Bad smell from washing machine

[tabbypurr]

does it need one?

[ss]

We put the detergent staright in to the drum and bypass the detergent tray. I tend to do my own washing and just squirt some washing up liguid in to the drum, seems to work ok.

[Steve Walker]

Yes. If, as was demontrated, the machine's microprocessor control can fail in such as way as to stall the program while leaving the heater turned on, so that the machine can get hot enough to boil the water and continue to do so. There should be a simple, mechanical, overtemperature cut-off!

SteveW

[tabbypurr]

We know that, it's kinda obvious. The question was does it need an overheat cutout.

[Steve Walker]

Er, am I missing something here? It was the lack of such a functioning overheat cutout that I referred to in my original post. You've then asked "does it need one?" and I have stated yes and why. Now you've stated that that is "kinda obvious" and then asked "does it need an overheat cutout?"

[JoeJoe]

Quick update: Samsung are sending someone to have a look at it next week.

[tabbypurr]

I can see you're not following this. It sounds like the engineers that designed it knew what they were doing.

[Steve Walker]

How did they kwow what they were doing, when on the first wash cycle it malfunctioned, overheated and melted the soap drawer? The lack of a safety cutout (or the failure of it to work) meant that it sat there boiling, without cutting off. Who knows what it would have done if I hadn't unplugged it and prevented it boiling dry?

SteveW

[Brian Reay]

That kind of mould is common in areas which are damp.

You could try cleaning off what you can (which you may have done already) then spray with one of the products sold to kill mould in bathrooms etc. Be generous, leave to 'soak'. Repeat and run the machine empty on a hot wash.

Also, check the drain hose - they can get clogged with a 'slurry'*, especially if you use fluid rather than poweder. Ditto the actual drain arrangement- where the hose goes to the waste pipe.

Leave the detergent door open after use and the main (drum) door until things dry off.

I doubt your problem will be covered by the warranty.

*the slurry is formed from body oil, excess detergent, and chalk- it is worse in hard water areas.

[Brian Reay]

The dispenser outlet to the 'tub' is just a pipe so it will vent steam from the tub.

Chances are, hot water isn't routed through the dispenser- especially hot enough to steam that much.

[Adrian Caspersz]

The application of HG Mould Spray is almost as controversial as the use of WD40. Magic stuff IMO, it brings up my shower wall grout nicely white.

From

"We managed to get a hold of this closely-guarded list of main chemical compounds that make up the formula, and they include:

Water

No surprises here.

Sodium hypochlorite (roughly 3% concentration)

Otherwise known as liquid bleach.

Sodium hydroxide (roughly 1% concentration)

A corrosive, alkaline compound often used as an industrial cleaning agent."

MDS

Hmmm, There is something German industrial looking, sold in Aldi/Lidl, that I should try sometime.

[tabbypurr]

yes cos it's bleach

so to sum up, it's bleach.

Yes, if you want to waste your money. It's weird how most folk do.

NT

[Adrian Caspersz]

Plain bleach works but needs constant reapplying.

Yup, it's a bit of a WD40 thing ....

[tabbypurr]

it doesn't IME.

[Rob Morley]

And caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) a precursor of sodium hypochlorite, also useful as a cleaner, and available cheaply £2 for 500g in Wilko. (B&Q website claims to sell it for half that, but none of the nearby stores have stock).

[tabbypurr]

I thought that was present in household bleach.

NT

[Adam Funk]

IIRC chlorine bleach has sodium hypochlorite as the active ingredient & a small amount of something cheap & alkaline (typically sodium hydroxide) just to make it more stable.

[Max Demian]

"Pure" liquid bleach (like Milton) contains a small amount of sodium chloride, but that's just a bi-product of manufacture - it's made by passing chlorine gas through sodium hydroxide (caustic soda). Ordinary domestic bleach (as in bog cleaner) contains "surfactants" (whatever they are - I think they are a kind of detergent), perfume, whatever makes it thick so it sticks to the side of the bowl...

[Huge]

[25 lines snipped]

That's exactly what they are. And not a "kind of" - they *are* detergent.

[tabbypurr]

that's thickened bleach, not just bleach.