?

sshriva - I had similar problems when I used Ecover exclusively, except clothes would smell musty when they were dry... problem solved when I switched back to Ariel/Persil.

This is one of the main reasons I switched back to a normal detergent... cleaning results were good with Ecover, but the musty smell and (with Ecover) residues left behind in the soap drawer were reasons why I switched back. Though I do feel very unethical about it. I put the musty smells down to no chemical perfumes being there to cover it up, and not the fact that the detergent didn't clean...

Perhaps if you upped your dose of fabric softener, this may offset the smell?

Hope this helps,

Jon

sshrivastava....I've been using seventh generation (free & clear flavor) for 7 months now. Every great once in a while I will do a load of towels in Charlies Soap but other than 7G & Charlies I haven't used any other detergent in my machine since it was brand new. I haven't noticed a musty smell nor have I experienced any mold. I just took the detergent drawer out a couple weeks ago to clean it and didn't see any mold, but I'm going to take it out again and double check. I do run at least 1 if not 2 sanitary cycles a week, quite a few hot cycles, the rest warm, but never cold washes. I've ran about 4 "clean washer" cycles in the last 7 months too maybe the migh help. I also use a little bit of seventh generations lavender fabric softner watered down to every load except towels.

Bio kleen has grapefruit seed & orange peel extracts. 7G has coconut based surfactants, wonder if that could make a difference? Seems kinda weird that it could be a coincidence if you'd never had problems before.

Probably should have mentioned in my first post, not to sure if it matters but.....I use liquid 7thG and powered Charlies.

sshrivastava-I am changing gears again here but I was wondering if you have tried,planned to try or talked to anyone who has tried the Miele dishwashing tabs? I was wondering how good they would work. For the price they should do well. Let me know what your thoughts are on these.
Thanks.

Sparky, The Miele tabs really work well. I've been using them for about a month now. They clean baked on stuff off better than anything else I've used. This sounds weird but things seem to sparkle after a load, even the stainless steel interior of the DW. There are a couple of threads on the Appliance forum about them, this seems to be the consensus. Todd

Yes, there are a couple of threads on the Appliance forum -- one under an Optima heading -- and the consensus from those who have tried the tabs is that they work great and leave the dishes extra sparkly. Personally I will need to buy a new pair of sunglasses before trying this product, however. :)

Most seem to be getting good results from just a half tab per load, which makes it much more economical and on a par with Cascade or more commercially available products.

One other thing that might help. Do you close the door to the washer between cycles? I try to leave mine open, since I wash most things in cold water.

I've always left my washer door ajar, in hopes of avoiding the exact situation in which I now find myself. How ironic...