What was on it? Fab softener or something? I can't believe that washer is ten years old (LOL).....I hope mine lasts me five more years. It's sixth birthday will be next April.

Please allow me to post my opinion and experience on this stinky issue. I am the owner of a HE3T washer, and I am really unhappy with it, mainly because of the smelly and moldy issue, that crept up on us unexpectedly. My wife and I have 4 kids, so doing laundry is a daily affair, and not to be underestimated or procrastinated either... I am on the verge of throwing that ugly beast out of the laundry room for good. It is unbearably revolting to pick up an (alleged) clean towel to dry one's face just out of the shower, and "smear" moldy smell all over you. The vomit factor is very high on this one.... :-( However, I want to highlight a point, and that this issue is NOT an issue with ALL the FL (front loader) washing machines in general. Maybe just US made ones... Overseas, ( Italy ) where I grew up, FL are 99.999999% of laundry machines available on the market and this issue is completely unknown. To put it simply, I am now 45 years of age, I have lived in Italy 28 of those years, and I have never, ever, seen or heard of moldy smell on clean laundry out of the washer. Never. If you knew my mother (she redefines the word "neat freak") you would understand. Just the hint of a remote possibility of having mold in the washer and/or laundry, would bring that washer in the front yard in flames... Seriously, I believe US manufacturers have gone wrong somewhere in the making of this machines. They either cut one too may corners ( quality of rubber, maybe ?) or are attempting to reduce the amount of water in the cycle at the point where the quality of the rinse cycle is not an issue with them, and us as consumers are not part of the equation. I just came back from a one year of living in Italy with wife and kids, and the FIRST thing we notice, ever single time we go over there, is how much fresher and overall incredibly better smell of "clean laundry" they have from their washers. I know, we are weird... and on the contrary, as soon as we are back to the US, and to our $#@! HE3T, we pick up the moldy smell again. The customer/user/consumer SHOULD NOT have to do any gimmicks or use any "special" tablets, in order to operate these washers, or any washer, for that matter, NOT A SINGLE ONE. This washers are NOT cheap and they should just... well, work. Living in Italy for the last 12 months, we used two washers, one that came with the apartment we rented, and besides a slower spin cycle, it worked as expected (put dirty clothes in, put detergent, push the button, wait, get wet CLEAN laundry out, END OF THE story. Then the landlord needed his washer back, and for a "rent discount" he took that one back, and I got my old 12 years old Miele washer out of storage. This Miele has a somewhat smaller load capacity than most, and it worked for a family of 6 for a long time. Same for my mother's Candy ( Italian brand), and my sister's old Italian washer (San Giorgio). That one lasted 16 years of day in and day out operation for a family of six. It is just so frustrating, since I know that as a concept, FL do work very well, I have seen it work for decades... and one more time, we should NOT need to use "tablets" or do complicated procedures to have clean and good smelling laundry. As I said before, millions of people overseas use FL day in and day out, without doing anything else other than 1) put dirty laundry in 2) select cycle 3) put detergent in 4) push button 5( get clean clothes out. End of the story. Kenmore, Sears, whatever, get your acts together !!

[This Appliances FAQ article was moved to the Laundry Room FAQ on 28 December 2004.]

Tide with bleach powder is about 25 cents per load. That's about what you are paying for Tide free products. But the tide with bleach comes with "free" oxyclean equivalent. I believe the Kmart price for 22 ounces of Zout is $3.29. The Zout spray bottle is wasteful due to overspray. But placing Zout in a bottle that can drip liquid can reduce the cost per load. Zout plus Tide with Bleach, in a long warm wash, will clean most things that are cleanable. While all modern detergents contain enzymes, a product like Zout puts these materials directly on the stains in a high concentration. My thinking is that anyone who is not satisfied with laundry performance should start solving the problem with the highest rated detergents. That is currently Tide with Bleach powder, Tide Ultra liquid, and now possibly Persil and "Tide Turbo". Adding boosters to lesser detergents like the Tide free products is guessing at improving the chemistry of the wash water. Actual chemists who design premium detergents should be able to produce superior results. Particularly if you have a conventional TL washer, a sodium percarbonate presoak may be the most cost effective way to clean your worst items. I believe sodium per. stays active for about five hours. People here can suggest the best place to buy this product at a discount. I know The Chemistry Store sells a version without filler, but I don't know if that product is the best value. The right product used correctly will be the most cost effective approach, even if some of these products seem to have initial higher cost.