(Arlington) The stink over smelly, moldy, front-load washing machines continues to play out in court.
A law firm that filed a class action suit against Whirlpool in Ohio now wants residents in every state to be made whole.
We spoke with one Arlington woman who said it’s about time.
“I saw my water bill, I saw my electric bill, I saw the savings,” said Theresa Koren.
However, Koren says what she didn’t see coming was all the problems with her Whirlpool Duet Front Load Washer.
“Sometimes sour to just stinky” is how Koren described an odd smell that often came from the washer.
She showed us pictures of black mold in the soap reservoir.
Koren said even after thorough cleanings, which often included scrubbing with bleach, they couldn’t get rid of the smell.
Koren said she recalls thinking, “Well, this doesn’t smell like my laundry detergent, doesn’t smell like my Snuggle fabric softener or my sheets.”
Koren said they wound up investing even more in the washer that was supposed to save them time and money. She bought a fan and even used washer cleaner made by Whirlpool.
Frustrated and fed up, she reached out for help.
“No one ever contacted us back. I would send emails or respond to different sites that had comments where you could put your comments, and your name and your phone number, and I never, you guys are the first people that I ever heard say anything back to me.”
Now Koren’s voice, along with thousands of others, may be heard.
Nashville attorney Mark Chalos is co-lead counsel in a class action suit taking on Whirlpool.
“The lawsuit came about only after years of consumers calling Whirlpool or emailing Whirlpool or contacting Whirlpool and saying we got a problem and Whirlpool refusing to make it right,” explained Chalos.
After a lengthy legal battle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, an appeals court judge recently decided to keep the Ohio case as a class action suit.
On Monday, Chalos’ firm filed another complaint to create classes for every other state.
He said the machines have a design defect, and Whirlpool knows it.
“The bottom line is, when you’re selling a product in the United States, and you’re selling it to American consumers and you’re selling it to Tennesseans, it ought to be a good product, and if you’re not going to stand behind it, you shouldn’t be selling appliances.”
After roughly six years, Koren said her Whirlpool got the ring of death and just stopped working. She has since replaced her washer and dryer.
As the never-ending battle against laundry takes on new meaning, Koren said she is hopeful something may finally be done.
“I’m sure there’s others out there that want their problem fixed too,” Koren said.
These additional classes still have to be approved by a judge, then go to trial.
Whirlpool has said in previous statements that they didn’t believe the cases should be tried as a class action suit, because the claims were so different.
If you’re having odor problems with your front loader, contact the manufacturer.
Click here for more information on lawsuit
