how to clean mildewy rim on washing machine seal?

A question about : how to clean mildewy rim on washing machine seal?

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

Best answers:

• 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!
• There's a thread on removing mildew from tile grout which, while not the same, will certainly help you with mildew treatment.
  Click Here
• 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.
• 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 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
• 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 :-)
• oh,no wonder my washer stinks,ive never left the door open and the seal has black mould on too.
• 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...
• 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.
• Also try a bit of white vinegar as that's brilliant for getting rid of soap powder & fabric conditioner build up.
• 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)
• Funny thing really, I have been thinking about joining the local W.I. but when I got my flour moth infestation I thought I might get black-balled and it put me off joining for a while! Off topic, I know, but since last w/e I've killed about a dozen moths and half as many larvae. Today's the first day I haven't seen either - and I have heightened awareness at the moment, I can tell you!
  Back to topic then, Stardrops is a wonderful gold coloured liquid detergent that's made here in Yorkshire, I think. You can get it at Wilkinsons (where I believe it's only 58p) or at Morrisons, where it's 75p. It's just a very effective, pleasantly scented, liquid cleaner for almost any task. With the ubiquitous microfibre cloth and a bottle of Stardrops you can take on the world! There are two sister products too, Starclen looks like lemon barley water and contains ammonia for heavy duty tasks, and Starpine is a dark green pine scented disinfectant - but it's much harder to find than the other two.
• I'll never ever tell the WI about the moths!! I promise!!
  I haven't seen any of 'em lately either - though that doesn't mean they're not lurking, of course...
  Thanks for info on Stardrops, extremely useful, will head down to Morrison's to see if I can find
  x cathy
• Hi cathybird,
  There's a long thread here on the wonders of Stardrops....it really is amazing stuff!
  Some of the replies on these older threads might help with the seal on the washing machine:
  Stinky washing machine!
  how to clean mildewy rim on washing machine?
  "rusty" mark on shirts from washing machine ?
  Smelly Washing Machine!!!
  Pink
• totally brilliant - thanks all!
• If there's an Asda near you you might find it in there for 58p too - that's where I bought mine. I think people must have been asking for it, as i've never seen any in there before!
• Run a 90 degree cycle with an empty machine with a full dose of bio powder in it to clean out the machine. If the seal is that yucky its going to be yucky inside where you cant see. Its a good habit to get into doing once a month.
  A tip I picked up off another site, it must be powder (bio for preference) as the bleach in powder help to clean the machine it doesnt work as well if you use laundry liquid as its not chemically possible to put bleach in a liquid detergent, they have bleaching agents rther than bleach.
• well, maybe that's what I've not been doing correctly, since I normally use the 40 degree cycle for everything...
• I check my seal everyso often I've regularly found coins in there, it all mounts up and is fed to Flossie the Mortgage sheep.
• Once you've got it as clean and fresh as you can using the advice above, you can avoid it getting that way again by just wiping it and the glass bit in the door with a dry cloth each time you unload it, then leaving the door open to let it dry out between washes.