Brown Residue Around the Tub After Every Wash -- Help!!

[300c]

I have a 2004 BOL GE washer. Recently, I started seeing a brown ring of residue around the top of the tub, about 2 inches high. I have tried wiping off the residue and running a hot water cycle with a cup of bleach, but the residue soon returns.

Can anyone tell me what's happening? Can the tub be taken out and cleaned, or is something broken?

 

[whirlcool]

Do you have high iron in the water? It could be that.

A friend of ours moved to an area that had high iron content. The first load of laundry she did was aload of brand new white towels. She added a bit of bleach to the load and walked away! Imagine the look on her face when she went to retrieve the towels and when she started to unload them every last towel was bright orange in color!

She added an iron filter water conditioning system to the house and the problem went away.

 

[wayupnorth]

I would bet the iron content is the culprit. One quick remedy is a warm rinse cycle with some Iron Out and it will take the orange out. I have very high iron content in my water due to all the granite. A softner using the iron remover salt does wonders, unfortunately, mine died and there is no Rain Soft dealer around here now to get parts from. And bleach will work against hard water and make the wash water look like swamp water and it seems the orange sets in anything white.

 

[Iowegian]

I would try phosphoric acid, like Lime-A-Way or CLR to remove the deposits from the tub.

If you're seeing buildup above the waterline, something must be causing that. Maybe suds from too much detergent is pushing the minerals up the side of the tub higher than the wash/rinse water can wash them off.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

If the washer is leaking oil from the drive block.

The machine will have a greasy ring at the water line. 

WK78

 

[retro-man]

I had the same washer in the hair salon and it did this same thing all the time. It is the suspended dirt in the laundry causing this. Whatever the tub and agitatior are made of are like magnets to this residue. I tried low suds detergemt tried tide, no changes. All the loads we do are mainly white towels and bleach is added to each load. All loads are done on hot. I would have to wash the tub and agitator with windex or 409 every week to remove it. I think the main reason that this happens is that there is no spray rinse during the spin cycles. Nothing you can do about it, I know because I tried everything and nothing would stop it. Just a bad combination of materials used. I have replaced the washer with a "commercial quality" maytag and the top of the agitator is doing the same thing that is not under water, but this wipes off easier with just a towel and water.
Jon

 

[300c]

Info Greatly Appreciated!!!

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Thank you so much...