I-Team Update: Does Your Washing Machine Smell?
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - If you've ever noticed a really bad smell or slimy mold in your washing machine, you could soon be getting a check for your trouble.
In 2015, the I-Team showed you how water can collect in frontload washing machines causing black mold and mildew to collect in rubber seals on the front of the washer.
Customers nationwide complained about their clothes, and their houses, filling with bad smells.
"It was black and slimy. This is stained and permeated in the rubber," explained Michael Vogler as he walked around the washing machine that he had moved into his backyard.
Vogler was storing the machine in a shed just in case he needed it. He is one of many consumers involved in class action lawsuits against machine makers.
"You could say it was a clothes spoiler instead of a clothes washer," said Vogler.
Since our I-Team investigation, we've learned some of the class action lawsuits are settling.
If you bought a Whirlpool, Kenmore or Maytag front-loading machine between 2001 and 2010, you could be entitled to $50 cash, a rebate on your next machine, or reimbursement for your repairs.
If you bought an LG between 2002 and 2006, you could receive $35 cash or a cash rebate on your next front loader.
You must opt in to both of these settlements by October 2016.
If you have another brand, there are also actions pending against some of the other manufacturers. The I-Team will keep an eye on those cases as well.
