cleaning a washer

[DADoES]

Laundress, I have a tankless water heater, can set it to any temp between 50°F and 140°F. I bought a large box of baking soda this evening, and a 1/2 gal of vinegar (I also have a gallon somewhere that's partially used). Plan on doing 140°F for an EcoActive wash, then maybe 115°F for a medium-level agitated wash with the tricked-out recirculation and some soaking ... see what are the results. I happened to pull the agitator recently when measuring the basket diameter for reporting in another thread, and there was a bit of grunge under the skirt. Also some lint stuck on a rough spot left from the manuf process ... so it seems that F&P's so-called self-cleaning lint system may be somewhat effective.

You think this baking soda + vinegar is more effective than an enzyme dishwasher detergent treatment? Or Lime-a-way?

 

[appnut]

Glenn, use the Allergies LifeCycle with heater set at 140 and a manually set full water level.

 

[launderess]

Cascade Complete and other dishwasher detergents are highly alkaline. Not sure if that does any thing and the enzymes contained in dishwasher detergent probably do not have too great effect in removing detergent residue, mold, et all inside a washing machine.

If automatic dishwasher detergents containing enzymes did a good job on mold and other gunk, the market for "dishwasher cleaners" would dry up, so far it hasn't.

White vinegar has been used for ages to kill/control mold and it is very effective. Baking soda has also been used for ages in removing grease/oil, muck and deodorising . In combination the two provide a really effective means of cleaning automatic dishwashers and washing machines without causing damage. Modern washing machines, especially high end/European front loaders contain very sensitive plastic and rubber parts. LCB and highly alkaline substances can harm these parts.

L.

 

[Designgeek]

Lauderess, what to do about the prevalence of icky-stuff on the inside of the outer tub on FLs? The very thought of all that crap in there is enough to give me a scare. And does the same thing happen to commercial machines in laundromats?

Seems to me the best protection against that stuff is a solid tub, or something like the Staber where you can probably reach into the gap between inner & outer with a cleaning brush. Or on perforated-tub TLs, lift the entire top of the machine occasionally to give it a scrubbing.

Or does the foaming vinegar & baking soda treatment take that stuff out?

And also, does stuff like that build up under agitators on TLs, or under pulsators on the machines that have them?

-----

gross-out alert, don't read below here if you're especially squeamish...

.
.
.
.
.
.
okay you were warned...

On THS, someone posted a topic on disgusting laundry habits.

The worst of the batch was the case of the apartment-dweller who waited for the washer and when the person who did the last load didn't show up, he removed the last load himself.. to discover it was, how shall we say this, full of the obvious signs of incompletely washed out human poo-poo, which had also gotten into and plugged up many of the holes in the inner tub.

Needless to say, he & his pal made a hasty retreat to the nearest laundromat, only to return to discover the guy who owned the poopy load had run them through the dryer with similar results (dried-up bits of poo clogging up the lint filter).

So, how would one go about cleaning & sanitizing after something like *that*..? And what's the risk in public laundromats? (IMHO, the guy with the poopy load should have been reported to property management as a manifest health hazard.)

 

[DADoES]

LifeCycle: Tub Clean

Hot Water
Traditional Wash
High Water Level
Slow Spin
Normal Soil Level
Soak
Firm Wash

Water heater set at 140°F. 1.5 GPM flow rate (have the hot tap turned down a bit, otherwise it's ~2.2 GPM). Heater demand ran between 72% and 67%, which would be between 20,736 watts and 19,296 watts. That sounds outrageous, but if the total fill took 15 mins it would cost about $0.46 ... and it was less than 15 mins. A *very brief* EcoActive wash ran. I tossed in four cups vinegar, one cup baking soda. Just a touch of foaming occurred. Fill for deep wash. Agitated for 6 to 10 mins, not sure. Initial cycle time was either 163 mins or 167 mins. When the soak phase started, remaining time was 157 mins. Standard 2-hr soak with seven agitation strokes every minute. Went to bed, didn't hang around to watch what it did for rinsing.

Interesting that diagnostic mode reported a mixing chamber temp of 60°C (140°F), with a "target" temp of 69°C (156°F). So apparently, IWL12 controls hot to a maximum of 69°C.

 

[nmaineman36]

I remember that I had this stinky problem on a Kenmore washer that I had. It was one of the first series of DD washers that had the tub holes near that base of the basket. The gunk would be above the holes and when phosphated detergents were no longer available the washer began to stink. I took the washer apart and scraped out the gunk in the outer tub. I was glad that the tub was semi clear so I could see the buildup and where it was.
After I cleaned it and put the washer back together I didnt have a problem with it for about a year. I found out after that Whirlpool washbaskets would have the full wall tub holes to eliminate the stink problem. I guess they knew that people had this problem and fixed it.
Mike

 

[MrX]

European washers are generally not a problem. Ours certainly doesn't get smelly. The main thing to avoid is doing cold washes all the time. If you never wash at above 40C you should occasionally do a "maintenence wash" as per the instructions that come with most machines.

Just put in detergent, do not add clothes. Set the machine to 95C and let it slosh scalding water around for a while. The hot water and normal laundry detergent will break down any gunk deposited in the machine. The high tempratures will also kill any organisms growing in there stone dead.

By the end of the cycle you've a completely clean machine smelling of the detergent / softener of your choice.

The other problem with smells is not using sufficient detergent.

There's not a lot you can do if the machine's getting whiffy due to infrequent use. Unfortunately, any machine, top or front loading, has lots of places for water to sit e.g. the sump. if water stagnates it starts to whiff.

If your machine hasn't been used in a while, run an empty hot wash first.

 

[MrX]

For US-style Agitator top loaders you could try filling the machine deep with hot water and no clothes and adding laundry bleach or laundry sanitiser.

A pleasant smelling household disinfectant might also do the trick.

 

[whirlcool]

Lysol in the brown bottle

used to have another use back in the 40's. As a,uh ur feminine cleaning product.

Laundress you may be on to something here. In our last house we had city water, here we have well water. It's clean with no obnoxious odors to it, but none the less it's well water. If this is causing the mold problem in our machine, what can we do about it?

 

[frigilux]

Pine-Sol: A childhood neighbor used to put 1/2 cup Pine-Sol in with each load. The clothes and washer (and laundry room and the house in general) reeked of the stuff. Out of---oh, I don't know, pure stupidity and a misguided sense of nostalgia, mabye---I decided to use some in a load of laundry a couple of years ago. Whooooo-WEE did that reek. I'd used it in a load of bath towels, and after I dried off using one of them, I smelled like Pine-Sol.

Pine-Sol went into the garbage.

 

[neptunebob]

Frigilux, do you work in nursing? My mother was a nurse and she always said that Pine-Sol "smelled like public toilets!". My sister who is also a nurse says "That's becuase you work in nursing"! Nursing or no, I do agree that Pine Sol is too strong.

Laundress, I remember that lysol sanitizer. The commercial showed a ghost coming out of a White Westinghouse washer shouting "GERMS!". I did like the way it smelled, why do these companies discontinue the products that smell nice? Nep

 

[launderess]

Whirlcool,

Have not lived in a house on well water, but would recommed you have your well tested. It is not uncommon for wells to become contaminated with any thing from septic tank problems, to god only knows what else getting down there. IIRC the "cure" for germy well water is something called "shocking" the well. Have no idea how this is done, and or if one must call a professional.

Best of luck,

L.

 

[whirlcool]

Well water quality

Laundress:

What we have here is that we are a medium size subdivision (300 homes) in the middle of a rural area. We have a central well for the subdivision. According to the water department, our well is rated at "exceptionally good" by the state water department. They also said that the well is 4,000 feet down, so that it is actually spring water.
I think I should probably get one of those testing kits at HD and send it in and see what comes back.

 

[whirlcool]

Well water quality

Laundress:

What we have here is that we are a medium size subdivision (300 homes) in the middle of a rural area. We have a central well for the subdivision. According to the water department, our well is rated at "exceptionally good" by the state water department. They also said that the well is 4,000 feet down, so that it is actually spring water.
I think I should probably get one of those testing kits at HD and send it in and see what comes back.

 

[cehalstead]

tried the formula

I tried Laundress' formula for cleaning....1 cup baking soda and 4 cups vinegar. That seemed to cure the odor, and I didn't have any green or brown scum floating on top of the water. I guess the machine was cleaner than I thought. Maybe the smell was just caused by the washer sitting idle for a long time.

Thanks again, Laundress!!!!

Chuck