Black stuff on rubber seal of washing machine.

[bonzo77]

The machine is 2 years old. There is a sort of spotty black build up on the door seal. I'm a bit nervous of using any chemicals or abrasives on it. I assume its mildew with caked on detergent residue. How do I get it off and stop it coming back? It's really grim and I am a bit of a clean freak.

Have you ever cleaned/descaled it?

Try a hot wash with a tablespoon of soda crystals and a cup of white vinegar then wipe down. You can also buy special cleaner but soda crystals do the job just as well. I run the machine like this once every 3 months.

Right. Will try that. Can I use malt vinegar or must it be white?

Do the hottest cycle possible with a cup of soda crystals or vinegar as previously suggested, every month. My friend had this problem & said it was because she uses the 30 degree cycles using non bio or ecover (according to her handyman).

Thanks all. Problem does seem to be the result of using liquid detergent at low temperature. I've done a hot wash with bio powder which has loosened the deposit enough to scrub a lot of it away with mildew remover and a nylon brush. Then did a soda crystal wash. I'm going to do this once a week till its all gone then monthly. Problem is that DS and I get eczema with anything other than surcare. Thankfully a new gasket is not that expensive and I'm sure I can fit it myself.