I have a front load and I finally figured out that if I run the sanitizing cycle (extremely hot water) plus, I add a little bleach, I can rid the machine of any mold problems that might be happening. I either wash old white towels or nothing during the cycle. Previous to discovering the sanitizing cycle I had a real problem with mold in my front load.
From the very start of using the machine I always wiped down the very obvious small puddle of water left in the washer after a cycle, and left the door ajar, but that was not sufficient. Another problem I have is after a bleach was I have to run another white wash afterwards, because some bleach seems to be left behind. Moreover, sometimes I would prefer for very sweaty clothes to really soak in more water. Many of my friends complained about the same things, and we all bought our washers about ten years ago. We have various brands.
Supposedly, the LG, which is the brand I have, has a new rubber gasket that does not hold water like the old one. I have to say that now using the sanitizing cycle once every couple of months I don’t even need to bother to wipe down the machine right after washing.
I do like my washing machine much better now that I don’t have the mold problem, but if it broke down I would be very torn at this time about whether to get a top load or front load. I really like that the old fashion top loads do the wash in much less time.
My MIL just bought a Samsung front load and the drum is extremely deep. It’s difficult to reach the clothes at the back of the drum. If you go front load, I recommend you try reaching to the back if the drum while you’re in the store. Especially, if you are short with shorter arms I think it’s difficult.