Washing machine help (it’s dirty)

So, I’ve purchased a nice second hand Bosch washing machine from eBay for the pricey sum of £25, I collected it from a posh farm house.

The machine works faultlessly, it’s quiet, programmes work, it’s in good nick.

Except… it was really grubby around the door seal so I’ve treated it to some HG Deep Clean And Service washing machine cleaner @ 60′ when I ran this I tested it outside and noted that the waste water was horrifically brown with lots of gunky bits coming out, it never emptied with clean water. I’ve treated it to a second clean @ 60′ with Dr Beckmanns finest and it’s still the same. A third 60′ wash of just Napisan was the same. A dummy run of clean old sheets at 40′ had brown water in the drum.and gunky mess on the sheets.

Is it salvageable in any way or do I just bin it???

I wonder if it’s only seen filthy farm kit for years and the gunks so ingrained it’ll never shift.

Ta

Gunk can’t keep coming out forever

Is there a filter down on the front that you can clean? It might be worth doing in between every cleaning cycle otherwise if it blocks, the machine stops working but full of water! It’s a a right messy job then to sort. I know, it happened to me.

Gunk can’t keep coming out forever

This.

And also, try running a few empty cycles with white vinigar into the powder/softener tray … that shit works wonders!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Vinegar-5L-Suitable-Marinating/dp/B0C1P68S6L/ref=sr_1_5_pp?crid=3TFVMJZC46X3S&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tvSLyRNPiqAttXVFggVqvYigs99bubbCi6an_HKCPNYtg4wnrAmgf-baVDShgNUDqmWGQRs3PTtEAkW0E-VOgoSEwMZIZQrDhhLaiKVgrO9ofEpmSgiOh4eBHyoUo-yJFzmE0QIPnLUwZxCj9znyx2WNjNfT4qx3mK6xu52w7oUm2Y3C4wJ17b3n9mdKW8s3qVDKuYlWy18yq2lD_Pb4pNV-7Fet8WMLWQ4BJPuXqiDiMoh4_KyBfUTVx_7ku-ifw779LUrYPkzxE5vImHCPULZdyl8XfnJj7usjq5dkjY4.YmvKhVy8qNOCoBKmZ5_5JPce77fSSLWuO8uxZj5A7XI&dib_tag=se&keywords=white%2Bvinegar&qid=1719083958&rdc=1&sprefix=white%2Bvinigar%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-5&th=1

Yes it stinks but as its white vinigar, the smell is gone in no time.

Adding white vinigar as also very good for keeping towels fluffy during normal washing.

I would remove the detergent drawer to check/clean make sure it’s cleaned up – they gunk up at the back even with normal use – then run on longest hottest cycle with 3 dishwasher tabs put in the drum , it’s very likely been run too cool for the jobs it was asked to do , leading to buildup in the drum – check filter ecey time tun until sure not blagging up – I would also check/remove/refit the pump and hoses to the pump , there is often a u bend type trap shale in the inlet hose to catch stuff – have found coins and rocks in them before.
You could also fill it with hose and let it soak overnight with cleaning chemicals.

dont put and washing up liquid in!

Mrs Lawman tends to run ours, empty, once a week, on the 90° cycle. The wastefulness of that irritates the shit out of me, but to be fair the machine does stay pretty clean. Might be worth trying a couple of goes of that too?

Ignore me if the 60° setting is the hottest yours has got

Mrs Lawman tends to run ours, empty, once a week, on the 90° cycle. The wastefulness of that irritates the shit out of me, but to be fair the machine does stay pretty clean.

That does seem wastefull to run it that hot…. don’t take my word for it, look up using white vinigar once in a while, especially if you are washing towels, it helps fluf them up a bit as normal detergents tend to clog the fibres of the towels up.

especially if you are washing towels, it helps fluff them up a bit as normal detergents tend to clog the fibres of the towels up.

When and where do you add the vinegar?

Cheers, I’ll try some dishwasher tablets at 90′ tomorrow and see what happens.

I’ve had the soap tray out and cleaned in there, I did take the top cover off but everything looks like sealed units and its beyond my surgery skills to take it apart.

When and where do you add the vinegar?

My highly scientific approach is to run my towels at my normal 45 min 40c wash, with my regular Ariel detergent or whatever, and then just run the same cycle again but with a healthy glug or 5 of white vinigar into the detergent drawer/tray.

I’ve also done it by pausing the washing machine just as it’s about to do a final rince cycle, dump a few glugs of vinigar into the drawer, and then resume the cycle for the final rince/drain, but that requires keeping an eye on the status of the wash cycle…YMMV

After a few goes of that, over say a month, my nice expensive towels are no longer crispy and scratchy when they dry out after a wash.

Big point though.. never overload your washer…if you think it looks three quarters full, it’s full. If you over load it, you’ll cause more stress on the mechanicals, and you’ll also get a sub-standard wash.

I bought some washing machine cleaner last week.  Yet, it’s probably just expensive vinegar, but it specifically says to run an empty wash at 60′.  Maybe there’s a point at which your cleaning agent breaks down?

TBH if it were me I’d probably just spend a day running it on a rinse and drain cycle until most of the solids had been flushed out before worrying about adding chemicals into the mix.

My washing machine drain impeller / pump thingy paid out £2.02 last time things got rattly.

My machine does a self clean cycle at 70 degrees so sounds not far off. Quite a long program involving a lot of soaks and sloshing about but it does keep it clean.

OP when I was at sea we had a separate machine for overalls, if that’s seen oil it’ll be ****, you might shift it with some washing powder or fairy liquid but it might make a hell of a mess (flung fairy in a dishwasher once and earned myself a foam party). Equally it might never get clean without stripping the drum and mechanically cleaning it.

Use the vinegar in place of softener.

Does it look gunky in the drum when it’s running?

if not then just use it.

Nonetheless, I would follow the suggestions made to clean the filter and the detergent tray and receiver.

if it has been used at 30 and 40 Celsius and has had its door closed when not in use there’s probably some lovely mould that’s grown in it.

for £25 it sounds a bargain.

I can’t just use it as it will wash my clothes with brown water.

I’ve cleaned the detergent tray, the filter and drained it.

The pipes from the detergent tray to the drum are coated in thick brown gunk. Bits of gunk can be seen floating around the drum when in use.

Apologies if you have done this but if not then when you remove the filter you can pour a small amount of water into the softener tray which will pass through the filter hole. This might flush more out. Have plenty of towels to soak it up and a tray to catch it as it comes out. I can’t stress this enough if you have wooden flooring.

Sounds like you are needing a strongish cleaner in the tray and a few empty hot cycles…

The drum frame broke on our last machine after 7 years – I wondered if my monthly cleaning cycles at 90 degrees with vinegar might have been a contributing factor.

last advice on “routine” cleaning I saw was a hot wash with powder rather than liquid detergent- the powder scours off the mank from the internals.

Use the vinegar in place of softener.

Been doing this for years, works a treat. We do a 90 degree wash once every couple of months or so.

Get inside the flap of the door seal, that’s where it tends to get sludgy. You might just take a few washes to get all the crap out

Liquids are bad apparently and make them more sludgy, powder best

we do a 90deg was every few weeks

I recently had an issue with our machine not draining properly. Emptying the filter didn’t sort it. Turned it on its side, pulled the bottom off then pulled out every hose I could find connected to drum and filter. Found a big chunk of timescale that was stuck and wouldn’t make it into the filter for removal. Possibly you have something similar stuck?

Its outside on test now with 4 dishwasher tablets in it on a 90′ cycle 🤞🏻

Before this I did open the filter and ran a hose in the drum & it drained clear.

This is it’s 4th cleaner cycle 🤐

Bits of gunk can be seen floating around the drum when in use

🤢

The pipes from the detergent tray to the drum are coated in thick brown gunk

I’d be inclined to try and clean those gunky pipes. Perhaps a scrub with a bottle brush if they can be disconnected/accessed? sounds yucky.

I think I’m winning… the wash cycle with 4 dishwasher tabs at 90′ washed in brown water, the next and 6th wash cycle, using 90′ for a second time, of some Napisan and 2 sterilising tablets seems to be clean, but it’s difficult to see past the bubbles to the water at present.

I hope this works 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Sounds like progress – I would perhaps do another dishwasher tan run at 90 and pause or switch off the machine when is full and the water is piping hot – then let it sit for a couple of hours and resume or switch on with a rinse – that should soak off any junk in bottom of drum that was hanging on .the funky tray to drum pipes is kind of puzzling – unless that machine uses water from the drum to swoosh in the tray then prev folks have added the brown gunk to the tray or it’s built up gak from liquid detergent and softener – to be fair anybody who has never cleaned out their detergent drawer is going to be in for a shock it can be like a grease at the back even using powder – good luck it still sounds like a good machine even if it costs a bit in cleansing products and time much better than being scrapped

Have you tried some bleach with the dishwasher tablets?

It’s great at degreasing stuff.

Update: I think I’ve won, the main culprit was the main soap & water in pipe from the tray to the drum as the corrugations and whole pipework were thick with yukky gunk so I’ve removed cleaned and sterilised it, also removed the door seal which was just stained really and the two water in pipes has some limescale in so I’ve cleaned that out too.

I’ve run a successful regular 40′ wash without brown water and no gunk deposits on the clothing.

🤗

Update: I think I’ve won,

When can you come and clean mine?? 🤔😉

My beko washing machine has a 90°c drum clean setting. Only gets used when octopus agile goes negative as it consumes 3kwh of power over 3hr. Last time I ran it a chunk of slime exited the drain pipe, I’ll guess it was from the drain pipe rather than the machine. 🤔

FWIW, soda crystals are great for cleaning washing machines

Sounds like a wash with Calgon will help reduce the limescale build up.

Yeah, my Beko has a “Self Clean” programme also.  The recommendation is to run it every 2 months although I usually only run it every 6 months or so as and when I remember.

Washing machine cost £25. Electric bill at 90c for a few washes £200.

Only kidding.

To get the cleaning wash on ours I have to tap it with my phone’s app (not wifi but NFC). PITA.

I would have started with the 90 degree wash as the heat works wonders for loosening stuff but sounds like you’ve got there in the end.

And +1 for the soda crystals – i combine it with the white vinegar in the drum when I’m cleaning ours.  Do it when it obviously starts to smell a bit.

Thanks for this thread, it’s just reminded me to do an auto-clean cycle on ours.

My washing machine drain impeller / pump thingy paid out £2.02 last time things got rattly.

Lucky you, all I got last time was a hair clip, plastic lolly stick and a paperclip.

We have a Hoover washer that seems to have a 90° self cleaning cycle until you connect it to wifi, then you can’t access it any more as it makes that mode do something else instead. No idea why…

Get some of those long handled brush cleaners, hot water and vinegar down the tray inlet and get your pipe cleaner in there as far as possible. Keep doing it, bit of hot water bit of vinigar.  The hot water from the wash doesn’t do anything above the drum so years of folk ramming stuff into it eventually builds up.

Once a month do all the dirty towels and cloths in the house (cleaning stuff) on a 90 with whatever chemicals are to hand, never in my life had a smelly washing machine.

Everyone I know who is an eco person (eco ‘focussed’ but not actually informed) washs cold, 30, maybe 40 once a year and they go through washing machines like absolute crazy, like never heard of so many folk with broken and faulty machines. Mates also tend to ram 10 kg of stuff into a tiny machine and then wonder why stuff ain’t clean, smells, and machine is never lasting more than a few years.

Lucky to live in an area where drinking water is in such abundance that it just doesn’t matter what you do with it. Have a 1990’s zanussi machine, only 4 kg I think, but WOW does that thing WASH CLOTHS. Uses an absolute tonne of water, electric consumption a tad higher than modern machines, but the constant rinsing and huge amount of water it uses makes everything feel nice, clean, soft and zero smells ever. Vs had a few new machines in rentals and have to put half a load on a full cycle, pre wash and extra rinse every single time, and even then, bang it back in for another rinse as can still feel the soap on there. So uses surely more water and energy than the old machine?

When ours started to stink a bit I did an empty wash with 2 scoops of that vanish oxy gold stuff which worked a treat.

FWIW, soda crystals are great for cleaning washing machines

Definitely this….. Sod the “washing machine cleaner” products, just use soda crystals.