Washing machine seal gone black

Spies

At the bottom of the seal, it's gone black as water seems to get trapped after a cycle has been done. 

My question is, can I simply pad the seal out with kitchen towel then pour thin bleach on it and let it sit a while? Will bleach attack the rubber? 

joe90mitch

Had this at my in laws. We never tried bleach but tried white vinegar etc to no great success. Will let other people reply re bleach, but also worth pointing out we fairly easily found a replacement gasket by googling and found a tutorial on YouTube as to how to replace a gasket of that brand of machine. It was a little bit tricky but certainly not that difficult, took about an hour from memory to pull the machine out, turn off, take it apart as much as needed, replace the gasket and then reverse.

If you do get it back to normal, just have a rag or towel near the machine and wipe dry after every wash, and if possible leave the door ajar when not using (if you can't do that then wipe the inside of the door also). Made a big difference to them.

TimSynths

Have a look at espares to get a new one-

Beko Washing Machine Seals | eSpares

lots of how to vids on the site too. 100% recommend.

JGB1955

I use a mixture of bleach and bicarbonate of soda to clean mine. Just put it on with a toothbrush. Leave for a couple of days  then rinse off

Spies

I'll try cleaning it before replacing it as it looks like the whole front of the machine needs to be removed. 

joe90mitch

Spies said:

I'll try cleaning it before replacing it as it looks like the whole front of the machine needs to be removed. 

Yes, pretty much - that's the process I had to follow from memory - you remove a fair bit but it's not that complex as long as you're methodical and put all screws/bolts/springs carefully to the side in something they can't roll away in. Was surprisingly not that difficult, though I enjoy doing those kind of things.

And the site @TimSynths mentions is the one we used

From memory my inlaws did try mould cleaner to no avail, so that's why we tried replacing. It was so bad that we'd get black marks on  clothes... So definitely agree that at least trying to clean is the best plan before going full replacement.

mandy47

Try HG mould spray. Bought mine up a treat.

kipsterno1

We had the seal replaced on our Zanussi after it was shredded (don't ask). I asked the guy who fitted the new one what was the best way to remove the mold build up. He suggested the same as the OP, kitchen paper soaked in bleach. 

Alanp

When you have cleaned/replaced the seal, run it on a boil wash once every couple of months with a measure of bio powder, eco detergents and low temperatures can cause mould, leave your washer door slightly ajar to aid the seal drying

Spies

kipsterno1 said:

We had the seal replaced on our Zanussi after it was shredded (don't ask). I asked the guy who fitted the new one what was the best way to remove the mold build up. He suggested the same as the OP, kitchen paper soaked in bleach. 

Just done it tonight, left the soaked paper towel for 30 minutes and it's removed a lot of it.

I going to buy either dettol or Dr beckmann cleaner and run a 60c cycle as I never usually go above 40.

rob7475

To try and prevent it happening again, do you keep the machine door open after a cycle? If you leave the door open and the detergent drawer open a bit, it'll allow air to circulate which should dry it out between washes.