SEATTLE -- How would you like to pay top dollar for a new washing machine only to have it stink up your laundry room?

It's happening to lots of people who have a front-loading washer. I spent the last few weeks trying to find out what's causing this smelly problem.

Consumers like front loaders because they save water and energy, and get your clothes really clean. But many front-loading washers have this annoying odor problem.

"Putrid, nasty, permeates the whole laundry room and basement," said Dennis Hanson, who owns a front loader.

Rae Lembersky, who also owns a front loader, has the same problem.

So does Teresa Muench. And KOMO News was there when she got her first look at the smelly bacteria growing inside her washer.

"Black gooey, smelly, slimy stuff," she said.

"It's definitely all around the tub, a little bit here and there," said a repairman who came to look at the problem.

For Lembersky, the smell was more than annoying. Because of a medical condition, she needs to be very careful about contaminants in her house.

"And it just gives me the willies. It's like, 'Eek,' because I don't like the thought of mold," she said. "Imagine that you're in one of those movies where there's a swamp monster, and it's that kind of swampy kind of musty sort of yucky smell."

Desperate for relief, Lembersky hired Scott Wiseman to remove and replace the disgusting rubber gasket. It cost $300. And this is a machine that was cleaned with and run with bleach and hot water.

"It's a problem for all front-loaders," Wiseman said.

To find out what's causing the problem, KOMO News turned to Consumer Reports. The magazine has received so many complaints about smelly front loaders that the editors now warn readers about it.

"You've got water sitting and ponding on rubber -- not a particularly good situation," said spokeswoman Celia Kupershmid Lehrman. "And even after it spins everything out, spins the water out of the clothes, there's still going to be some water that ends up landing on the gasket. And because of the design, it's going to land there and it's going to sit there."

Dennis Hanson does everything his owners manual recommends for proper maintenance, and he still has that terrible smell. He's had Sears workers at his house four times now.

"I would mention it and they would say, 'Oh, just keep it clean, try using those fresh tablets, and hopefully that'll cure the problem.'"

It didn't. So KOMO News arranged for Larry Schmidt from Mr. Appliance Service to take a look. He did what Sears workers didn't do.

He opened up the washer and took out the lint filter -- something not mentioned in the owner's manual.

"You can see that there are coins in here, blocking some of the holes; lint is blocking some of the holes," he said. "This could put out an odor."

As part of our investigation, we wanted to know for certain what was growing inside those smelly washers. We took samples from two of the machines and had them analyzed by NVL Labs in Seattle.

Munaf Kahn, who runs the lab, said our testing turned up some mold, some mildew and lots of bacteria.

"We think the bacteria is the one that's really causing a great deal of the smell," Kahn said.

So what do manufacturers say about all this? They said: "All washing machines have the potential to have some amount of odor, mold and mildew after a period of use."

Changes in wash day habits - less bleach, more fabric softener and cold-water washes - increase the odds of having odor problems.

To help prevent odor problems:

- Use only high-efficiency detergent in the recommended amount.

- Remove wet wash right away.

- Keep the door open a bit after removing wash to let the washer dry out. Of course, that creates a potential safety hazard if you have kids in the house.

- And follow the manufacturer's washer care instructions in your owner's manual. If you don't find specific cleaning instructions, run a cleaning cycle once a month. Don't add any clothes; just use hot water and a cup of bleach.

Some manufacturers recommend using a washer freshener. Consumer Reports tested a few of these products and found they don't make much of a difference. And you can do all of this and still have a problem.