Now I know this has nothing to do with gardening other than washing your work clothes and gloves but when I find out new things I just have to tell you about it.
I got my front load washer and dryer because they were pretty, the latest thing and I thought that it might be easier to take clothes in and out of. I bought my special “he” (high efficiency) detergent and I was on my way.
I have a maintenance contract on my front loaders and when the service guy arrived he let me in on some of the monthly maintenance chores involved.
Before we get to that, you must know that you should keep the front door open when it’s not in use and not only that but you should keep the detergent door open as well. It’s really best to take the whole drawer out. This helps keep everything dry and free of moldy smells. See the thumb print at the top of the drawer? Press that and it will release the drawer.
So now I have the door open and the drawer out. Not so pretty!
Next are the monthly chores. You have to go to the bottom compartment where the drainage hose and catch is located. First unstop the hose and drain the water out into a pan or bucket. This will take a few minutes. Next, unscrew the catch and remove anything that has gotten caught. I had a trash bag twist tie and a couple of pieces of pine straw in mine.
Now you buy some “washer cleaner.” If you use the powder kind you’ll have to put it directly into the barrel of the machine otherwise it will just gunk up in the detergent drawer and you’ll have to run it a second time. I got this liquid cleaner from the Sears scratch and dent store for around $10.
I have a tub cleaner setting on my washer so I set it to that and filled my detergent tray up to maximum with the cleaner. If you don’t have a tub clean setting just use a quick wash cycle. I let it run on tub clean for about a minute then paused the washer and opened the door.
Next I took a clean cloth and using the soapy water in the barrel I wiped the rubber seal around the door and on the inside of the window. I also took my finger and cleaned around the crevasses in the gasket. Do this very carefully because you could break the seal and then you’ll have to have the thing replaced. I started the machine up again and let it run its course. The best way to keep the tub smelling fresh every week is to put a couple of drops of lemon essential oil into it and let it run a short wash. You can buy high quality essential oil by emailing me at https://www.doterra.com/US/en/site/growit
I was also told that around the third year of owning my dryer it would be wise to have a technician come out take the top and front off the dryer and vacuum off the coils. This would eliminate the build up of lint and prevent a possible fire.
So am I happy with the front load washer? Well, I can see that during the wash cycle the clothes inside are brought up to the top and kind of folded over. Because of this I keep my loads small. You just can beat that swishy agitation of a top load washer and front loaders don't have that. For the maintenance and having to leave everything open - I wouldn’t buy another front load washer.
I’d love your opinion. How do you get along with your front load washer?
Just add 3 drops of Purify to the load before you wash.
