3 ms·

I thought it was common knowledge to sanitize your wash machine every month with a bleach load to kill germs and whatever After decades of doing my own laundry

I thought it was common knowledge to sanitize your wash machine every month with a bleach load to kill germs and whatever After decades of doing my own laundry, I'd never heard of that practice. Well, at least not until recently when I got an HE front loader machine, now I run a bleach cleaning cycle once a month or so to kill odor causing germs. But not to keep germs off my clothes.

roenxi 8y ago
There is a delicious irony in what you are saying. More than likely, the reason that you perceive an odor is because your body is trying to keep the germs off. So from an evolutionary standpoint, you are probably running a bleach cycle to keep germs off your clothes.
hinkley 8y ago
Partly this is a design flaw with front loaders. Old school washing machine it’s easy to leave the door open when not in use. So everything dries out and you don’t get mildew (if your machine is like mine you are smelling mildew). Front load the damned door smacks you in the shin and you close it. Creating a nice little terrarium to grow stuff in. I throw a little white vinegar into the prewash every time I launder cotton. Keeps the mildew under control and helps with hard water. Check out the top load HEs. The Japanese were using that design for a long time.
- njarboe 8y ago
  We have had the same front loader for twenty years and my girlfriend wants that door closed. We have it always closed and never had a problem with mildew. Don't use bleach very often either. Maybe mildew comes into the washer from the air and once you get it you never are without it. If you always keep it shut, the mildew never contaminates the washer. I'm also in the East Bay where humidity is not stupid high and we don't have mildewy things to wash often. That might be part of our luck. Here is an experiment whose results I'd pay for. Who to fund it; NIH or NSF? They are always asking for the societal impact of the research to be performed.
  - hinkley 8y ago
    There seems to be some variance. At least two of the ones I’ve been around have had this problem, including the one I own. Maybe a design flaw.
  - Consultant32452 8y ago
    It probably has more to do with your climate than your model of washer. Warm and wet climates vs cold and dry.
Kiro 8y ago
> to kill odor causing germs. But not to keep germs off my clothes. What does this mean? Where are the odor causing germs if not on your clothes?
- slowmotiony 8y ago
  Inside his washing machine.

roenxi 8y ago

There is a delicious irony in what you are saying. More than likely, the reason that you perceive an odor is because your body is trying to keep the germs off. So from an evolutionary standpoint, you are probably running a bleach cycle to keep germs off your clothes.

hinkley 8y ago

Partly this is a design flaw with front loaders. Old school washing machine it’s easy to leave the door open when not in use. So everything dries out and you don’t get mildew (if your machine is like mine you are smelling mildew). Front load the damned door smacks you in the shin and you close it. Creating a nice little terrarium to grow stuff in. I throw a little white vinegar into the prewash every time I launder cotton. Keeps the mildew under control and helps with hard water. Check out the top load HEs. The Japanese were using that design for a long time.

njarboe 8y ago
We have had the same front loader for twenty years and my girlfriend wants that door closed. We have it always closed and never had a problem with mildew. Don't use bleach very often either. Maybe mildew comes into the washer from the air and once you get it you never are without it. If you always keep it shut, the mildew never contaminates the washer. I'm also in the East Bay where humidity is not stupid high and we don't have mildewy things to wash often. That might be part of our luck. Here is an experiment whose results I'd pay for. Who to fund it; NIH or NSF? They are always asking for the societal impact of the research to be performed.
- hinkley 8y ago
  There seems to be some variance. At least two of the ones I’ve been around have had this problem, including the one I own. Maybe a design flaw.
- Consultant32452 8y ago
  It probably has more to do with your climate than your model of washer. Warm and wet climates vs cold and dry.

Kiro 8y ago

> to kill odor causing germs. But not to keep germs off my clothes. What does this mean? Where are the odor causing germs if not on your clothes?

slowmotiony 8y ago
Inside his washing machine.