Pull out the soap dispenser of your washing machine..go on I dare you!

[Patchybob]

I have just pulled out my soap dispenser to clean it (yes I know, what a good little housewife!) and couldn't believe the amount of mouldy yuck at the back of the dispenser and all over the roof and base of the area. I haven't ever pulled it out before (my mother would say I was a slut) and it was truly grim!

Do any of you know how to prevent this happening (yes keep cleaning it!) but also to remove the mouldy bits from areas you can't reach. I have cleaned it out and done my best, but its not perfect.

What I am worried about is that the water that goes into the machine comes out of the little holes in the roof of the dispenser and that is where alot of the mould is. Grim, Grim, Grim! As I normally wash at 30 degrees is this hot enough to kill any bacteria in the mould?

Help!

I have GOT to do mine, its truly gross. I normally soak it in bleach overnight every now and then.

I have found, that when I use washing powder it does not build up half as quickly as when I use washing liquid. Not sure why though.

mine is sparkling but my washing machine is only about a week old ask me again in a couple of months

OH cleaned ours the other day because we had a bit of overspill with the powder (in all 3 compartments!)
i have no idea if he cleaned te back of it, so i'm not going to look.

You can wash the pull out bit in the dishwasher, but getting the whole area clean is a b*gger. I hate thinking of all that slime going over my clothes, so mostly I just don't think about it.
But tell me, how can engineers get robots to MARS and back, yet can't design a self-cleaning washing mahine ?
And hoovers, for that matter, does anyone know how to get the dirt out of the bagless cleaner without dust flying round the room again? And feather dusters; you get the cobwebs and dust off the ceiling, onto the feather duster, but how the hll do I get the dirt off the bl*dy duster?
Sometimes, I feel like I make the effort and then the tools just let you down. [sigh]
Mostly however, I don't even make the effort.

Mine gets cleaned with bleach once a week

choccyp1g lol clearly the tools let us down and not our lack of effort!!

Cilly what about the back of it if you pull the dispenser out?

I take the dispenser drawer out and take it apart and stick it in the dishwasher occasionally regularly. And spray vinegar on the yuk bit where the drawer goes and just clean it as much as I can.

I clean mine with an old toothbrush and a cloth, and then run the next wash on something less critical like tea towels in case there are any black bit floating about...

I use dettol mould and mildew remover spray.
Take out the drawer give it a good spray in the sink and while that's working spray inside the machine as far as you can. It's brilliant stuff!
Also use it around inner the seal where mine goes yucky too.
By the time you've done that the drawer in the sink will be clean!
Just put machine on a rinse cycle to get rid of the nasty bits.

On top of doing the soap drawer, it was also recommended to do a wash on the hottest cycle (can also do a short empty cycle with vinegar in the drawer) to give the machine a good clear out (tubes and drum) every week or so ...

I say recommended ...

I don't have to - DP cleaned it at the weekend

I am a slattern...

I clean mine regularly and leave the drawer out and door open after every wash to let it air and dry out. But my machine is in the garage, not the kitchen, so I don't have to worry about DD getting into it/posting items into it.

Mine is clean! It's about the only thing in this house that is . I put my washing not-quite-tablets-not-quite-geltabs-thingys straight into the drum.

I don't think it's mould, just sort of soap scum. There was a tread about it quite a while ago and I got some good advice from it: you can put it in the top drawer of the dishwasher.

I can't remove mine, or at least haven't been able to.

Funnily enough, on my old machine I would clean it really regularly. And the pump too. Not known for my cleaning prowess usually.

Thanks for all the advice. I have now sprayed it with that mould and mildew cleaner, scrubbed it with a baby bottle brush ..note to self, do not use the bottle brush for the baby again!, and put it on a hot wash cycle. Feel like the queen of the housekeepers!!!

Off to drink wine in celebration!

Thanks guys

Cranky, if you look where the softner goes, there should be something at the top that you can push down then pull the drawer out.

I clean the inside with a bleach/water spray and a toothbrush and cloth.

Liquid detergent, or non-bio detergent builds soap scum up more easily. You need to do a 'maintenance wash' once a month which is doing an empty wash using the hottest temp - I put some soda crystals in when I do mine. That stops the machine gunking up too much but I don't think it would stop the drawer getting gunky. And yes, agree that it's just soap scum, definitely not mould. I cleaned out the pump in m machine the other day and found all sorts of gubbins that DS had obviously poked throug the dispenser drawer

Mine was mould.....it was all black on top of the soap scum Looks better now!

Mine is all shiny and clean - thankyou nesting urge

never cleaned the drawer ever...of to the washing mashine to check...