Grey sludge in a washing machine

[Peter Gray]

We have a Bosch WM, and live in a hard water area, the machine collects grey sludge internally somewhere and periodically releases bits which then mess up the washing. Our previous 2 Hoovers never did this. We use calgon (which seems to have made no difference at all) and once in a while I run it empty on max temp to try to clear it out, but it remains a problem.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to deal with this? Is there something I could out in an empty wash to clean it out more effectively, that wouldn't destroy the hoses etc?

Peter

[Xenon]

Hi. Two obvious things spring to mind, and i am sure you have tried this.

1. Have you drained it recently?
2. Have cleaned out the powder/conditioner chamber?

Regards

[Derryck Croker]

White Vinegar? Pour some into the empty drum and do a full cycle.

[Chris Long]

we had a similar problem with our Beko machine. Some article of colothing had black / grey marks on them whilst others were completely clean. Turned out to be dirt collecting on the rubber seal of the door so that when you pulled them out they brushed against the dirst.

Chris

[Paul Edwards]

Hi Peter

I have had the same problem with my Bosch WM. Never had it before with any other make. It also also accompanied by mould growth in the powder drawer and horrible smell when emptying.

I had (I have now moved to a soft water area) to take the machine apart every 6 months to remove the blockages. There is a trap at the top back just behind the outlet pipe which you should pay particular attention to as well as the big rubber pipe with the ball in it at the drain off for the drum (sorry about the use of technical terms there!).

Make sure you (or the missus) use only one tablet in the wash not two. Also do an empty wash every couple of weeks at 90 degC to try and remove the gunk.

Apart from that I could not really stop it happening. I did a major stripdown on the pipework of mine and was amazed by how much stuff I got out (at least 1kg of the stuff).

Hope that helps

Paul

[Peter Gray]

Paul et al,

Many thanks for the responses. Perhaps I'll try giving ours a serious strip down and clean!

Peter

[a2z]

We have a similar problem, Whirlpool washing machine in a hard water area. The sludge is a mixture of limescale and soap residues. I run the machine empty on a 90 degree wash once a month and buy tubs of washing machine descaler from Whirlpool. I put a dose in the drum once every six months. That loosens the sludge which then blocks the drain!

[Katona]

replying to Peter Gray, Katona wrote: I have a kenmore elite front loader & was having the same issues with the gray sludge appearing the c!nothing. I searched online & found a thread that was talking about this topic. One gentleman suggested removing the screws that hold the agitator balls inside the drum. In my washer there are 3 pieces, each one has one screw. They were very easy to remove. The sludge that I discovered was horrendous!! After cleaning the parts & attaching them back, I ran 2 cleaning cycles using b!each. I now clean them once a week....maybe a slight overkill but I can still the horrific mess I first saw when I removed those parts. ??