Why Does My Washing Machine Smell/Stink?

I had a front loading washer about 15 years ago and was very disappointed, not in the water it saved but the raunchy smell it put out. Funny thing is I have used front loaders in the laundromats and they have never smelled bad.

I now have a top loader. I always use cold water and I leave the lid open for a while so it drys out in the bottom when I am done washing for the day. But now it seems it smells almost the same as the front loader.

Mom had a top loader like i am using now and as a kid I never smelled anything awful in the laundry room, always smelled good in there. Mom used warm and hot water, and bleach once in a while on whites, maybe that's my problem.

Anyway, it's a sorry state when your clothes come out smelling worse after a wash than before the wash.