FILTHY washing machine - what to do?

[Katelyn88]

We moved to our new rented house over the weekend. The washing machine is absolutely filthy. The seal is full of mould. I bought Dr Beckmanns washing machine cleaner and tried to scrub it all with dish scrubber. Then ran a 60deg cycle as instructed. The drum etc looks fine now, but the seal mould is still there :(

Please can anyone kindly tell me how to clean it ?

Report it to the landlord (with photos) and tell him to replace it! Or get a repairman in to replace the seal.

"Mold and mildew, at best, can cause bad odors in the machine and on your clothes. At worst, mold can make you sick. It grows because dirt, lint and water gathers between the seal of the machine's tub and door, thus creating the ideal atmosphere for the breeding of mold, mildew and other bacteria."

This is exactly what happened to us two weeks ago when we moved in. Disgusting. I did multiple hot washes, bleach washes, dr and vinegar washes. They all helped a little but couldn’t get rid of the smell.

Thankfully there was a tear in the rubber seal which meant the machine leaked water, so they replaced the whole seal. Smell mostly gone except from the soap dispenser which is very hard to clean properly. I’ve been using a toothbrush...

You won’t get the mould out of the rubber seal - once it’s there, you’ll can scrub and bleach it but you’ll never get rid of the staining. See if you can get it replaced.

I like dettol washing machine cleaner.

However it does sound like the seal needs replacing.

This doesn’t reflect well in your landlord.

Immediately take photos and send. No need to set relations off negatively.

A simple - “as you can see, problem with the washing machine. Let me know how I can assist to ensure resolved ASAP. Many thanks”

My landlord is on a holiday :( Coming back only on 3rd sept.
Are laundromats clean (hygenic)? What to look for when choosing one?

I use bleach... bleach in the drawer and all around the washing machine. Put an old white rag in there.

60 degrees. Pause when the water half full. Leave over night and put back on to finish in the morning.

Washing machine seals on eBay appear to be around £8. I think id be tempted to buy one and then when landlord gets back ask for the money and supply him with the mouldy old one.

We found that the black marks on the seal were caused by liquid or tab detergent. Using powder (eventually) got rid of all the marks.