I just moved into a small apartment that has a GE Spacemaker clothes washer with tow "Magic filters" on inside of the stainless steel tub.
I pulled these tow plastic housing out and they were both PACKED with crap. Thing is I cant tell if there was some kind of paper filter IN the housings..... or if this crap was just lint packed so tightly and flat as to appear to be a paper filter!!
Anyone have one of these units and can fill me in?
OMG! I just did the same thing and went online to figure it out. Do you know? Was all that gunk a filter?
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No...still don't know if it was a "filter"..... or just so much "gunk" that it LOOKED like a filter.
Couldn't find much info online either
The filling is lint, hair and such pulled from clothing. The only part to the filter is the plastic housing, and the metal screen. Check it after every load.
Our filters need cleaned out after every second load. I have two dogs, a cat, and a wonderful wife, all who shed. It can fill up fast.
What scares me, is how much stuff was staying in my clothes, before these filter things.
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Agree!
I'm shocked how much lint is trapped on each load!
Sadly I just noticed this "magic" filter tonight after more than a year!! ( I live in an apartment and they provided it) no one ever mentioned needing to clean a filter..(other than dryer lint) hopefully it "magically" cleans itself :( (sadly no) I also did a search for this and am glad others have a sked!!
Usually the only time such filters are needed is if you're hooked to a septic system, the plumbing in the home or building clogs with lint or there are some restrictions on lint in the municipal sewage system. In a septic system, synthetic fibers don't break down and clog the field lines. o_O
TDD
Torchwood - If you wondered if you might make your mark on the world - you just helped someone 4 years in the future from your post. Your description of what the Magic Filter actually is ("the plastic housing, and the metal s creen") eased my mind and grossed me out at the same time as I saw what was in that filter from the previous tenants. I will monitor it now to see how quickly it fills. Ew. And Thanks!
Oh my GOD! 4 years after this post, the SAME thing just happened to me!!
Moved into a small apartment, went to clean the washer with vinegar prior to using, and saw the "magic filters"
I ALSO don't know if there is an actual filter in there. I hope not because I trashed all the junk that was in there.
All I can say is EWWW!!!! :(
I also agree with everyone in this post... THANK YOU! good to know I'm not the only one who searches these things! I too live in an apartment and just noticed this filter (after 6 months being here!) When I first moved in I d id use those Tide Washer Cleaners a few times due to a smell coming from th e washer and any cooties left over from previous tentant. I just recently g ot a puppy and do laundry way more and notice the washer getting a little g ross around the top so I decided to wipe it down when I saw this filter and that it could come out.. EWWW! I also threw out the gunk that was in there not knowing if there was something in there which I now learned its just g ross! I sprayed it down with this Kaboom spray for mold and mildew and also sprayed where it came out of in the washer and running a cycle of that Tid e Cleaner just to make me feel better since that was gross! Thanks for ever yones help and good luck to anyone else!
good to know I'm not the only one who searches these things! I too live in an apartment and just noticed this filter (after 6 months being here!) When I first moved in I did use those Tide Washer Cleaners a few times due to a smell coming from the washer and any cooties left over from previous tentant. I just recently got a puppy and do laundry way more and notice the washer getting a little gross around the top so I decided to wipe it down when I saw this filter and that it could come out.. EWWW! I also threw out the gunk that was in there not knowing if there was something in there which I now learned its just gross! I sprayed it down with this Kaboom spray for mold and mildew and also sprayed where it came out of in the washer and running a cycle of that Tide Cleaner just to make me feel better since that was gross! Thanks for everyones help and good luck to anyone else!
I'm reporting you to the society for prevention of cruelty to exclamation points.
replying to me, Dee wrote: Gross! I just noticed mine after 2 years. I will definitely discard all this gunk, and hopefully it improves my washer efficiency!
So glad I'm not the only one that just noticed it after 6 months yuk.
replying to me, Jan wrote: Does anyone know where, or if, you can get replacement sponges for these filters?
You have a part number? If not, go to one of the online appliance parts stores with the model number and look up the part. Once you have the part number, you can probably find it from multiple source, including Ebay.
I couldn't agree more!! I just cleaned the filter and thr black mold and cr ap almost made me vomit!! It was packed full with that nasty stuff!! I go ogled it to see if I needed to get another filter but like you was both ple ased and grossed out at the same time!!
replying to me, Lynda wrote: I just did the same think it's an OMG moment I couldn't believe what I was seeing,it was smelly and mushy just gross.took it out cleaned it for the first time in the 6 freakin years I lived here coz I didn't know it was there .ran it through a bleach cycle and it smells like new again...so people if you smell an odour coming from your washing machine look for that darn compartment...can't believe what I just saw ?
replying to Torchwood, Matag Man wrote: That stuff didn' stay in your clothes before you had a filter it just went out on the spin cycle down the grain. The filter just shows you what you had before it went down the grain. Until we see the engineers design purpose we want know what it's for.
replying to me, Mary wrote: Amazon sells the entire unit. Magic Filter
I'm sure that sometime in 2010 the OP solved the problem due to the TIMELY replys.
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