Help - brown gunk in my front loader

[moreleisuretime]

We have a Kenmore front loader which we purchased new five years ago, and we have never had a problem. Last week, our clothes started getting brown smears, brown lines, brown dots on them. The brown lines made me think of checking the rim, where the tub meets the black rubber gasket (at the opening/door.)

There I found an incredible amount of brown gunk - about the consistency of cake icing. It didn't have an odor. Although by its appearance, you would think it would. It was rather thick in places - maybe a quarter inch thick. I scraped as much out as I could. Then I got a garden hose with a jet sprayer, and I pulled back the rubber gasket, sprayed it with hot water.

I managed to get all of the brown gunk removed, and I thought I had solved the problem.

But my test has been letting the washer fill with its standard amount of water...then switching it over to the spin cycle and letting it discharge the water. Every time the water discharges, there are flakes and pieces, some large, some small, of brown gunk in the water (which I examine in the washtub where the water drains). Sometimes the flakes are brown with black.

When I let the washer fill with water and I open the door to examine the water in the washer, I can see the same kinds of flakes/pieces floating in the water. Yet there is no buildup visible on the inside of the inner drum.

I am thinking it is a buildup of fabric softener (Downey) that has accumulated in the space between the outside drum and the inside drum. I've tried letting ammonia sit in the tub, thinking it will dissolve it like it does the gunk inside an oven - but every time I fill it with water, then discharge it, out comes more brown flakes and pieces of gunk. I've pretty much reached the end of the line.

All that stands between me and calling Sears is this post/plea for help.

Has anyone out there had this problem with their front loader??? And how did you solve it??? (And forgive me if this has been a common topic. I usually hang out in the Super forum, being more of a small appliance/vacuum kind of guy.) Knowing how much the folks on the Super board know about their vacuums, percolators, ranges, I figured if anyone knows their front loaders, it's the regulars on this board.

Thanks.
dan in Pittsburgh, PA

 

[rinso]

I have had the brown gunk problem in more than just one appliance. It is also in my coffee maker. According to the local water department, it can be iron sludge or a harmless fungus. My approach has always been to clean it out with 409 and paper towels.

 

[golittlesport]

Maybe try throwing a few gallons of white distilled vinegar in the machine and let it soak for a while, turning it on to tumble a bit intermitently to splash the vinegard solution around. Then run the machine through a complete cycle empty. You use white distilled vinegar to clean out a drip coffee maker to clear out the mineral deposit buildup, so I'm thinking maybe it will disolve your brown gunk.

Any machine, top or front load can develop a build up of laundry products, mold, or a combination of the two. Fabric softener is notorious for turning in brown sludge if it builds up...as can be found in many agitator-dispensers of the more piggish people. But in front loaders the softener flushes into the drum with water, so I don't know if that is it. Do you clean out the dispenser drawer and inside the dispenser area now and then like the manufacturer says to?

Anyway, good luck getting rid of it.

 

[mayken4now]

Dahlin, you have to dry and clean your machine everytime you finish your laundry. Wipe the interior and the dispenser components, and you wont have this issue ever again. Yea, they are suppose to be automatic, but they (Whirlpool or whoever) have not mastered the cleaning of the machine.

Bet you have cats in the house too! LOL

Steve

 

[launderess]

First, the brown gunck sounds like oils, and soils not being competlely held in suspension and washed away. What detergent are you using? If using small amounts of non-HE detergent to keep sudsing down, often you are not getting the full cleaning/soil suspension power of a detergent. This is often true if using mainly warm to cold water washes and or you have very dirty laundry.

To clean the machine, first turn up your hot water heater if possible, so you can have the hottest water possible. Then add 2-3 cups of baking soda to the detergent compartment, and as the machine is filling add one cup of white vinegar. It should make a foamy mess, which is what you want it to do. Run the machine through a complete wash cycle, repeat if necessary. You may also try using any automatic dishwasher cleaners sold in hardware stores. If all else fails, contact Miele and buy a box of washing/dishwasher machine descaler.

Next, you may have to find another good detergent that works in your washer. Make sure it can clean well but is low sudsing/clean rinsing. Finally leave the door to the washing machine and detergent dispenser drawer open after each wash load. A closed moist place like the inside of a washing machine is prime mould growth territory.

If you suspect your washing machine has a mould problem, the vinegar/baking soda treatment should take care of that as well. It may take several times, but it should work.

L.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Vinegar would help with minerals, but when it is neutralized by baking soda, what do you have?

This is more than minerals. It is slime from soil, oils, dead skin cells and probably the buildup of unrinsed detergent and softener (more oils). You are going to have to dissolve the sludge and kill the organic matter because this is a good culture for bacteria and fungus. Use very hot water and 16 to 24 ounces, whatever the bottle size, of gel-type dishwasher detergent which contains chlorine bleach. Take the little inner cap with the small hole off the bottle and pour and squeeze the detergent into the tub, not through the detergent dispenser. Set the washer for the longest wash. Before the wash drains, reset the timer for another wash period. When you switch from a wash or rinse to a spin, does the machine drain first or spin immediately to swirl the water between the tubs? If you can do that it would be great, but you probably can't. After the wash drains, let the machine go through the rinses and watch the water. Since you cannot get into the area between the basket and outer tub this might have to be repeated. The gunk is not only on the inner surface of the outer tub, it is on the outside of the basket in which the clothes tumble. Once the machine is clean, keep the door open after you wash so that the inside can dry out. If you do not use hot water and bleach when laundering, run a cycle with hot water, detergent and bleach once a month. If you are using a liquid detergent, try using a powder like Tide HE (which is geting very hard to find). Best of luck with this.

 

[askomiele]

Well that's the point were sanitizing cycles or european boiling cycles are comming up. I have never seen such problem untill my mothers machine broke down. We had to wait for a repairservice for week because of the hollidays. The washer took water but didn't lock the door so no draining. Because of the damp and hot weather the machine started to smell. After it was repaired I putted the machine to work. By doing a prewash with liquid bleach and an boiling mainwash (205°f)every thing was gone. So maybe the trick with superhot water and vinigair, bleach or soda may solve the problem very easy...

 

[launderess]

Don't know what I would "have", but the vinegar/baking soda method works quite well, thank you very much. It is even suggested by Miele tech for cleaning out their washing machines. But as American domestic washing machines seem to have no warnings against LCB, suppose long and or repeated exposure to high concentrations of the substance shouldn't be a problem.

Have never used LCB in my Miele, only the methods outlined in my previous posts, and so far no mould, no gunk. Maybe once every quarter or six months will run a 200F wash.

Just for the record, white vinegar is a very effective biocide and fungicide. It also removes soap/detergent scum and other organic films. Just as many bathroom cleaners (those that do not rely on chlorine bleach) and anti-mould products, vinegar is acidic. However unlike chlorine bleach white vinegar does not harm stainless steel or other surfaces.

 

[westtexman]

Liquid Laundry Detergent . .

As Launderess said, I bet it is a combination of using low water temperatures and I would also wager that you are using a liquid detergent as opposed to powder. In the infamous "Powder vs. Liquid" threads we have had here and on THS, I have heard horror stories about gunky buildup very similar to what you described.

What detergent are you using, and how much do you use? What water temps are you using, and how much Downy do you use?

Bryan

P.S. Launderess . . . Great to see you back!

 

[mixedup]

Dishwasher detergent

I would try running a load (empty or with some old rags)with enzymatic dishwasher detergent & hot water. Dishwasher detergent is sometimes recommended for cleaning bio-film from whirlpool tubs, so I think it should work for your washer too.

 

[neptunebob]

Do you get your water from the Monongahela?

It makes a difference, even after the water is treated. If you live South of Downtown your water comes from the Mon and has a higher mineral content than we lucky ones who get our water from the Allegheny river.

I agree about the dishwasher detergent, with no clothes. May have to run through two cycles, we use Cascade Complete. I would even add a little bit of Dawn, this is one time we want the foam. Is this the Frigidaire Sears front loader or the HE3T? We have a Neptune, and once I removed the front of the drum and wiped underneath the washbasket, this helped with the mold. I also cleaned the piece that covers the drum. I am not sure how to remove it in your washer, sorry. Nep