Have no advice on the detergent (I would read the manual on that. I use liquid). But, just wanted to remind you not to close the door all the way when the inside of the washer is still wet. Leave it open or at least slightly ajar. You can put a hand towel or something in there to hold it ajar if you can’t leave it open. I love mine!

I also have an LG front loader. Not sure which model off the top of my head. I’ve always used liquid detergent (Mrs. Meyers brand) and I’ve never had any issues.

I agree with the above poster on remembering to leave the washer door slightly open after running a load.

I absolutely love my LG set. It’s so quiet and uses barely any water. Also does a fantastic job with the actual washing.

Be sure not to use too much detergent - it may take less than you expect......If you use too much, it will cling to the tubes and clog up the works, decreasing efficiency. One brand of FL washer I had (Gorenje) suggested diluting the liquid detergent with a bit of water once in the little dispensing compartment, and I've been doing it ever since. Makes sense to me to thin it out so it's not so thick (I keep a little squeeze bottle of water next to the bottle of liquid detergent). My new LG set arrives Friday, and I can't wait to get rid of the Samsung machines I have and get back to using an LG.

Good advice above. I definitely find that my FL requires much less detergent. For very small loads, I add water to the detergent dispenser to meet the “minimum” line. Works great.

Avoid cold water unless a particular item absolutely requires it. Warm and hot on the designated normal cycle are dumbed-down nowadays to the point that warm may be 75°F and hot a whopping 85°F to 95°F.

Too little detergent won't condition the water properly and result in laundry soils adhering to the exterior of the inner drum and interior of the outer tub where it's unreachable for hand-scrubbing to remove it ... kinda like grease that sticks at the water line when dirty, cold dishwater is left in a sink.

How much Kirkland liquid detergent to use in your new front loader? Costco makes it easy to find a starting point. Look at the clear plastic cup over the pour spout on the jug. On each side of the cap you'll see three bar graph bands going up from the cup's bottom. The taller set, marked 1 2, and 3 are supposed to represent an average for small, medium and large washloads for top load washers. On the other side are three shorter bars marked A, B and C. Those are rough averages for small, medium and large washloads for front loading washers. Last time I measured, the shortest bar seemed to mark about 1¼ tablespoons. The tallest bar on that side (the "C" bar) represents an average estimated dose for the fullest and dirtiest load you might be washing in one of the mega-capacity 5 or 6 cu ft. front loaders.

As TV says, you don't want to use too much detergent but you also want to avoid using too little. Too much results in schmutz that builds up and feeds the infamous mold and mildew problem causes stiff laundry and also corrodes interior washer parts like the drum's spyder/support-trunion. Too much also can cause over sudsing which, in front loaders, cushions the wash load and keeps it from tumbling and agitating enough to get cleaned. Way too much causes the dreaded suds lock.

Too little detergent is equally pernicious over time. Basically, dirt doesn't get bound completely enough to be risnsed down the drain. Instead, you get scmhutz build-ups in your machine, gray and smelly laundry, and the same problems with corrosion, mold, mildew and etc.

ETA -- I see that Dadoes has already adressed this while I was posting.

The bar-marks on Kirkland's cap-cup are just average estimates based on asusmptions about load size and (I suspect) assume washes in coldish water. Your local water chemistry and its hardness/softness affect how much you use. As will how big or small any given wash load is, how heavily or lightly soiled the laundry is, and also your choice of wash temperatures (cold washes tend to need more detergent than warm and hot wash cycles.). It can take a little trial and error to find what works for your laundry.

Trial and error doesn't have to mean obsessively gauging dosages in milliliter increments. There's actually a pretty fair amount of leeway.

Now, as to your question about powder versus liquid detergents, a search here will turn up decades of threads debating that question. The choice can be an article of faith --- a dogmatic belief in a "one true choice" --- but the most I could pull out of the threads I used to read here on the subject was that powders work better for some people some of the time and liquids work better for others some of the time.

I read a few mins ago in that magazine-bible often referenced here (my dad has a subscription) that they recommend starting at 1.5 ounces of detergent (presumably for an average to full load), adjusting up\down as necessary per the results. 1.5 ounces is 3 tablespoons, considerably more than the 1 to 2 teaspoons touted by some alarmists. :-)

I'm hoping to become a FL convert too!! I've added a pantry cabinet in my laundry area so goign back to side by side isn't an option at this point. LOL I have read FL take less detergent and also to keep the door ajar to help with the moisture. But I also remember reading here that liquid gums up the machine so that is where that question stems from. I guess it can' hurt to use both. I'm excited to get my new machines. 3 weeks to the laundromat has been a drag. NINE loads this past saturday!!! I'm sure I'll be back here with more questions and tips :-)

The main reason I quit using liquid over 20 years ago was the experience with my first FL:. the mildewy smell towels had that I knew were washed and dried correctly. At first I thought maybe I was not drying the towels sufficiently. Still did not make any difference when I increased drying times. Then one day I was at a gym and I realized my shirt stank like the towels-naturally I was mortified. This was in 2001. I got on the internet and started researching and reading, and the consistent answer seemed to be that liquid detergent is the #1 culprit. I used either Cheer Free or All Free and perhaps a Tide, so I immediately switched to powder. I also knew using a FS can contribute, so it was doubly important that I use powder. It is what worked for me anyway. I was so excited to have a FL at the time and was trying to learn everything I could about how to use it.

Alwaystep, I don't know what type of water intake hoses will be standard on your washer-but make sure you have nothing less than flexible steel. Have those installed on your washer before you move it and the attached dryer in place. It will give you extra protection from leaks or a potential flooding of the area.

The braided jacket isn't always metal or stainless as it appears and isn't necessarily as robust as commonly believed. I have a set of hoses on which the braided jacket is nylon or some such and is deteriorating, exposing the inner rubber hose. Separation failure of the attached end couplers isn't avoided by the jacket.

"But I also remember reading here that liquid gums up the machine so that is where that question stems from:

Yes, I'd heard that, which is why I always dilute it. It's very difficult here to get good powdered laundry detergent that isn't either a) in pre-packaged pods, or b) in huge (Costco) volume.

WM sells powder detergent in reasonable sizes, such as ALL Free & Clear powder. The box is small and the cost is low. Mail order or in store, I've found. Tide powder can be found in non-gigantic size boxes too every so often.

Also, Miele website has their powder detergent available for shipping. Colors, Whites or Unscented. The price is dear, but you are only using a small amount per load, so a 4lb box will last you a long time.

If we go back to a FL one day, and Miele still makes a powder detergent, we would probably buy theirs even though we do enough laundry here to make one think many people live here that we don't know about.

We have a TL, but I'm very diligent about mold and schmutz since we had two foul FLers in the past, in spite of doing everything right.

I use both liquid and powder in this washer (not at the same time). 6 years in, and knock wood, nothing suspicious inside the washer. I think the trick is to use a sanitize cycle more than once in a while and use some powder detergent in that cycle, for insurance. Wipe out the gasket at the end of wash day, keep the door ajar, make your last load of the day a hot one, with powder detergent if you choose to buy some. A glug of chlorine bleach once in a while is good too, even if it's just on a cleaning cycle. That's usually when I use chlorine bleach.

Most importantly, enjoy your new washer! How exciting!

One thing about buying powdered detergents is that they do not degrade over time the way liquids do, a point that may be helpful if choosing between the "mass quantity" containers of liquid or powdered detergents at Costco. Last time I checked, Costco was saying that its Kirkland liquid detergents lose potency a year after opening. The Kirkland powdered detergents (and many other powders) are supposed to last indefinitely if protected from exposure to humidity.

Good points from jwvideo. I should have mentioned in my post above that I put our powdered detergents into an airtight tupperware type of plastic container. I get them at the dollar store. They stay free-flowing and fresh in those containers.

My deteriorated braided hoses mentioned above.

dadoes, the braided is different from the flexible steel hose isn't? The flexible steel hoses I have bought over the years always have a warranty, and feel pretty substantial-certainly much better than the rubber hose.

Just wanted to update: My new washer and dryer delivered and set up Saturday. Little bit of a learning curve figuring out how the set the cycles. somehow I ended up with a cycle of 1 hr and 50 something minutes when I did the setting to wash my sheets. I'm sure they are super clean after that cycle. LOL I took a better look at the instructions and found you can hit power and start and it's a "normal" cycle which is a lot shorter.

I love the little tone the LG machines play at the end of the cycle. The dog is still getting used to though. HA HA.

Sounds like your one hour 50 minute cycle was most likely sanitize or allergen. Nothing wrong with going that rout for sheets & towels. Be mindful the Normal cycle has dumbed down wash water temperatures. Warm is 86 degrees F and Hot is 95F. Perm Press, Towels, Whites, and Bedding is 112F for hot and warm is 90F. My LG washer is WM4200.

I have found that it is much easier to overdose with the liquid detergent. . At least it did on my old Bosch, so I've switched almost exclusively to powder. As I remember our city water has about 8 grains per gallon. I just got the same new machine and I'm not sure if that will be the case on this one. The dark door makes it a little hard to to see into the machine like I could in my old machine which had clear glass. I'm dosing like I did with my old one for now which is 2 TBSP for an average size, average soil load and closer to 3 if it is a very large load.