Spring is notorious for unearthing the dirt that has been held captive in your home all winter. Recently 100 Go2Girlz tackled and cleaned their often-neglected washing machine with Affresh® Washer Cleaner.
High efficiency (HE) washers save water and energy, but over time, if not properly maintained and cleaned regularly, they are prone to odour-causing residue, mould and mildew stains.
Once a month, place an Affresh,® Washer Cleaner tablet in your washer drum without laundry and run a normal or clean wash cycle with hot water. The Affresh® tablet uses oxygenating action to lift many of the residues from the surfaces you can’t reach in your washer just by cleaning. Using Affresh® Washer Cleaner is a fast and simple way to keep the inside of your washer clean and fresh smelling.
What did real moms, the Go2Girlz, have to say about Affresh® Washer Cleaner after they tried it in their washing machine that works year round to keep their families looking good? Well the results were impressive!
The Go2Girlz testers received a one-month supply of Affresh® Washer Cleaner, one dissolving tablet, for this assignment. When they opened the package the reaction was definitely interesting! Their first impressions ranged from surprise and skepticism to revelation, like Kim, mom of 2 who said, “Wow. Here is a product that I didn’t even know I needed.” Roughly half of the 100 Go2Girlz members who tested Affresh reported having a musty smell in their washers, and Monica, mom of 2 told us her uncle (who is an appliance tech for Sears) had recommended she use the product.
While most of our testers didn’t know there was a product like Affresh® Washer Cleaner, and many reported never having cleaned their HE washers, almost all of our 100 real-mom testers were pleased with the results. Moms moms commented on the ease of use “just drop it in the washer and let the washer do all the work,” says Rajinder, mom of 3; and several moms also reported an increased peace of mind:
“You don’t always think of all the residue that can build up in the machine that can end up on your children’s clothes.” Christine, mom of 1
“I use cloth diapers, and this sure helped to make the washer smell really great after. Also it helps to remove mould and mildew so it helps a Mom feel more confident that the washer is cleaner, and healthier after using the product.” Monica, mom of 2
“The product smells really good, and makes the washer smell really fresh. It smells fresh even days after using the product (and the washer).” Kerrie, mom of 2
“It does exactly what it says: my washing machine is like brand new again.” Carla, mom of 3
But the most succinct comment came from Julie, a mom of 2 who says, simply: “Stink Be Gone!”
Some of our Go2Girlz were concerned about the potential environmental impact, but Affresh® is water-soluble, safe for septic tank use and does not contain Chlorine. It is safer for the environment and more effective than bleach or other cleaning products. In addition, a number of our Go2Girls testers were concerned about the environmental impact of using the washer once a month on the hot cycle with no clothes, as recommended on the product instructions. Although many of our testers weren’t regularly cleaning their washers, a number of them were doing so using other cleaners, including bleach.
Our testers were united in their appreciation of the clean, fresh smell of the product, and most reported that they would recommend it to a friend with an HE washer. Nearly all of our testers said they’d buy Affresh® Washer Cleaner again themselves – packets with a three-month supply are available at mass and grocery retailers across the country. Even many of our early skeptics were won over, like Debbie, mom of 2, who says: “I didn’t think it would make a noticeable difference, but it did a nice clean, job!”
My washing machine has been abused by my ex. It frequently was subjected to muddy and oil soaked clothing from Alberta’s Oilfield. This product works awesome and my washing machine looks brand new again! Package this with a divorce lawyer, and you’ve got a winning combo 🙂
I received this product to test in my front loader. I use cloth diapers and wash tons of very dirty clothing, and have noticed a bit of a musty odor at times. This product did smell nice, but I wasn’t too impressed with the end results. I still noticed a musty odor underneath the scent. I find that if I dry out the rubber seal after each load, and run some bleach through the machine, I have much better results.
I bought an affresh package at Lowe’s and saw there was a patent number on the package. The patent number 6,451,746 is owned by a company called Chemlink Laboratories, not Whirlpool. The patent was issued in 2002.
Google shows Chemlink is in Kennesaw, GA. Did Whirlpool invent the innovative formula or did they simply market a solution? Who created the innovation? Whirlpool or Chemlink? This is an innovation that is 7 years old. If the problem existed in the Whirlpool washers years ago (2002) why did they hold back on the solution for so long from the consumer? Can we buy directly from Chemlink?
Where did you find it? I want to buy it too!\
Thanks!
I can’t believe how fast people jump on bandwagons! These chemicals we are putting in our washers, dishwashers, tus, etc. all end up in our bodies by inhalation, or through skin contact…and we wonder why cancer rates are increasing. Call the manufacturer and ask what is in this stuff and then decide if it is worth it. Try borax or baking soda and vinegar for a natural alternative! This is NOT environmentally-friendly!
Thanks for all the reviews on this product, I’ll keep it in mind in case I ever need to use it, I have had an HE washer for 2 years now and have never had a problem of it smelling however I use it everyday so maybe that helps.
Thanks for telling me about this product. I bought it and tried it and WOW! What a difference! I have owned my HE washer for about 5 years and it had never been cleaned. No more stink and I’m sure our family’s clothes are thanking you.
I was just thinking that we needed something like this for our washer…very timely alert, thanks!
Super easy to use….who knew that something so easy could take away something the HE issues! Will buy again!
This musty smell issue sounds like an unacceptable 1st-generation problem in HE washers that has to be addressed by the manufacturers in v.2
Awesome!!! Saw the difference right away.
I was one of the skeptics who did not appreciate the fact I had to run my washer without anything in it–I have 18 month old twins in cloth diapers, so my washer is used pretty much non-stop. But it did help. I hated the smell in my washer and now it is gone. I will be buying these next time I am out.
Thanks again for the great product. We have since gone out and purschased for ourselves and are still so happy with the results!
What a great product! I had a front loader before and no matter how hard I cleaned I just couldn’t get that musty smell out. After trying this product on my current washing machine it was amazing. I wish I had known about this earlier.
Overall, I felt this product made my washing machine smell great and the inside of my machine looked cleaner. Now ….if it made the machine look cleaner I feel my clothes are probably benefitting the most, from a residue free machine.
I loved using this product! It really does make a difference!
This product is definitely easy to use. I was one of those people who didn’t know that you could / should clean your wash machine, but I have definitely noticed a difference. I’m glad this write up answers my concerns about environmental impact – I will rest assured when I use this product again next month!
I just love how easy of a solution this is to combat the “smelly front loader”. Who knew these expensive beasts would have an odour problem?!?! Well, they do!
Affresh washer cleaner is only needed once a month and all you do is throw in the puck and run your front loader. It leaves the machine nice a sparkly with a pleasant yet subtle citrus scent.
urbanmoms.ca, thanks for putting me onto this simple, great product!!!
These tablets are wonderful and make the washer almost like new again! Clothes are so freash smelling now!
I never thought that I would need such a product. Once I tried it I had to tell my friends, because thy never would have bought such a thing.
Loved this product. Got all of the stick out of the washer and the good smell lasted for days after we used Affresh.
I tried this product and thought it was great. Will be looking for it in my grocery store.
I never heard of Affresh Washer Cleaner Tablet before and what a great idea! Loved the fresh scent and everything in my HE washer looked shiny and clean.Definitely will be purchasing this product and passing on the news of Affresh to all my family and friends!
Great product review – I will definitely be looking for this next time I’m shopping!
I had my washer for a little over 6 months when I started to notice a musty smell on our towels – it was driving me crazy and I had never heard of the mildew/musty problem with front-loading washers. After a google search I had found a number of options (leaving the door open, using vinegar on a full wash cycle, using vinegar with all your washes etc.). I did manage to get rid of the smell, but it took a while. I will definitely be trying this product out…
I was really excited to try this product as my HE washer was getting a real musty smell to it, this really helped, now just to find it in my area, small towns are so slow at getting new products
Thanks go2girlzs for recommending this product I have had a HE washer for a year now and I keep wondering why it has a bad odour I have tried running a cycle with bleach and with lots of fabric softener but nothing worked. I hope this new product is easy to find in stores I’m going shopping right now to find it. Thanks again.
I used it but other than smelling nice I didn’t notice anything different.
However last fall we did encounter the musty washer smell. It made all our jeans & towels smell like potty. I had Hubby pick up a pack of 3 Affresh tablets to keep on hand to use montly to keep the smell from coming back.
I actually pretty angry that we spent close to $2000 on a washer that has ‘smell’ issues. I’m wondering why we were not notified that this was a common problem with HE front loaders. We’ve had two other top loading machines over the past 13 years & we never had a problem with an odor.
I’m glad that someone has taken notice & created a solution to the stinky washer problem.
Thanks for introducing us to this product — I’m still surprised we’d never heard of it (then again, we don’t have cable, so perhaps we’ve missed tv commercials about it). It was easy to use and effective — we’ll buy it again and probably use it fairly often with another baby due in a few weeks and considerably more laundry.
I, too, never realized I could do something so easy about the “issues” inside the HE washer. I am looking forward to trying this product out! Thanks for the information and recommendation, GO2Girlz!
Great review! It’s true how we clean almost every other surface in our houses, yet we neglect to maintain the one item that’s keeping our clothes, and our kids’ clothes, clean and free of bacteria. We just got a new washer and dryer by Whirpool and I noticed on the Affresh package it said that both Maytag and Whirpool recommend the product – I will definitely be purchasing more!!
You know, I just thought that leaving the door of my washer open would fix the odour problem. Except when my husband bumped into the door and not only cut his shin quite badly but also unhinged the door and we had to pay for repairs!
I also never thought about the mildew, etc. building up in the machine…I clean my shower every week – I even clean my dishwasher monthly…don’t know why it never dawned on me to clean my washing machine, especially when it’s getting a lot more dirt, etc. (I am potty-training a toddler…I’ll leave the etc. part to your imagination) going through it.
So basically – thanks for tipping me off to this product. It lived up to its claims and opened my eyes to something I never even thought about. At least I can rest easy knowing that at least it is super easy to do this cleaning job I have just discovered!
I look forward to doing laundry again! It made the washer smell so fresh and clean again just like new. I will definitely use these in the future!