I once had a laundry closet in a room that was also used as a study. There was no room for doors of any kind. So I had a custom pleated shade made in colors to match the room. It could be pulled up completely out of the way when needed. It could be lowered most of the way to provide both screening and airflow. The shade was in a subtle stripe pattern that matched the surrounding trim and wall colors. It was somewhat translucent, so I could leave the closet light on behind it for a kind of cool effect. Such shades come in all kinds of weights and textures -- I suppose you could even have a roman style shade that fit over the outer frame of the door. I know mine got lots of complements.

With all the opinions, assumed problems, brands, types, and style of washing machines these days, its important to get a perspective of what exactly is being compared. With strict government energy guidelines, manufacturers are forced to comply and reengineer products to meet that criteria. The difficult task is manufacturing a product that still cleans, uses much less water, and promoting it in such a way it still sells. None of this information is new but it goes a long way into understanding what is being compared. Their are distinct categories of washing machines each with specific positives and negatives. Traditional Front Load Washer-Excellent cleaning, Uses plenty of water for effective cleaning , Average Cycle times, Gentle on Clothes, and finished load quality is better and softer. The later is directly related to having sufficient immersion of the load in plenty of water. Water temperatures are not locked down or lowered to meet current standards. Average life span is 10 years or more. HE Front Load Washer-Very Good cleaning, Substandard amount of water used, Long Cycle times, Harder on clothing because of the lack of water and friction of the garments creates lint and pilling issues in some instances. Finish load quality is harsh. (Scratchy towel syndrome) Clothes tend to wear out quicker. Dumbed Down water temps. (Hot is the new warm, warm is cool, and cool is cold) None of the new HE machines that I know of offer a 100% tap Hot fill. Average life span 7 - 10 years. Traditional Top Load Agitator Style-Excellent cleaning. Ridiculous amount of water usage. Short cycle times. Gentler on clothing than HE Top Loader and HE Front Loaders. Excellent lint and pet hair redisposition than all other types of machines. All other machines lack a recirculation water pump and lint filter. Temperatures not dumbed down and limited to Hot water supply temperature. Average life span 15-25 years. HE Top Loader-Below average cleaning. Moderate Cycle times. Tangles and knots clothing. Average amount of water usage but not enough for a vertical axis machine to properly clean. Dumbed Down water temps. Average life span 5-7 years. Build quality in all the new HE machines is virtually identical, neither here nor there. With the exception of Miele and Speed Queen which by far is superior. Unfortunately Speed Queen failed to keep pace with the technology and marketing over the years and are really not in pace with the competition. They are not available in mainstream big box or other retail but through a dealer only arrangement. If it wasn't for their share in coin-op commercial they most likely would have been bought out long ago. They were not mainstream in the 70's, 80's, and later years when top loaders were all the rage, while Kenmore, Whirlpool, Maytag, GE emerged as the market leaders. Today Samsung, LG have gobbled the market share with Whirlpool and it's acquired sub brands now trying to keep pace. Miele just isn't an option in the U.S. and didn't compete very well when introduced to this market years ago. Lack of service, capacity, and features. They too were dwarfed by the Korean competition. So there's a lot to consider when deciding if you like or dislike your current machine. I liked all my machines, commercial, very old double Dexter wringer, old style top loader, conventional front loader, and yes there are even things I like about my HE front loader. I would like it a lot better if government would QUIT placing ridiculous regulations on laundry equipment. When you have to use a work around to get the appliance to do what it was meant to do, we are moving backwards!

Being a servicer for several brands including Bosch I'm not aware they had a BIG problem with mold. It seems that the units with the built in water heaters like the Bosch have the least problems with mold. Mold is not something that can grow on glass rubber or steel. It needs protiens, like those found in body cells, oils, detergents and softeners in order to grow. There has been many posts on this forum on the causes of mold so I don't think I need to open that can of worms here. I doubt that the "new" model you saw actually had mold in it. You may have seen manufacturing residue and I'm told that every Bosch washer goes through a full wet test at the end of their assembly line so I would guess you may have seen residue from the testing.

Yes, I did see that but to be honest, that's the first time I've read ANYTHING negative about them. I went to a couple of stores yesterday to browse and they all had the same price. I asked about any sales and whatnot but I was told that the way Electrolux structures their pricing, I will be hard pressed to find any store offer a lower price from another. I do know about the $500 rebate for a Wave Touch but I'm really looking for the IQ models. The huge price difference really isn't justified to me. I don't need the fancy control, etc. I just need something with a large capacity, FL, energy savings, etc. and the IQ will do. I just can't get over how expensive the pedestals are and the drawers are made of plastic!!