how to clean mildewy rim on washing machine seal?

skyrocket

Hi all
My washing machine has a rather fetching blackish mildewy rubber seal. What is the best way to clean this off?
Sky xxx

Fay

Have you tried putting your washer onto a boil wash with nothing in it, then put a cup (or more if you want) of white vinegar into your fabric conditioner dispenser and rinse the washer. It worked when my washer had gone a bit rank round the edge!

squeaky

There's a thread on removing mildew from tile grout which, while not the same, will certainly help you with mildew treatment.

Click Here

lily_the_pink

I have this problem on my machine too - the washing machine repair man said that it is probably due to not using hot washes on a regular basis (I rarely go above 40 C wash cycle).


He reckoned a 95 C was with some soda crystals (in place of washing powdwer) helps - (every 6 weeks or so) - I have remembered to do this a couple of time and the mildew has reduced though not completely gone yet.

sooz

i've had that prob at several flats i manage. it due to keeping the door closed. the mould can be lethal...full of spores - yuk - so best to wear a mask and gloves. i think cif was recommended

found info at https://www.washerhelp.co.uk

on my machines it could not be cleaned off, so had to replace the seal, cost 75 -90 pounds, depending on machine.

think washerhelp also recommended soda cristals on 90oC wash several times per year

squeaky

Aye, the door should NEVER be closed when the machine is not in use. Not only does the lack of ventilation encourage the growth of mildew and other smelly beasties in a damp atmosphere but it traps water against the spatt (the rubber door seal thingy) and this on drying out leaves scale which abrades the seal, leaves it all grainy and then eventually it leaks.

ALWAYS leave the door ajar :-)

squiggles

oh,no wonder my washer stinks,ive never left the door open and the seal has black mould on too.

cathybird

hi there all, need advice if anyone out there might be able to help. My front loader washing machine has a grey rubber ring round the opening (not on the door, it's round the hole you put the clothes through) which has got kind of gungy and has acquired dark patches recently. I don't think it's mould but I'm not absolutely sure. The rubber has a deep fold in it and water collects inside this fold (in fact when I gingerly peered in earlier today there was also a screw and a rubber band inside there, strangely enough). Inside the fold it's even gungier. I've cleaned it out but the rubber still has dark patches of stain. Sorry if this sounds a bit gross, it's not really gruesome, just not clean and pristine in the way I'd like... Also, it was getting to be a nuisance because if I pulled white sheets out and they brushed the patches, sometimes it would mark them. Anyone know an environmentally sound & cheap cleaner that might get this off? I've tried vinegar, didn't do the trick...

newleaf

It will probably just be soap and fabric conditioner residue. I wipe round my door seal now and then with a microfibre cloth and a squirt of stardrops.

Madmel

Also try a bit of white vinegar as that's brilliant for getting rid of soap powder & fabric conditioner build up.

cathybird

umm what's stardrops?? sounds promising.
also maybe I should try with the vinegar again...

you know what newleaf, I wouldn't blame anyone who's seen this thread and my other one about flour moths for thinking I live in some kind of grime-ridden hovel groaning with gunge and assorted pests!! It's quite tidy actually (honest)