Neither here. I don't like stench. When clothes smell they need to be washed AFAIC. Dryer sheets do not cause fires. Lack of maintenance causes fires. I occasionally use vinegar in the rinse cycle if I have to use a lot of detergent and/or additives to clean the clothes. It does help cut the detergent. Many people find vinegar's value as a softener to be dubious. Static from drying clothes? This is really funny. People are spending more to create a problem, then spending more to try to eliminate the problem they caused! You're overdrying your clothes, simple as that. Overdrying is bad for the clothes anyway, and it costs you more in gas/electricity and then top it off with needless dryer sheets and you have a 3-way saving potential. When you have static in clothes it's caused by lack of moisture. You're overdrying your clothes if you have a lot of moisture problems. If you pull it out and it goes snap, crackle, pop, take a spray bottle, give a mist of water, shake it and you'll eliminate the problem. Misting carpets when they cause static is very effective too. We had carpet in the shop at the store and computers and static are not very compatible. My partners laughed when I took a spray bottle out but it didn't take long before they were misting away! Now if your clothes are polyester, you'll have far more static issues but again, proper drying will eliminate most all of them. I buy poly mix t-shirts and no problems. Every place I've heated with wood gets a bucket of water set on or next to the woodburner. It's too dry without. Hard on the body, hard on the wood in the house, hard on furniture, drives pets crazy from the static and more. It's difficult to have too much moisture in a normal cold climate so as to cause mold. Summertime is when the mold/mildew is a much bigger issue. Same thing with wrinkled clothes. Pull them out when they are just dry or ever so slightly underdry and you won't have wrinkling issues. Also, don't leave the clothes sitting in the dryer for days if it's going to wrinkle. Way back when, back in the days when jeans were thick material and stiff, I'd wash them immediately (when new) then take fabric softener and use about 2-3 times the recommended amount and it would soften them up. Then maybe once a year I'd use some softener on them if they were unbearably stiff. That's not the case anymore. I also use the dryer balls but I don't really see a static benefit. I do believe it helps cut the drying time. Grainlady reported that she bought the dryer balls with the anti-static and says they helped for static. I've had no need for it so I haven't bought them.

I have a set of Kenmore front load (Whirlpool products) with the mold on the door liner problem. I've taken good care of my washer & dryer and wanted to know if the part would be replaced since I keep the machines under warranty. Bottom line according to the Sears repairman, that was out doing a maintenance on the set is, in the Sears manual it says per the repairman to keep the washer door and the detergent drawer open after using the machine to dry out the inside of the machine to avoid 'the mold on the door liner from growing' in the first place. Not to do so voids your warranty to have the liner replaced! It was the repairman's decision that I did not leave my door open when I first got my washer and dryer therefore no replacement for me. I asked him what the price was for me to pay for it. I was quoted $400.00 from Sears in Atlanta Georgia. There is only one small area of mold at the bottom of the door. I have attempted cleaning this area with a number of solutions to no avail. I have used the Affresh product for a number of years off and on. Of course, I leave the door open however, I, like the other lady, feel I should not have to do this. These are expensive machines and are designed to have the doors closed. I purchased the machine on the sales floor at Sears from a sales person. I should have been advised of this fact at the time of the sales presentation. To bury this information in the back of a manual amounts to fraud. This is not only a design flaw it is a policy fraud by Sears to carry a warranty in this manner. To bilk customers for $400 on the replacement cost of a $20 part makes the situation even worst for Sears. This lady is correct to say the door should not have to stay in an open position and I agree with her 100%.

Dadoes thank you. I will get into this interesting read later. Enduring, I've always believed a Laundry Sour should be the next to the last rinse, but I'm not sure why I think that...I probably read it. I would think our Sin could give great info on this subject. Possiably citric acid is such a mild acidic that it makes no difference. I also don't know how much needs to be used in order to be beneficial as far as neutralizing carbonates. I know there's been a LOT of talk on the web and expecially on mommy blogs about vinegar or citric acid being a safe alternative to LFS, IMO these people are misinformed...a laundry sour is used in professional laundries because it neutralizes certain residue, and carbonates expecially that have been neutralized give the fabric a more *smoothness* not a softness. Professional laundries use a sour because if carbonates are not neutralized when the garment goes under a hot iron they can turn that striking white dress shirt a not so attractive yellow. Everyone has their own level of softness...for me its a well rinsed garment that hasn't been over dried...but for others its the feel that a FS gives. I do ramble at times.

Before I did any more washing, I would just place the afghan over a wood drying rack outside on a sunny day. It can be cold, you just don't want cloudy or any rain. You will have to fold in half lengthwise and place over the top and out to both sides. Bring in when the sun goes down and leave on rack to keep airing in the house. Sunlight kills mold spoors, if that is what it is. You may have an old mothball smell. Mothballs smell musty to me and the sun and fresh air will also remove that. I wouldn't add any more chemicals to the mix. I think it just needs to air out a time or two. If that doesn't work, you can always go further. I have the acrylic afghans just like yours from the same time period.