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

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

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

Well, it wasn't THAT bad, really... considering I hadn't had the drawer out for about a year... I used an old washing up brush to scrub the insides, and it's now running its first ever maintenance wash with soda, although I do run a 90degree load every week or so, and use a lot of vinegar in the wash, to take the stink out of dh's sailing and running kit (wish I could do the same in his car, when he leaves it all to fester for a few days)

the rubber seal area by the door is the worst bit - if you run a cloth round there it comes out covered in gunk - I have two machines, one has no problems not sure why the other gets really mucky, maybe because i use one only for white linen and the other for washing my sons clothes, you can guess which machine gets the muckiest

sometimes the smell can be caused by the machine not draining properly mine does this so i have to set it to drain im surprised at the water that comes out you would think when its spinning out it would drain!

just washed mine with a capful of dettol its smelling fine now

I use powder and hardly use fabric softener and discovered the mould 3 years before for the first time. Since then, I clean the compartments atleast once a month. Honestly, haven't run a washing machine clean cycle though! Scared now after reading this thread and yes, will do a full clean cycle soon.

My tip - since we got a new machine I have made myself get in the habit of always leaving both the door, and the detergent compartment just slightly open for at least a few hours after every wash so it can dry out, this has made a HUGE difference compared to our old one, no mouldy seals or anything...

Loving this thread. I just got a new washing machine after 14 years of decent service from my old Tricity Bendix one!

I'm going to keep my new machine pristine after all this advice.

Where should the soda crystals go when doing the maintenance wash? In the powder compartment?

Ahh, my specialist subject.
At the start of the month I run the washing machine empty on a 95c cycle and add soda crystals. I always find a time to do this.
I never use liquids, they sink to the bottom of the drum to create a fetid puddle.
The dish washer gets the same treatment

All advice acted on by a brilliant appliance repair engineer in S. London The Spin Doctor