Don’t know about the dishwashers, but steer clear of one of those HE washing machines. They are a major pain. I’m forever trying to wipe the gasket and run vinegar or ammonia or clorox through it to prevent smelly clothes. Some of the earlier versions don’t drain properly.
” but steer clear of one of those HE washing machines. They are a major pain. “
My Kenmore Elite HE is excellent.
I just looked up HE washing machines and dishwashers. Apparently both need extra cleaning or unwelcome odors occur. We’ve never had to clean the inside of our old dishwasher. Using the hot cycle probably has something to do with it. So much for saving the environment when one has to use water just to clean an empty dishwasher, not to mention re-washing dishes.
We've had a Samsung for over a year. It does a great job. Just leave the door open after washing to let it dry out. No problem with smell. Never wiped the gasket or used any cleaners.
Tips:
Always use the HE detergent. Regular detergent creates too much suds and will cause premature machine failure.
If you have regular strength HE detergent, use 2 tablespoons.
If you have 2X, only use 1 tablespoon.
The odor you are getting is from using too much detergent. The detergent is enzyme based. If it does not get completely rinsed out, it will grow in your washer. The odor is "soap mold", much like forms in a shower.
You can buy a product from Menards, Lowes, etc. called "Affresh", it will clean the mold out.
I would avoid vinegar and ammonia as these could lead to premature failures in gaskets and seals.
My daughter used our new HE machine during a windstorm, and the power went out in the middle of her load. It was out for 9 days, and we couldn’t get the clothes out of the machine because the door locked. Talk about a nasty odor! Yuck!
If you're talking about the new front-loading ones, then yes, there is a problem with that. It may not be a lack of draining properly, it may actually be that the door remains closed and sealed when not in use and that doesn't allow it to dry out properly, so you get stuff growing that you don't want to have grow. The most common recommendation I hear to fix it is to always leave the door ajar. Problem with that is most laundry rooms simply don't have the room to leave the door open. It's also a problem that many models actually don't allow the door to simply stand ajar, but make the machine so that the door swings wide open when it is not latched.
steer clear of HE washers...
I have had my Kenmore washing machine for well over a year with no problems. I read where running vinegar etc through will destroy the gaskets.
Leaving the door just a bit ajar eliminates any moldy odors- my daughter has had one for several years and has had no problems or odor.