Apparently I'm a slattern and also can my washing machine be saved?

[TheBeesKnee]

I just found out that washing machines are supposed to be cleaned and serviced after 30 washes?! When I was renting we had a washer-dryer which I cleaned when we moved in and then 5 years later when we moved out. We never had any issues.

When we bought our house we inherited a Hoover washing machine from previous owners who said it was only a year old. It keeps growing mould and I feel sick at the thought that I'm "washing" my clothes in it!

I've used white vinegar, bleach, the Dr Beckenham stuff (not all at the same time!) but it just keeps coming back. I suspect that it's heading to the dump and needs replacing but can anyone offer me any hope as to what I can do to save it and/or consolation that I'm not the only idiot who didn't know that washing machines basically had to be cleaned once per month?

[Northernsoullover]

I never clean mine. Ever . I don't use fabric conditioner though which wrecks your machine and I never shut the door so no mouldy seal.

[Thebookswereherfriends]

Switch to washing powder, if you don’t already use it. Washing liquid for clothes is terrible for creating a slimy mess that just goes mouldy.
Pull the drawer out completely and give it a good soak and scrub.

[DramaAlpaca]

Get some good old fashioned washing soda, cheap as chips it is. Fling a few handfuls into the drum. Set the otherwise empty machine to do a 90° wash. Behold! A sparkling clean washing machine

Do it every couple of months, especially if you wash at low temperatures and use liquid detergent, and the machine should be fine.

[DrFoxtrot]

I only clean the dispenser drawer when it looks like it needs it. Otherwise, I keep the washer door open when not in use so no mould develops. It hasn't needed any other cleaning or servicing. Maybe clean the mould as best you can and have the door open more if possible? I appreciate this might not be an option in some homes with young children/ washer in the kitchen.

[JessieOh]

You might be able to replace the rubber seal, if other strategies to clear the mould haven't worked.

[TheBeesKnee]

These are the horrors that I cannot reach properly and which keep coming back with a vengeance.

I seem to have got the rubber seal under control but when we moved in it was black with mould inside.

DramaAlpaca

Get some good old fashioned washing soda, cheap as chips it is.

Does it have a name? Sorry for the stupid question but I've never seen that in the supermarket.

Thebookswereherfriends

Switch to washing powder, if you don’t already use it. Washing liquid for clothes is terrible for creating a slimy mess that just goes mouldy.
Pull the drawer out completely and give it a good soak and scrub.

I use pods but bought powder this evening.

I don't think i can give up fabric softener though.

[MissConductUS]

I've never cleaned my Miele other than the dispensing drawer. Why should something that cycles through hot water and detergent need cleaning? I do leave the door open.

There was a Maytag washer sold in the US that had a mold issue. They got sued and took it off the market.

[inappropriateraspberry]

If it was every 30 washes, mine would be serviced every 4 weeks or so! Not likely.

[Motnight]

Use soda crystals and a 90 degree wash with nothing else in.

Scrub the powder drawer and open up the drain pump (have a towel underneath) to see if that needs cleaning.

Do this once a month. Use powder and keep the washing machine door open between washes.

[finallymightbehappening]

Are you sure the heater hasn't gone? My machine went like that when it was basically washing everything with cold water.

[TheBeesKnee]

finallymightbehappening

Are you sure the heater hasn't gone?

No, the glass feels hot.

[AlwaysLatte]

I do use one of those thingies from the annoying advert to clean it but definitely not every 30 washes - that would be every 15 days at least! I probably do it only about once a year...

[Dangleclack]

Washing machines we've had in the past few years have had cleaning cycles. Basically as stated above 90° wash, cleans out the crap that does clog up the internals and eliminates smells.
We do it every couple of weeks, powder drawer once it gets disgusting.

[DramaAlpaca]

@TheBeesKnee washing soda is also called soda crystals. Hardware stores will have it. You can scrub all that gunk off with a solution of it. Wear rubber gloves as it's quite caustic.

[MissConductUS]

Washing soda is sodium carbonate. You can get it on Amazon.

[SciFiScream]

I buy my soda crystals at Tesco or home bargains.

I make my own laundry powder and put it in the drum not the dispensing drawer

Fabric conditioner is a con. Ruins clothes and the machine. (Shouldn't use it for bedding, towels or anything with Lycra/elastane).

I've never bothered with a service wash

Always take the drawer out to dry and leave door open when it's finished a wash.

No mould or smells anywhere.

Towels and bedding at 60° are enough to keep everything tip top

[UhtredRagnarson]

Soda crystals (washing soda) is in a green bag the size of a bag of sugar, found in the cleaning product or laundry product aisle of the supermarket.

I put a vanish scoop of Asda smartprice biological washing powder into the drum for every wash. For very smelly stuff ( gym gear) I add a vanish scoop of bicarbonate of soda into the drum too.

In the drawer I put a glug of 3:1 white vinegar:lemon juice (I keep it ready mixed in a bottle)

Every now and then I was towels at 90 degrees and throw in a scoop of soda crystals with them.

Seems to keep my machine sparkling.

[finallymightbehappening]

Shove a load of bleach in.

[mineofuselessinformation]

Give the bits you've shown here a good scrub with an old toothbrush, and then rinse with a sports bottle (so you can squeeze it and get a jet of water which rinses it down).
Next, have a wipe around the rubber door seal, so you can throw it away - it might well be grotty!
After that, stick it on the hottest wash that your machine does, empty.
You will probably notice a difference.
If, after that, you don't think much has changed, use a washing machine cleaner.

[mineofuselessinformation]

Have you sorted it, @TheBeesKnee?

[TheBeesKnee]

mineofuselessinformation

I used Dr Beckenham and that seems to have helped. I've also bought Powder washing detergent and am experimenting with not using fabric softener. The door is also being left open. So it's a wait and see game from here, but for the time being it looks okay.

[mineofuselessinformation]

OP, always leave the door and the drawer open a little bit (yes, it looks untidy, but it helps to dry the machine out).
I also have a pull at the rubber seal inside the machine at the bottom to make sure all of the water has drained from there.
(I once bought a secondhand machine from someone very cheaply. It turned out there was a 20p coin trapped in it making it rattle, which was clearly the reason it was being sold - mine was broken and I needed a replacement urgently in the days when you couldn't get machines delivered at your convenience. It also smelt like a swamp, but it was easily sorted.)
From now on, try to remember to run a 'service wash' about once a month. Just run it empty, no soap powder or anything, on the hottest wash.
You can use fabric conditioner and not have it smell - just wash the drawer occasionally.

[LydiaGwilt]

We have a pretty old washing machine - I always put powder straight into the drum, and never use fabric conditioner. Wash mainly at 40 degrees, very occasionally at 60. Have never had a problem.

[TheBeesKnee]

We discovered that the rubber seal had slipped off a bit – that was probably adding to the issue!

[goingtotown]

Don’t buy another Hoover the water level is governed by the weight of the clothes so you never get a decent wash or rinse. That’s why you’ve got mould.