mouldy washing machine

[madcol]

My washing machine smells mouldy all the time. The rubber bit aroung the drum has lots of black mouldy stuff on it which I can't get off despite scrubbing.

Can I 'treat' this problem or do I need a new machine.?

I had this problem with ours, washing came out smelling mouldy, no mould on seal though. Anyway got a man in who charged me £50 to tell me I needed to put some calgon in with the washing powder! Try that one.

Make sure you runa 60C wash at least once a month to prevent it.

I treated mine (drawer rather than door seal) by a bit of scrubbing with a toothbrush/cotton buds - finishing it off with a steam cleaner to kill the mould.

A combination of the above seems to have delayed its return.

Thanks I'll try the hot wash and calgon. have already been scrubbing with the toothbrush without much success.

smelly machine advice

A 90 degree empty wash advised (with a biological detergent in)

And leave the door open when machine is empty

don't use liquid in the drawer.

Stinks for some reason. Balls in the drum are okay [oo-er!]

Thanks Wendyweber- very useful link. Feel a bit silly now. Why don't they teach you this stuff at school?

I am v v sceptical about using a biological detergent at 90C. The biological agent would be killed at temps abov 40ish

White vinegar on a empty hot wash will clean it through too.

Where you do put the vinegar in the drawer or the tub?

In the drawer.

i use soda crystals on hot wash in empty machine

I pull out the drawer and give it and the space it leaves a good squirt with an anti-mould bleachy spray, leave it for 5 mins, then scrub like billy-o before rinsing the drawer in the sink, and squirting water into the drawer space. I use a plant spray for the drawer - you can adjust the spray so that it whacks the back of the drawer with thin blasts of water at a higher pressure, so that the black bits are sent flying. Quite therapeutic (am easily pleased!)

Also second leaving door open to dry out inside.

I would try the bleachy spray on the rubber seal with caution though - it may corrode the rubber.

And Calgon is several times the price of a supermarket own brand of anti-limescale tablet.

Lakeland plastics do a fab thing for cleaning smelly washers. It's £5.99 for two treatments and it completely rejuvenates mine. Have been using it every 4 or 5 months. Available here:here
It is brill. It is one of the few things I had to have sent to me when living overseas (along with Marmite and Yorkshire Tea)