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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Urghhhhhh! You need to do this especially if you do maintenance washes!

132 replies

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 30/07/2015 12:34

I do an empty hot wash about every 8 weeks and get the drawer out and give it a clean and scrub.

I've been pretty busy I forgot and haven't done it for a while so I did it a couple of days ago, since then it has STUNK to high heaven , imagine rotting vermin mixed with eggs

So I have done 3 hot washes since with soda crystals as it's obviously dislodged some gunk in the pipes.

Then the fabric conditioner compartment got blocked and wouldn't drain so I googled and it said to take a toothbrush to the roof of the drawer compartment to dislodge any gunk.

So I did, dear God, it was black with mouldy gunk, all the bottom was fine but I'd never thought to look at the top of it

Please go and look at yours and tell me I'm not the only manky mare

OP posts:

Roseybee10 · 09/08/2015 13:49

My drawer doesn't seem to come out fully!!!

3littlefrogs · 09/08/2015 16:26

You press down on the bit that covers part of the fabric softener compartment and the drawer slides out. You will feel that it has a bit of "give" to allow the drawer to be removed, but holds it firmly in place when the machine is in use.

Roseybee10 · 13/08/2015 08:27

Oh god this is the most disgusting thing I've ever discovered in my house!!!!
Managed to clean the whole thing out and about to do a maintenance wash with soda crystals!

Original poster

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 13/08/2015 08:48

OP posts:

sonata1 · 25/08/2015 23:53

I scrub the upper bit with an old toothbrush then spray HG Mould spray up there. Leave it until clean then squirt plain water in a squeezy bottle over to get rid of the HG. Then a 90 degree wash with Bio powder.

Patapouf · 01/09/2015 13:08

I can't figure out how to remove the drawer on mine. I do a maintenance wash 1-2 times a month but it isn't very satisfying when the drawer is still grungy! How much soda crystals should I use?

wowfudge · 01/09/2015 13:20

You might need to press down on a catch to release the drawer - you do on ours, a Beko. Have a look in the instruction manual at the maintenance section. If you can't find it, it's probably available online.

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 01/09/2015 13:39

Tumble dry everything then you don't need fabric conditioner

MackerelOfFact · 02/09/2015 09:27

I did a bit of a washing machine maintenance last night inspired by this thread. My 90C maintenance wash with vinegar made it smell even worse than it did before, but I'd read that apparently you sometimes need to do it two or three times, as basically the first one just lifts off the first layer of bacteria, leaving the rest of the gunk exposed and smelly. So I did it a second time with a bottle of lemon juice (had used all the vinegar) worked a treat.

Soaked the soap drawer in bleach for a couple of hours and gave it a scrub. Scrubbed the roof of the drawer with bathroom spray and a brush. Emptied the filter and found a broken zip, a rusty 1p coin and a magnet. Poked a wet tea towel down the pipe where the soap etc drains (from the drawer to the drum) and pulled out a load of gunk. Shined up the glass.

It looks and smells as good as new! Which is impressive given that it was a manky, cheap, old thing that came with the rented flat, and I only ever do 30C washes and use Tesco Value liquid detergent.

I used to use soda crystals and/or Zoflora in my wash so I might go back to doing that to keep it under control.

I LOVE cleaning out plumbing!

Tealtowel · 02/09/2015 09:37

Omg im feeling inspired to clean my manky machine. It has been disgusting since we moved in Ive not had the energy to tackle it.
Reading this Im now going to make a start.
Thank you.

cecinestpasunepipe · 02/09/2015 11:01

Ooooh! Machine now on maintenance wash with soda crystals and vinegar. I just love a washing machine thread. I shall go and do my daughter's this afternoon.

MummaV · 02/09/2015 14:22

Oooh I love a good maintenance wash!
Having worked in Technical Support for white goods and being told by many a customer "well I shouldn't have to clean it, its full of hot water and detergent at least 3 times a week, surely that keeps it clean" maintenance washes are brilliant.
Mine gets one every 2 weeks, some time with extras, sometimes just hot water.
Washing machines get gross without doing them, all that dead skin and ick.

glowfrog · 02/09/2015 14:41

Can you put a bicarb paste inside the rubber seal of the drum? It's gone all mouldy in there . :-/

Tealtowel · 02/09/2015 14:49

I need to buy a new seal. Its not budging. Draw is now sparkly though and door :-)

BrideOfWankenstein · 02/09/2015 14:51

I just did one with bleach on the hottest setting. The foam got so high, it came out of drawer.
Had to switch it off and take out the foam in to the bucket, then run 2 rinse cycles.
But the drawer compartment is now clean and shiny.

Tealtowel · 02/09/2015 14:51

Can I do soda crystals and white vinegar at the same time?

unlucky83 · 02/09/2015 14:57

I do the odd maintenance wash and clean the filter on mine and leave the door open ... - also I knew about the top of soap compartment (thank living in lots of rank shared houses in my life!)
But I was going to post a week or so ago about a weird - not musty but damp earth - smell in mine recently ... just discovered the fill is leaking at the back and the floor is damp and it smells like the machine does behind there...
BUT I can't understand why I could only smell it when I open the machine door...
(Other thing I need to look into is it drains straight into the waste pipe to outside - no trap - did think the smell might be coming from the drain ...which I guess could mean I have a problem with that but so far everything is draining well so I'm ignoring that .... sticks fingers in ears and starts singing la la la )

OvO · 02/09/2015 15:18

Goddammit! I was comfy but after reading this thread had to get up to check my drawer.

And it was bloody well fine. I've had it 11 years and have never cleaned the roof of the compartment so it should have been manky!

I usually wash at 50 degrees so maybe that's why it was fine?

goawayalready · 02/09/2015 15:32

can you use dettol to clean your machine? i do maintenance washes occasionally but with nothing in the machine because i overuse my detergent sometimes and it builds up

warmfuzzyfeeling · 02/09/2015 15:35

Hmph.
I came here all excited to see if you'd got the answer to my washing machine woes but having read the entire thread I'm still not sure what the problem is.

I usually wash everything at 40 except towels which I wash at 60 every couple of weeks. I use Ecoleaf liquid (which smells lovely). I have used white vinegar instead of fabric conditioner for absolutely ages. I do maintenence washes. But I've noticed the smell of the water coming out as it washes getting worse for a few weeks and the inside of the drum really honks. Tumble drying seems to make it smell even worse.
I've just smelled the drawer and it smells fine. But the drum smells like something has died in there. I don't want my family to smell like death :(

beeelaine · 02/09/2015 17:48

It doesn't matter how hot the wash is, or how hot the maintenance wash - in your drawer most washing machines are cold fill - so when it takes water it runs through your drawer down to the drum cold and then is heated in the drum. This means your drawer never has hot water on it. If you have a lot of gunk from washing powder/liquid and conditioner you need to remove it yourself as a cold water just running through isn't enough when there is a build up.

I remember years ago watching on TV when they filmed in a launderette and tested different powders and a "mystery" one in a line of washing machines. The one that washed the clothes the best was the "mystery" one - the one that they said they put no washing powder in (it merely used the residue left by previous washes as people tend to put in too much powder).

Best way to solve it is to only use a small amount of powder/liquid and conditioner - we think that if we see bubbles its cleaning - but dirt and dead skin will stick to the bubbles - its the rinsing off that matters and if you continually put too much powder in for the wash your machine will probably build up inside with residue. Use less - better for your clothes, the machine and the environment. If you can put the powder in the drum with the clothes and if you use concentrate fabric conditioner then water it down! use 1/4 of a cap full and top up with water mix it with your finger and put in the drawer - the cold water that runs through will find it easier to rinse through a more watery liquid (and it saves you money too if you use less).

I clean out the drawer and do a maintenance wash about once every 2-3 months! I just use a small amount of washing soda, white vinegar or bicarb or whatever I have around that will do the job. My top tip is to add a disinfectant to the underwear wash (we use a tiny bit of Zoflora), it smells great (even washing my mans stinky work socks, and his slippers go in there too).

Make sure you clean out your filter, as sometimes the odd sock can get stuck in there and build up gunk (heaving barf).... although that cant be as bad as one of the previous posts about washing a poo..... thank god i had finished my quiche before i read that one! (big sympathy out to you)! x

oldsilver · 02/09/2015 18:20

Dammit

I do this quite regularly, in fact last week and only saw this today. This last time though, I discovered I can't clean my filter as there is something trapping it in there - can't even drain the water out the little pipe. I imagine it's all gunged there

DesertIslandPenguin · 02/09/2015 18:58

Inspired by the OP I have bought a bottle of the Dettol washing machine cleaner. It's in the machine just now and the machine seems to be FULL of bubbles. Should I be worried?!

glassrobot · 02/09/2015 19:24

You know that orange slime, and the black stuff?

Well that can be found on the inside roof of many a pub ice machine...
Just saying.....

glassrobot · 02/09/2015 19:27

Oh I should add... By coincidence I cleaned my washing machine drawer out this morning too, before even reading this thread. My machine kept getting stuck on the rinse cycle for HOURS- it's dead fancy and detects bubbles (some sort of witchcraft) - turns out there was stray washing powder in the conditioner compartment so it was never getting shot of all the soap!
Seems to be working like a charm now!

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