Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Front Loading Washers

Do you have a front-loading washing machine? Our new house came with one - A Whirlpool Duet. We were pretty happy about that until we recently noticed that our clothes don't smell so fresh. Well, after a short time on the Internet (hooray for that technology), we read that people were finding their kids' funky old socks stuck under the "rubber gasket." And that mold and mildew were collecting on them and ... yuck. One message board even had a European person chastising us lazy Americans for not leaving our washer doors open and cleaning out the workings of our machines. What did we think would happen in that wet environment?

Anyway, The Hubby went right up to see what this "rubber gasket" might be and just bent back some rubber and voila, seven of the girls' socks. Two mysteries solved. In fact, I had just bought a ton of new socks for the girls because somehow they were always out of white socks after only two days (this is a problem when your schoolkid has a uniform!).

So now that these gnarly socks are out, we have to wipe out all this vile sludge from under our friend the rubber gasket. And we are going to run an empty load with hot water and bleach. And maybe then we will not be so stinky!

Leaving the door open after washes will kind of be a pain due to the closet that the washer is in, but we'll plan to try that too. At least for a half day or so to dry out the drum.

Aren't you glad you tuned in to my life today?

1 comment:

kenneth allard said...

Dear Barbra,
I accidentally landed on your site in the course of a search for something entirely different, but I became curious. I was very much amused by your comments on front-loading washing machines and mouldy old socks which get 'stuck under the rubber gasket'. I find it incredible that there is enough space in there, and that the rotation of the drum is not hindered. In the operating instructions for my machine, the manufacturer recommends regular inspections for any objects which may be present there. However, he means small hard objects such as lost buttons and zipper levers, as well as things forgotten in pockets, such as coins or keys. Under some circumstances, these objects can severely damage the machine as well as laundry items. He apparently did not think of kids' socks, though! Incidentally, your First Communion pictures of 'Big-Girl' are beautiful and bring back memories.
Sincerely, k. allard