Washing machine bother.

callansdad

Just did a black load and everything has come out with a residue. For a start i thought that it maybe washing powder but it is grey and some of it is quite clumpy, especially what it left in the machine, the drum itself seems clean but the rubber rim around the drum and door is caked in the stuff. There is a small bit of the rim that isn't there, but i mean small. I spent ages wiping down the mess but i couldn't get all of it off as the rim is just covered in it. I have taken everything out and put half of it back in for a rinse and spin in the hope that it is all off. Could it be washing powder or my worst fear, the rim that is falling apart? OH suggested limescale but i have not a clue what it looks like and we are in soft water up here. Its a Hotpoint Aquarius and its only 5 months old.

freda

Do you use powder or liquid? If powder, how much?

What temp do you wash at?

Have you run the machine on its hottest wash with bleach in it recently, to clean it?

Have you checked the filter for gunk?

If the rim is breaking after 5 months, you should write to hotpoint and complain - it takes years for rubber to perish, not months

My guess would be that you are using the full amount of powder, on 40C setting, and its just collecting in the machine. If this is the case, then use half the amount suggested (even less for soft water areas) and every now and then, run the machine on its hottest setting with nothing but bleach in the drawer, to clean it out thoroughly.

ariba10

There might have been something left in pockets of one of the garments.

Paper hankies are one of the O H favourites.

fudgem

I think it sounds as if something was put in with the washing that shouldn't have been. The machine is only 5 months old, I wouldn't have thought that was long enough for a limescale problem, and to my mind it sounds too severe to be washing powder gunk, although it certainly wouldn't hurt to run the machine on a hot wash

squeaky

Certainly sounds like it might be a tissue of some description.

flufff

I would run it empty on a boil wash to clear it out.

Mrs(no)money

I had this problem with my old machine (which was replaced due to another problem) and ive had the new one 5 months but this time i know what the solution is!

The grey stuff you're describing is a mix of old powder residues, dirt, possibly limescale if your water is hard (it is here) and most importantly, as the engineer said, bodyfat. BODYFAT? i asked! What do you mean? Well, errrmmm, sweat! Not that we're a particularly sweaty lot but with four men in the house need i say more?!! I felt a bit embarrassed but he said its more common than you realise!! Two of them do manual jobs and one plays a lot of football, enough said! If you feel the grey yukky stuff it does feel a bit greasy!!

The solution is to not skimp on powder apparently, and once a month do a really hot wash (but with no or minimal clothes) i usually put the dusters in, preferably 90 degrees. Other than that, just clean round the door seal once in a while with a damp cloth.

Hope this helps.

janeawej

mine started to STINK and was decidedly gunky and nasty, i wiped it out with some vinegar on a cloth got in all the creases god a lot of stuff came out then tipped the rest of the bottle (tescos economy vinegar!) into the soap dispenser and put it on a hot wash empty and hey presto lovely clean maching! did the same with dishwasher but put a few stardrops in too gosh it smells better ~( a bit like a chip shop tho!)

callansdad

Many thanks for your help, although i was a little horrified when i read the bit about bodyfat :eek:

I read the booklet that came with the machine which told me to do a 95c wash with a little powder. That i did, along with checking the filter, which was spotless. I had put a couple of loads of clothes in since and everything seemed fine. A couple of evenings ago my darling little lady was trying to stick a pencil in the hole that the door locks into. I took it away but i had no sooner took it out and as soon as i bent over to get more clothes i heard a noise and sure enough the little dear had put the pencil in the hole and it dropped down. I called OH and he said that it should be fine to put on a wash. Later i did and when it was on spin it sounded like someone was trying to chainsaw through my back door. I tried my hardest to get the damn machine to stop its cycle but the door wouldn't unlock so i let it run its spin. When i took the clothes out they were fine. Checked the drum and filter and all seemed well. Put a load in today and thought the sound of the water filling the drum wasn't quite right, looked at it and it wasn't filling up with water, looked at the floor and the water was spewing everywhere.

OH took the lid off the machine and retreived the missing pencil which turned out not to be the problem as there was a rim underneath the hole which had trapped it. The back of the machine was bone dry and all the pipes were fine so he tipped it up and had a little look underneath. There was a big hole in the casing of the drum. Worse still there was a teaspoon lodged (which was thoroughly bent following its adventures) where the water pumps out. Hence the chainsaw noises earlier!

I always check my machine before and after a wash and having 2 little ones and a husband who tends to leave notes in his pockets i know better than to not check it. How on earth did a spoon get there! The only conclusion that i can think of is that my darling daughter has shoved it down where the rubber looks like it has been chewed. She is always playing with my teaspoons and i always wonder where they have been going, now i know one of her little hiding holes for them! The worst part is i have to wait 9 days for an engineer. I am already behind in my washing, must learn to be more organised in future and to find some way of toddler proofing my washing machine!

If you clean your washing machine out with vinegar then would the smell not rub off on the clothes and would it be particularly safe to use this skin wise as my little lady has excema and i have to watch what i wash her clothes in.

Will my clothes still come out clean if i half the amount of powder that i use. Why do the companies tell you to use X amount of powder if using less does the same job? Is using less powder less effective when using Non-Bio than it is using Bio IYKWIM?

jobbingmusician

I would totally endorse what Mrs(no)money said about it being a bodily residue. Exactly what I was going to say! - DH was a domestic appliance engineer, trained by a v large washing machine engineering department, and he's warned me about this.

I'm very careful always to use LOADS of washing powder as a result. But I'm convinced by others who use this board that if you use white vinegar your clothes do NOT stink as a result!

HTH - JM

Raspberry_Swirl

i get that scum every now and then and just do an empty load at 90c. that usually does the trick.

will try the white vinegar next time though.