My front loader always smells really bad on the first discharge of a new wash. Unlike internet reports I've read it does not smell itself. I do follow advice to always leave the door cracked open a bit when it's not in use. WE think some of the last drain water from the wash the week before stays trapped in the discharge lines. The washer is below grade so all that water has to be pumped up to the laundry tub and then again up from the tub to our septic. So did water from the previous top loader and it did not smell but I'm told HE soaps have something in them that leads to this smell. Still, that last discharge of water is the rinse, how much soap is there in it, anyway? You can buy special cleaning agents for front load washers. Since it's not my washer itself that smells I haven't tried them but maybe I should, maybe they would clean the leftover water.