Also, hair gets stuck in the little drainage holes in the rubber gasket, so I try to clean those out frequently too. The holes had so much stuff that the gasket inside wasn't draining. Not understanding the problem, I called for a repair. On the phone (Kenmore) they said they's never heard of the problem, but the repair guys says it happens all the time.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, powdered gunks up less. Same reason no one uses liquid in dishwashers anymore. Try it and buy a small box of powdered.

I don't know about others, but in my front loader machine, the issue is that the rubber seal has a groove in it, and water/suds can accumulate their if I don't wipe it. This leads to mold.