bojana

I can't speak to the LG model but I had a Frigidaire front loader for 15 yrs and then a Speed Queen Front loader for 2 or 3 years. I have always left the door ajar and the soap dispenser slightly out. Periodically I would wash the rubber gasket as dirt seems to accumulate as well as the soap dispenser. Other than that nothing else. I think it's common sense to leave the door ajar or you will get mold or mildew smells which can be hard to get rid of.

Inga

I leave my door ajar. It will hold any position I put it in, not all brands do this. The amazon product you link would not be useful to me. I always dry the boot. I always take the soap drawer out to dry over night. I clean it periodically. I might wip out the receptacle for the drawer with a micro fiber towel. When laundry is done for the week and appliance dried out overnight I put it back together. I never seal the door though, just nearly closed. I never have mold. I also use exclusively temps from 104f to 190f. Rare occasion do I use cold water. Silk would be an example of cold.

I would strongly recommend a front loader with a heating element. I use the high temp sanitize mode for towels. With a previous machine I was unable to get rid of undesirable odors unless I used liquid bleach. (Use half of your usual detergent amount.) Also, wipe down the door gasket area and always leave the door ajar a few inches. Mine will stay open at any position, most do. My machine has a tub clean cycle, I run it once a month using an automatic dishwasher detergent pod. I never have problems with foul machine odors. BTW, I find the combination of regular Tide He liquid and BIZ powder give me the cleanest laundry. You will find as I did that using small amounts of detergent just because it's a front loader will not give you clean laundry. Use the recommended amount on the detergent or additive package. Also, I always set the machine for an extra rinse and may do a separate rinse/spin or two afterwards depending on the load. (South Florida with hard water.)

Have had 4 front loader sets in the last 15 years without any mold issues whatsoever.

Seems to me that "whether this opening will be enough to keep mold and mildew from developing inside the washer" will be affected by bojana's local climate and water chemistry. Also affected by how diligently you follow your proposed cleaning and low-dose detergent regime, and by whether the laundry closet will have solid-panel doors (that will be closed tight) versus louvered doors that allow for ventilation.

I can say that I and many neighbors with FL machines have never run into any odor etc. problems with our washing machines despite being less than diligent about keeping doors wide open or opening (let alone removing) the dispenser drawers, or running cleaning cycles, much less ever wiping down gaskets or interiors.

But then, our town has a rather dry Northern Rockies climate. Even closed basements and closets are rarely dank, here.

Our town's water chemistry is benign. We all have learned to reduce HE detergent dosages from the recommended levels. Around here, it seems that the recommended dosages are designed for top loaders using much greater amounts of diluting water than our FL machines use.

Almost everybody I know does some hot wash cycles every week (heating the water either with an on-board heater as twebzz recommended or simply by having the machine close to a water heater). Nobody I know here seems to use chemical fabric softeners but almost everybody does a load with some bleach every week.

Only a few folks hereabouts seem to have laundry closets; all the ones I have seen here have had louvered doors.

FWIW, four of my friends and neighbors have and have been satisfied with the LG model bojana is considering.

Excellent points, JW.

I live in a wet climate and have a running battle with mold, mildew, algae and rust outside. Mold, mildew, rust & corrosion inside. Laundry in the basement. Dehumidifier runs 3 seasons of the year. Other family members use the washer. Don't want to discourage this. At the same time, they are not what you would call 'easily trainable'. And it might be days before I found one of their boo-boos--the door left closed, seal not wiped down... For these reasons (and others), I would never consider a front load washer.