Clothes do not get clean. Washer twist clothes in knots Washer stinks smells musty like maybe water is not draining properly

I would put in some bleach and clothes that can handle it without damage and run a wash cycle. Leave the door open when you are done using the machine, or at least un-latched. There are commercial products, but bleach will do the same thing. You have stuff growing on the gizzards inside the drum, and bleach will likely kill them. They like dark & humid places.. guess what... that's your washer with the door kept latched.

Is this a front-load washer or top load?

Is the machine operating properly, or are your clothes getting a musty smell?

The musty smell has a few solutions, One may work but probably a combination of all will work best.


Immediately move wet clothes to the dryer, do not let them sit in the washer for a long time.
If your clothes smell, put mouthwash with your clothes directly in the tub during the wash cycle (this will not stain your clothes)
leave the door open when not in use (lets it dry out)
If the washer smells, use bleach and hot water in an empty cycle once in a while (kills just about every kind of bacteria or mold which may be causing the smell)
Use washing machine cleaner once in a while(can be found at your local grocery store isle next to detergent)
Dry your clothes completely, damp clothes can start to smell again.

If you are looking for a new washer, try to find a newer model that features a stainless steel tub with silver impregnation. The silver is a natural disinfectant.

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You can use Affresh to clean your front loader. Deposits of soap and other such things can be stuck around the inside tub of your washer. Try this product, it works great on all front loaders. Use very hot water with the Affresh pellet with no clothes and run the machine through a cycle. Also helps with any stagnant water smells. Put the Affresh pellet inside the machine, not in the soap dispenser.

You can give me a ‘very helpful’ rating for the free help, can't you. Thanks.

I have a zwf1241w with similar problem. When I disconnected the drain hose that runs from the drum casing to the pump housing there was a lot of collected debris that had prevented the water from draining through properly. You could try clearing this out.

I have the same problem with my machine. Also a frigidaire. After speaking with many repair people apparantly this is a common issue. With mine the gasket that seals around the door has separated completely from the machine and you can literally lift is away. If you pull it back you can run your finger along the metal of the machine and lift of soft black mold. I am in the midst of trying to get my machine replaced with another brand under warranty. This has actually caused severe allergic reactions to my family and took over 6 months to find.

Do a boil wash without clothes & detergents, with a cup of bicarbonate of soda in the soap drawer.

I find that the dryer does not dry the clothes enough. The washer can take a lot of laundry at one time but the dryer is not able to handle the load. The stink usually comes from a bit of moisture left in the the clothes, especially the towels. Break down your dryer loads or dry them on a timed cycle for a longer time.

clogged water screens , defective water level pressure switch , clogged drain, kinked drain hose ,. defective water pump , defective water tempeerture switch, damaged water valve solenoid , water inlet valve has an interal malfunction

I have the same problem - the clothes smell like they have been left in there for a week - stale or moldy.

It only happens with dark clothes - I have started adding color safe bleach or oxy clean and sometimes a tiny spash of bleach - it seems to have solved it.

The big door seal is probably the problem. Put on gloves and using a solution of Laundry detregent and hot water and rags, carefully wipe clean all the folds of the seal. It will be icky. Next run a cycle with some detergent and oxyclean or bleach if you have it.

Especially during warm weather, damp clothing left in a front loader mildew slightly very quickly- you can't really see much but you can smell it! So get the clothes in to the dryer immediately. You'll want to relaunder the smelly clothing after you have cleaned the washer.

Good luck to you and Thank You using FiX YA!