Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

I have started getting large black flakes in the washing machine drum, similar to the picture below, the picture isn't from my machine.

What i have tried to do in this order to stop it happening.

1. Ran 2x washes at 90c with washing detergent, no clothes in.
2. Took all the waste pipes off and cleaned them.
3. Ran with Dr. Beckmanns Service-it washing machine cleaner.
4. Cleaned around the rubber seal really well and running step 3 again.

My guess is these really thin flakes are coming from the back of the drum its not sludge or rubber, so i think it is possibly black limescale as i am in a hard water area, the flakes are bigger than the holes in the drum so not sure how they get there, unless its coming past the rubber seal.

I am not comfortable taking the machine apart to investigate so if step 4 doesn't fix it what else can i do/buy to get it sorted?

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Are the flakes soft or crumbly?

The second could be corrosion on the inside of the drum outer.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

If i say the largest black super smooth flake can be about the size of a 10 pence piece, if i pick it up it will break but it isn't crumbly so i am going to go with soft.

Will have another look in 30mins after it stops, i did check around the drum rubber seal edges and didn't see any flakes so i am at a loss.

Maybe i should run some heavy duty limescale remover through it as this has never been done, recommendations?

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Limescale would be white. Not much help. Sorry.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Thanks for trying, i was thinking the limescale could be stained with mould.

I'll just keep running empty washes with cleaner in there and if it doesn't improve i will have to replace the thing which is a shame.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Run with some bleach in if it's do or die?

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Can i use Harpic power plus x10? and then a normal wash to rinse it all off?

This is what i got in the drum after the latest cleaning cycle, it not limescale its like skin after sunburn it is soft and stretchy and tares.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Looks like some sort of mould. Washing machines are rated to use bleach so I'd try that first.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Will put it on now, just need to find out how much bleach to use, ive only ever put this stuff down the bog before!

---------- Post added at 18:31 ---------- Previous post was at 18:27 ----------

Recommendations for which wash cycle with only bleach?

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Paint flaking off?

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Half a cup of bleach at @90C check afterwards.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

I would guess it's coming from the soap dispenser, you should be able to remove the soap drawer (Check instruction book if you don't know how). Give it a good clean with hot soapy water, also check the inside of the dispenser you took the soap drawer out of, and see if there is any build up of gunk and slime give it a good clean, old toothbrush is good for this then put it on a hot wash. Hopefully this will flush out any bits that are left.

It's worth leaving the soap drawer slightly open when not in use as this gives it a chance to dry out between washes.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

I've cleaned the dispenser before i started a Dr. service it clean and pipes.

Will try half a cup of Harpic bog bleach straight into the dispenser tray, on 90c again and report back.

---------- Post added at 18:39 ---------- Previous post was at 18:38 ----------

Nope, i think it is mould now.

---------- Post added at 19:15 ---------- Previous post was at 18:39 ----------

Its running now and i can see lots of black bits in through the door so i don't think it will look clean after this, may take several attempts to break it all down.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

After running it with half a cup of Harpic the outcome hasn't changed and I saw the same amount of soft flakes, I then ran it again with normal detergent and no washing and still saw some flakes but not as many.

So I have run it 4 times today and cleaned everything I can see, so I think I am stuck with for now, I will check the filter in the morning and see how that looks.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Wonder if it could be some sort of bacteria growing in the damp conditions between washes? Bleech will kill it eventually I guess :shrug:

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

My guess it is mould inside the drum which has started to flake off.

Trying a normal wash now to see how it looks, but i think i will have to keep trying to clean it with something weekly to improve/remove it all, so i will keep googling.

It's had 2 cleans with this Dr.Beckmann Service-it stuff and 1 with Harpic bog cleaner.

I will buy some Dr Beckmann Service-it Deep Clean tomorrow and see if that makes a difference as i didn't know which to buy before and it looks like i probably bought the wrong one!

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

https://groceries.asda.com/product/l...crystals/19846

To clean the drum, remove smells and flush away bacteria, add 500g of Soda Crystals to the drum on an empty cycle and run it on the longest hottest wash.

Also you could add some to the drawer.

I clean my washing machine with soda crystals once a month.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

This should fix your problem SnoopZ.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Thanks Winnie i will try and find it in Tesco after work tomorrow and hope it removes the majority of the thin film mould from inside the drum/seal.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

iadom ( Jim ) is your man. I'm sure he'll be around soon. :)

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

I've just done 2 normal washing loads and i can't see any flakes in the bottom of the wash basket or on the clothes when hanging them up so i think everything i have done has improved it considerably, i will still use some Soda Crystals and Dr Beckmann Service-it Deep Clean on it next week.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

We leave the washer door slightly open between washes.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Yes same here.

I will now have to unblock the pipes again as i have a blockage with water back flowing and coming out some air breather vent, so will buy some drain unblocker and and a long flexible pipe rod otherwise it gets wet in the cupboard everytime i drain the sink.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

It’s unusual to see that amount of black bits from algae build up, but that’s what it looks like. If you pull out the detergent dispenser drawer you will often find it black and manky. Sometimes worse in soft water areas and often linked with using constant low temps and liquid detergents.
I make sure my machine does at least one 60degree wash ( towels, whites, bedding etc) every week. I also only use powder. Green box Ariel for whites and purple box for coloured.

You can also do a ‘maintenance’ wash every few months, if you can’t find enough to do a regular 60 degree wash, do a 90 degree wash without clothes and a very small amount of powder.

Bleach, soda crystals etc are of very little use. There are enough chemicals in good quality powder detergents to keep the machines innards clean as long as you hit 60 degrees once a week. The only real difference between the green box and the purple box or colour detergents is that the green box ones contain a bleach. It is however an oxygen based bleach that only fully activates at around 60 degrees. Dr Beckmanns Deep Clean is quite good at removing gunge from inside the drum if it is really bad, better that the Dr Beckmanns Service It.

Those sort of deposits usually only show if the machine has not been used for a few weeks as well.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

The machine gets used 1-2 times a week at 30c and liquid detergent and softener in hard water area.

Do you think the constant use of low temp is the cause?

Planning on buying dr beckmann deep clean tomorrow, are you saying I don't need the soda Crystal's if I use that?

Don't think my machine has a maintenance wash I couldn't find in the manual it is a Hotpoint wdf 740.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

If you don’t hit 60 degrees at least once every couple of weeks and use liquids you will always get a build up of slime, gunge, algae inside your machine. Like the vast majority of machines on the market yours has a totally sealed outer drum so you can’t get in to physically clean it.

No dedicated maintenance wash as such, you just use the hottest setting without clothes and a small amount of green box powder every few months.

I moderate on a trade forum, www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk. If you go to the help section at the top of the home page and look for appliance care and cleaning there is plenty of good advice from people who have had fifty years or more experience.

Look up ‘smelly washers’ ;)

Jim

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Thanks for the advice iadom.

I'm currently running Dr Beckmanns Deep Clean in it, hopefully this won't make it worse for a while.

Since cleaning all the bendy pipes out i now have another issue where if i half fill the sink and pull the plug water comes out some kind of breather valve, i was confident when i took all the pipes off that they were not blocked and i gave a good clean and i have used a flexible 1.5 metre rod on the down part today and that appeared to not be blocked at all as well as drain block liquid but it still leaks out the top of the breather valve, so i expect it to also leak when the washing machine flushes after this run especially with all those bubbles.

Any advice on this you can see my photo of the problem area before i take all the pipes off again later this week to see if there is another blockage with in my reach?

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1560183569

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

That valve should only admit air when a partial vacuum occurs as the water runs away. Stops "gurgly" plumbing. It's not sealing properly. Maybe its got some of your black gunge in it?

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

When i have time, maybe at the weekend i will take it off and give it a good soak in hot water, failing that buy a new one.

To me it just looks like a bit of plastic with a hole in it somewhere, not 100% sure how the water is coming out the top, maybe time for a Google.

---------- Post added at 18:58 ---------- Previous post was at 17:51 ----------

Its just finished a cycle with Dr Beckmanns Deep Clean in it and i am happy to say not a single piece of black stuff in the drum so very happy about that, so just hopefully need to sort out a blocked vent now.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Lets hope so :tu: this is turning into a bit of a saga for you

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

The saga has ended the washing machine doesn't flake now but i do need to take the pipes off again and find out where the blockage is in the breather valve when i have time.

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

That's a big relief to us all ;)

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Well i think the missus will use the washing machine again now! :D

Re: Black Flakes in Washing Machine drum.
 

Sounds like parr two is in the offing :)