Brown sludge around washing machine seal

[RollerPolarBear]

Any suggestions of how best to clean this? I gave it a good scrub but clothes are still being marked when removed from the drum so I don’t know what I’ve missed.

I've had a similar problem! The sludgy stuff was collecting in between the rubber seal and the drum so I've been cleaning behind the seal and sort of 'scooping' it out which has helped, but took a while as random blobs kept appearing until I really rid of all of it. The thing that really seems to have helped was to stop using liquid detergent in the drum and to go back to using power in the drawer.

That does sound the same. I prefer liquid as I try to do the shortest or lowest temp wash I think I can get away with and the powder doesn’t always dissolve but sometimes the marks seem to actually stain or they just need to go straight back into the wash.

Get a washing machine cleaner ( about £4 from supermarkets).

Does it clean all the random crevasses?

It should clean every crevice. Liquid detergent and low temperatures is a bad combination for gunking up the machine, particularly if you also use fabric conditioner too.
My Bosch machine instructions specifically states "occasionally run a wash using the cottons 60°C programme with washing powder" to "prevent detergent residue from building up and odours from forming".

So I wash towels on the 60°cottons program weekly and have no problems

If the powder doesn’t dissolve, you’re putting too much in perhaps?

I’ve been reducing the amount of powder ever since reading here that a washing machine engineer said to an MNer that a decent tablespoon was all that was needed for a full wash.

Tansaafl, I use the lowest dosage for Lidl's soap powder (lightly soiled, soft water area) and get 80 washes from a 40 wash box. Measuring carefully makes a big difference.

Once a month I use Soda Crystals to clean my machine. They are really cheap - about 80p or £1 for 1kg and you only need 500g to clean the machine, so that's two doses per bag. They clean out all the random crap around the seal. Washing machine cleaner is expensive and less effective IME.

Thank you

It is hard to understand why liquid detergent which is supposed to dissolve better in water should cause more of problem than powder which dissolves less well?