Dirty washing machine in new rental, help me!

[MoveInNightmare]

Hoping someone on mumsnet can provide me with words of wisdom.

We've just moved house to a new rental. Generally the house is nice and in pretty good condition but the washing machine seal is just thick with dirt, grime and limescale build up. It's a really old machine and it has that eggy aroma of a mouldy machine

I've spent about 4 hours trying to clean the seal, I've used mould remover, vinegar, baking soda, soda crystals. I've got a lot of it off but still evertime I run a cloth around the seal it comes out grimy. I'm not comfortable washing my clothes in there when it's still so grimy. And I'm also quite annoyed at how long I'm spending sorting it out

The landlord said they would replace the seal, but then turned around and said it was just staining. Even let themselves in to the property without us knowing to do one of their own washes to prove it was just staining which is a whole other thread

Wondering if anyone can give any advice. I'm at a bit of a loose end, I'm loath to replace the machine when the landlord has behaved like such a twat but I don't have the time to spend hours trying to get it clean, and I don't want to wash my clothes in a dirty machine! Help me!

I just feel like crying about the whole thing tbh.

Have you run it on a boil wash with half a bottle of vinegar in the drum? It won't make the seal clean but it will help with the smell. Esp if you put it on hold for a while in the middle.

Also, make sure you clean the powder drawer - take it out and soak in vinegar. And thoroughly clean the boys around where it sits in the machine.

If you do decide it's clean enough to use, don't leave stuff sitting in it after it finishes.

If it doesn't work out make it the landlord's problem.

Well you can buy limescale remover and cleaner for washing machines. Ecover make a good one. It’s a tablet you put in empty machine and then run on a hot cycle.

You can actually tell landlord to remove and store his washer and then buy your own...which is 100% yours and you keep it when you move.

He shouldn’t be letting himself in, that violates U.K. “right to quiet enjoyment” law. Have you rented through an agency? If so talk to your property manager there. If not, and you have rented direct from landlord, I’d be worried about your deposit and whether he is following the law about putting it in the deposit protection fund? If he’s breaking law to let himself in without your consent or knowledge, what other laws is he ignoring or ignorant of?

I have tried cleaning a vinegar wash yes! It's not as smelly as it was on move in but it's definitely wiffy still.

I've tried making it the landlords problem but they are having none of it

This worries me too @PlanDeRaccordement. We do have a deposit protection but I fell really uncomfortable about them letting themselves in. I don't know when they are going to do it again

Can the landlord refuse to put it in storage? Maybe I could try that route and at least we'd have out own machine

Do a couple of runs empty on 90 with lots of detergent and then ,

Descaler Odour Mold Service Washing Machine Dishwasher Cleaning Powder (Pack of 4)

A 4 pack is £35 and a single is £13.98

From Amazon

If you have a dishwasher then you could run a hot wash with some dishwasher tablets in (the washing machine). That's quite effective.

Have you got any dishwasher tablets? If so, lob one in on a boil wash as that can help. There is stuff you can buy online that gets rid of the mould, I think it's called 'mould magic.'

If you manage to get it clean again, make sure you leave the door open and wipe the seal dry after each wash.

The landlord can refuse to put it in storage, but similarly they cannot require you to accept and use the white goods in the rental. So it’s best to negotiate with him.

So it devolves to you saying you don’t want it, you aren’t asking for reduction in rent for not having a washing machine provided with the house, you are getting your own washer and he can either remove his washer himself and store it or it will be put outside for him to collect at his convenience. If you feel nice, you can offer to pay the £20 for the washer delivery company to take it away and recycle it for him if he can’t store it/doesn’t want it. Tell him it’s one less thing he has to worry about as the new washing machine will be yours and your problem if it breaks down.

Of course, you didn’t read this here. But if you look up repair videos on YouTube for that washer model....you can easily work out ways to....euthanise the washer shall we say?

I feel the need to be brutally honest here. I've never had a washing machine seal come up clean once it's got to that stage. Our last machine was brilliant, lasted longer than any other I've had before, but the seal, omg.

We replaced it once. But, it got pretty bad again quickly, despite cleaning it after every wash and drying it too.

With hindsight I think it was because the heating element had actually broken and I didn't realise. So every was was a cold wash, despite the 90 maintenance washes and the towels and bedding being done on 60 every week.

Check to see if yours gets hot....

Ask the LL to store it as you have your own machine on its way. No way I’d put my clothes in a machine like that.

Will try some dishwasher tablets and check it gets hot too

@PlanDeRaccordement might go down this route but the landlord is clearly petty, and it worries me that they will turn around a charge us at the end of tenancy or just say no. The washing machine is easily 20 years old, it could easily break down tomorrow

Have you actually tried a proper clothes wash?

I think you need to try that. Then you can see what happens to the actual clothes and if they come out clean. I have a washing machine which has a seal that doesn’t look great, but the clothes come out fine. It definitely gets hot because if you touch the window when it’s going, it is warm.

It’s difficult to tell from the thread if the washing machine is disgusting and unusable, or just doesn’t look new and shiny. I know you mention a whiff, but in my experience non-new washing machines often smell a bit funny….it’s just that when it’s your own it doesn’t really worry you. Is it the idea that other people have used it that makes you feel funny?

I’m not saying you’re being unreasonable…..just you should try some washing in it and see…until you do that, it’s difficult to say it’s no good. Put in a few dirty items where you will visibly be able to see how they come out and also how they smell, when you use your normal washing powder.

If after you’ve done that, the clothes smell bad or aren’t clean, you can tell the LL you’ve done that and the washing machine doesn’t work properly.

Lots of LLs don’t provide white goods now because people often don’t like products that other people have used before, or those that aren’t pristine new.

@WombatChocolate it's grimy. I can clean some of it off, a cloth wiped round the edge comes out brown. It's just so thickly caked on that I can't get all of it off. I've lived in many rentals and I'm fine with using a washer someone else has used, but I expect it to be clean on move in. I've never had a washing machine that keeps the eggy smell after so much cleaning. It's not a cheap property, it's above market rate for the area.

If it didn't have a washing machine at least we could have our own that I could keep clean.

Putting it outside and saying come and collect it is the sure fire way to a deposit reduction.

Could you change the seal yourself? Would probably work out cheaper than buying lots of extra cleaning products and all the time you are spending.

But have you actually done washing in it? Have you tried?

It will be far easier to speak to the LL about it if you can say it does not wash satisfactorily.

If it doesn’t, and the property is rented with a working washing machine, then the LL will need to fix it or provide another. That could well result in the seal being replaced.

However if you won’t do any washing in it, you can never tell him it doesn’t work.

@WombatChocolate it's dirty. Even if clothes come out relatively clean it's a filthy machine. I've just checked a white teatowel DP washed yesterday, and it's not very clean, and is a bit grey now. So no it's not washing properly

But given the fact I sent a picture of a gunge filled seal to the landlord, I don't think sending a dirty teatowel picture is going to be of much use

I've got some staining on my 8 year old washing machine seal.

Washing machine still works absolutely perfectly, clothes come out clean.

I don't really think that I'd replace a fully working washing machine that just happens to have a mould stained (but now clean) seal. (I don't mean that as a landlord, just as a washing machine owner!)

So clean the mould off using a mould spray and a scrubbing brush (sounds like you've already done this) and then do a load of washing in the machine (old clothes and towels etc). If the wash comes out clean, then there's not really a problem is there? If the clothes come out with marks on them, then go back to the LL and let him know that the machine isn't working. A machine that isn't working needs to be repaired or replaced, a machine that is working but has a stain on the seal does not.

Are you renting directly through the LL or an agent?

Ask the LL to remove it and replace with one of your own. You can get a decent one off FB.

And change your locks. A Landlord has absolutely no right at all to let themselves into your home without your permission. It takes a few quid and a simple YouTube video to change locks yourself. Keep your LLs locks and put them back when you end the tenancy. If a LL needs access they can ask you. If they need emergency access (pretty much never happens) they can call you and then a locksmith. Depending on the reason, you might be liable to pay but that's very, very rarely the case.

Have you cleaned out the filter and dispenser drawer and the bit the drawer fits into as well?
Soda crystals in a hot wash is good for clearing grime

I'm not asking them to replace the washing machine @mrsm43s, just the seal. Or pay for someone to clean the seal. It's not just staining it's thick layers of dirt, there was loads of brown slimey stuff that I've removed but still like thick black deposits, and I'm still finding nooks with the brown sludge in. I don't want to wash white clothes in a mouldy machine. I'm not a typical replace my bedding every day mumsnetter.

I've cleaned the dispenser drawer but not the filter, will give that a go too

Do you have a garage? If so, stick the shitty machine in there a buy your own. I've just bought a beko machine, £300, and it's marvellous. Gets properly hot. (See my last post!)

Do you have a steam cleaner you could use? That would really dislodge any caked on stuff.