Cleaning out a washer

[stan]

This Kenmore is about 15 years old, and performing well, but needed 15 years of accumulation cleaned out the hard way..or the right way. Three S.O.S pads, a putty knife and elbow grease.
After seeing this I thought to myself..what do the innards of most Front Loaders looks like? At least with a Top Loader it can be filled and soaked, with all sides submerged.
Have helped a couple of friends that were liquids detergent uses get theirs cleaned, and was able to do it by filling with hottest water, soaking with a heavy dosing of washing soda. That worked pretty well. Theirs had a stench, and and gunky slime. This one didn't, but still needed attention.
Am I the only one who's doing this ? LOL

 

[gansky1]

It's a lot of work, but well worth the effort! Good work.

 

[mamapinky]

Stan

This is what I did with my roper RAS8445KQ0..last year it was a monumental job for me as I've never been inside so to speak on a appliance but very rewarding. Good job Stan................Cheryl

 

[mayken4now]

Nope

You're not the only one. Good job on that!

 

[yogitunes]

your not the only one...and there's something about scrubbing it down and cleaning out every inch of it.....especially a before and after effect

if available, power washers are a great help and fast for cleaning out machines....fridges too!

 

[foraloysius]

Frontloaders that can do a boilwash and have a stainless inner and outer drum are easy to clean. Just a boilwash, empty and with citric acid, and most of the problem is gone. I did it with my H-axis Constructa toploader in 2007. See this thread for the pictures:

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?15015

 

[combo52]

Cleaning Washers

Always a good thing to do when you first get a used one or after you have used a machine a long time yourself.

 

BUT a washer should never get really dirty like the one at the start of this thread, when a washer gets this dirty several bad things are happening, Too little detergent is being used for sure for the soil level and water hardness in your area, too low a water temperature for washing can also be a factor as well as too much rinsing.

 

The other thing that is CERTAIN, this washer has NOT been producing really clean laundry, probably EVER.

 

Any washer whether TL or FL [ or Dishwasher for that matter ] should stay pretty darn clean if it is being used correctly.

 

All of us that restore or work on washers everyday [ like me ] see machines that are almost as clean as new inside after many many years of use or they can be filthy messes in just a few short years.

 

[mamapinky]

john

My roper top loader was purchased in I think 2001it was my mothers she used it for maybe7years..cold washes cold rinses..tide and lots of downy..last year I had to take it apart (not a easy job for a woman that has never done this) and I found inches of slimy goo. I scraped and scrubbed for hours cleaning this off..if you think Stans washer above is bad ..mine was so much worse. Hopefully this doesn't happen again..hot

or warm washes here with STPP added and week solution of fabric softener occasionally. Cheryl

 

[kenwashesmonday]

The downfall of a neutral drain.

Washing everything in cold would certainly exasperate the problem.

 

[askolover]

seems like

to me that plastic tubs get grungier than metal or porcelain tubs do.  Mine's stainless inner and outer and I've taken a flashlight inside it to look through the holes in the drum & it is still shiny after 18 years...but I do use bleach and hot water multiple times a week.

 

[stan]

This

washer hardly ever sees cold water, for wash or rinse.
Of course its a neutral drain by design, but the neutral drain pack, is worn, and half the time it dose a spin rinse, even though it's not supposed to. In 15 years, the only repair I've done was a new clutch spring. (Easier to do that than to do the neutral drain repair)
About every 6 to 8 mos I take the cabinet of and give a look. This is the first I've noticed this, and I think I know what caused this.
A few mos ago I used a old bar of P&G White Naptha Soap. I should have know better.
As mentioned in other threads, when soap that old sits 65 years, it eventually converts back to a simpler compound of soda ash, and is no longer easily soluble in water (of any temp) Now that I think of what I scraped off, it so closely resembles the same color and texture of that old bar.
Heres a pic of some of that same grated soap.
When you compair this to what was scraped of, you can't hardly tell the two apart.
And yes I did use STPP when I used the P&G

 

[arbilab]

Naptha soap, from California's Naptha valley?

But really, doesn't naptha evaporate?

LOVE this one: "Washing everything in cold would certainly exasperate the problem." Not to cast asparagus on anyone's typing, but please tell me that was the cleverest malapropism ever to grace this board.

 

[stan]

Rick

Your posts always make me smile!

 

[kenwashesmonday]

I blame either the spell-checker or Leo Gorcey.

 

[combo52]

Outer Build-Ups

Hi Stan, the stuff you are scraping off the inside of the outer tub is not the soap you were using, it is mostly minerals from the water and other crud, even soap this old would just wipe off the inside of the tub with a cloth and warm water, however excess soap would never build up on a tub like this anyway.

 

It is however not a good idea to use soap unless you have very soft water, how hard is your water?

 

[stan]

My water

Is only 4 to 5 grains, according to the water department. Some here say their water has changed since the quake we had last Augest? I never use soap without some break like STPP.
I'm glad I'm not the "only one" LOL and I'm glad its clean now. I intended to keep a closer watch. Been busy cleaning out everyone else's, (there's was a slimy gunk) I guess I neglected my own LOL.

Hers a pic of one of the bars. You can see how it's really mostly dry soda ash.

 

[stan]

Hi John

I've done some more investigating, and think your right!
I've asked around...friends, neighbors, customers, and spoke with our local Water Dept. The friends, neighbors and customers have all noticed a change in our water, mostly the taste, and most are complaining about sediment getting caught in sink strainers, shower heads, Brita filters ect.
The change seems to be related to the time of 6.0 quake we had.
Since the quake, dry creeks are now running, and wells that were dry are now pumping water.
The Water Dept explained that while our water normally ranges between 4 to 5 grains hardness. However that figure is taken at the water source! After the water is "treated" and finds its way to our taps, they can't or won't say
I live in what's considered "old town" and many of the underground pipes are over 100 years old.
(There were water mains broken all over town during the quake)? It was explained that the Water Dept found necessary to further "treat" the water because of what got shaken loose.

 

[cuffs054]

Stan, our water dept says the hardness of our water varies by time of year. I guess due to snow meltoff and levels of the river and wells.

 

[mamapinky]

Wish my water company would give me my water hardness, when I called and ask they responded by saying we don't know.

 

[kb0nes]

Mama, you may want to try another contact with your water department. Ask them if you can receive a water report. The public works does know this information. You just need to get to the right person. The water report will generally give a lot more information then just hardness, including Alkalinity, amounts of various chemicals, dissolved solids etc.

Alternately you can buy water hardness test strips on the Internet. Another option is the water softener companies will sometimes send you a free test strip. Here is a link

http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-home/test-your-water

A local water quality company that installs filters and softeners would have a good idea too, although they may try to sell you something

 

[washer111]

Instead of ringing them up, and getting phone operators without a clue in the world, I researched, and very hard.

Eventually, I found a water-sampling document, by our Water Corporation with all the water testing results from across the state that had occurred about 2 years prior. Based off of this, I was able to set our water softener up correctly. (Meanwhile the local guy just sets it up in some random way. No one elses water tastes or feels like ours!)

A lot of stuff is published online. A bit of hard work might get you somewhere.

2-4 grains isn't very hard at all, and if you're noticing sediments, then I'd just say that old pipes are being disturbed. We have about 25 grains, and when we first moved in, since the house had sat for so long, a couple of jugs of water we made had 'floaties' of calcium in it. Wonderful *rolls eyes*

 

[mamapinky]

Thank you Phil and Washer111.....I did call today and ask for a water report I was told its online..soo I searched that way but it doesn't list the water hardness. ...guess I will search the net maybe I'll get lucky and find something..
Thanks Phil for the mortonsalt site I will try that. Take care and again thank you..cheryl

 

[askolover]

My water dept says ours is usually 7-8 grains.  Lowes used to sell the test strips.  I know before I installed the softener I was getting the hard crusty deposits on all my new faucets and the showerhead that was here when I bought the house would barely spray due to all the minerals on it. 

 

[laundromat]

Spray 9

I buy it by the gallon. Whenever I get a used washer that runs or need to clean out my own, I fill the machine with HOT ,almost boiling water and a gallon of Spray 9. Then,I let it run for at least a half hour just agitating or tumbling. Then, I. Turn it off completely and let it soak over night. Lid closed. The next morning, I empty and spin out the remains.  Then, I refill it with hot water and a cup of Clorox and run it through completely. The results are truly amazing. You see ALL of the debris on the outer tub disappeared and the pump cleaned out. In the mainland, Home Depot carries Spray 9. Not here though. I have to order it on line or pay three times the price at a local auto parts store. Great for detailing cars too.

 

[mamapinky]

I just got off the phone with the water authority again..she said I have perfect water..lol..she said it runs soft I ask for numbers she said 22 I ask what 22 means and she said geese I'll have to call you back but I doubt she will. She than said I get my water from the laurel mountains which makes it soft. Cheryl

 

[mamapinky]

I'm thinking

The number 22 maybe is referring to the hardness (mg/L) which would fall into the extremely soft category (0-45) range..unless my research is wrong..I know I have never had any deposits in sinks or showers and I replaced a shower head several years ago because I wanted to.. the old one worked fine no clogs but it was a crappy cheapo one..the shower head in the other bath has been going strong for 8 years.. cheryl

 

[mamapinky]

water authority

Did call me back she said their range is between 0and 120 and ours falls at 22...can anyone explain this to me...does this mean my water falls in the softer range?? Thanks much Cheryl

 

[kb0nes]

It looks like they are rating the hardness in mg/Liter and indeed 22 is pretty darned low. You won't need a softener at that. The fact that you haven't ever seen scaling around fixtures confirms that.

The other common rating is grains per gallon. One grain/gallon is equal to about 17mg/l so your hardness would be about 1 grain/gallon if expressed that way.

My hardness is between 15-20 grains/gallon as we mostly have well water from limestone aquifers here. They have started to use a bit more surface water as the aquifer water table is being depleted, but even with the blend we are still at 15 grain/gallon which would equate to ~250 mg/l. For our area a softener is all but mandatory.

 

[mamapinky]

Thank you Phil...I did assume I had more on the softer side but its nice to have a number...this is probably why I have suds issues with some laundry detergents especially powder cheer even in a water hog standard. ..Again thank you Phil.......Cheryl

 

[whirlcool]

Our water here has been messed up ever since they started adding ground water to it.
The water dept said the hardness is 200, which is hard. I always thought hardness was measured in grains, like 10 or 12?

Anyway, when you pour a glass of water even before your lips touch the glass you are assaulted by the strong smell of chlorine. I mean it can burn your nose. Then if you take a sip, the after taste is like soap suds. That sharp feeling you get after drinking out of a glass that was washed in dish detergent in the sink, but not rinsed well.

I contacted the water dept and they just said that our water has been rated "Superior" by the State Water Board. I don't understand how that can be. In the meantime we are drinking bottled Spring Water.