Bollocks! I've knackered my tumble dryer, haven't I?

[keithlemonsbackdoors]

Just dried DH's work trousers, didn't realise they were covered in tar stuff (bichumin?) which obviously didn't come off in the wash. The tumble dryer drum and door are now covered in what can only be described as tar skid-marks! If I use it i'm going to ruin whatever clothes I put in aren't I? Any ideas? Or do I need to get a new one? Current model is a bit crap and leaky to be fair (tumble dryer not DH). Well...

Anybody??

Laptop has also given up the ghost & DS broke my camera yesterday, it's all going terribly well.

you can wipe off bitumen with a rag moistened with white spirit; however it is flammable so you would have to avoid any spillage, and leave it open for a couple of days for the vapour to clear. Use plastic gloves as it eats rubber.

If he uses it at work, doesn't he know a cleaning material? Ask him if Swarfega will clean it off.

oh dear

i dont think id risk it and wouldnt like the idea of using flammable chemicals to clean it either

I did the white spirit thing when a bic biro ended up being tumbled in a trouser pocket in my (fairly new-I must look after this and make it last forever) tumble dryer. It was a stinky job, I had my head inside the drum and to keep coming out for air. It worked though. I think I wiped it out with water and tumbled something old and the smell didn't last for long.

WD40 might also get it off? You would then need to remove any wd40. I think you could do this by wiping thoroughly with a very hot water and biological washing powder solution, then wiping again with plain water!

Cheers m'dears! I was wondering about white spirit earlier but dismissed it as a fire hazard. I can't imagine that anything else would get it off (I think swarfega is more for greasy stuff). If Giraffe managed not set her dryer on fire (hey, I'm a poet and I didn't know it!) I should be ok. Sounds like a horrible job though, maybe DH can do it, was his skanky trolleys after all!

Ooh, wd40, genius! Is it less flammable than white spirit? Must be!

Keith - I think it must be less flammable, plus I was thinking that washing out with a solution of very hot water and bio washing powder should remove the wd40 afterwards? Otherwise everything dried in the dryer would be lightly oiled afterwards and rustproofed but would smell rather funny!

Have you tried a Magic Sponge. Google it. They are awesome. I bought one the other day and used it on a sticker mark on the front of my dishwasher. The big stickers they put on in the shop and you rip it off but leave all the glue, which then attracts every bit of fluff and hair. It rubbed off in seconds.

'mmmm

WD40 leaves a scented oily residue

White spirit evaporates away leaving nothing

LOL @ lightly oiled, rustproof undercrackers! I'm off on search of a magic sponge, will report back later.

Oh and the laptop has mysteriously resurrected itself, hurrah!

Keith - I was just wondering, if you put in an old towel/sheet and set it off for a bit (whilst keeping an eye on it if course) would it soften some of the bitumen and wipe it off onto towel so that cleaning job is a bit easier? Not sure if this would work?

Would Lakeland's Sticky Stuff Remover work?

Thanks for all the suggestions. I got myself a magic sponge which worked a bit with some serious elbow grease, but as I am a lazy busy woman, I also got some amazing super-degreaser stuff from Robert Dyers. Got it all off with very little effort and it hasn't caught fire or greased up the washing. Result!

The magic sponge stuff is amazing though, got a bit carried away & cleaned the outside of the tumble dryer too (for some reason it had marks on It that looked like someone had been running all over it on black-soled shoes... the mind boggles!)

skips off with an unnervingly tranquil expression to find more stuff to clean with magic sponge...

P.S. it's called De-Solve-It & costs 3.99, in case anyone else is as stupid unfortunate as me