Black sludge in washing machine help

When a wash has finished I always put some folded kitchen roll inside the rubber seal at the base to soak up excess water. That helps a bit

 

Have you tried a bicarb paste John?

 

Don't get similar marks but if the drum starts to smell a bit stale we do a high temp wash with a bit of household / toilet bleach added in and let it go though all the rinse cycles, seems to do the job.

If yours is gunging up so badly, might be worth checking you drain pump filter / assembly, it might be full of gunk etc .

Agree with @Bluejayway , dry off the bottom of the inside of the door seal where if you open up the seals rubber folds a bit you will see a little drain hole which should be clear and dry.
After we have finished the washes ,we leave to door and dispenser tray fully open , usually overnight to ensure it dries out fully.

 

Vanish oxi action powder in a quick wash should sort it out. Remove the dispenser tray if there is one and wash it in the same stuff. It should also clean the duvet cover too.

 

Forgot to mention, with the dispenser tray removed, check the roof of that compartment where the water comes through, it often gets covered in black algae, Carefully using some bleach or similar on an old toothbrush soon clears it.

 

Or if you don’t like bleach you could use some mould and mildew killer from the greenhouse

 

I just checked the rubber seal around the door on mine.
I found 5p.

 

It's a good idea to run a very hot wash occasionally. On my machine there's a 95C program (which is as near as it can get to a boil wash) and I use it now and then for a load of teatowels, white cotton pillowcases that I use underneath the ones that match the duvet cover, or anything else that won't shrink in a hot wash.
Now that OH has retired it's become his job to take the dispenser drawer out and clean it from time to time. It's one those jobs that I don't get to as often as I should (in my defense, I'm not retired yet and I'd rather do gardening in my free time )

 

You could try Calgon tablets. They keep the inside workings of washers nice and clean. I use them pretty regularly now and don’t get markings on the washing nor gunge round the door seal.

I am not affiliated with this company or have any connections.

 

I usually put some washing soda crystals in the drawer, but I think that is more about softening the water rather than stopping gunge.

 

The regime in this household is leaving the drawer and the door ajar after every wash, scrubbing the drawer and the cavity it slides into, plus the rubber seal "weekly" ( ), cleaning the lint filter located behind the panel in the lower corner "monthly" ( ...my lips hurt with all this innocent whistling! ) and a maintenance wash (longest programme with pre-wash, 90C, empty, small amount of powder detergent for whites) every now and again.

We mainly use liquid detergents at 30C so an occasional higher temperature round with a powder for whites that contains a bleach is helpful, and white towels and sheets do look quite fresh after that. Heating water to 90C is not at all eco- friendly so most loads get washed at as low temperature as possible. Modern detergents get them clean, but the machine innards do need an occasional whack with the hot stuff.

The lint filter is the part many are not aware, it's usually a sort of mesh tube near the bottom of the machine that screws and pulls out (no innuendo, I swear! Try to describe it differently ). In old machines it had a visible cap to screw out but these modern things hide it behind panelling to give a streamlined appearance.

I have found rather unspeakable things in mine over the years

 

Who reads instructions, they are for idiots, and only a very last resort.
Kind of thing you go away and read in a corner when nobody is looking.

 

That filter at the bottom of the washing machine is also on OH's list of "regular chores". On occasions when I've cleaned it out I've found all kinds of odds and ends, most of which will have come out of his pockets. Now that he's doing it he's more careful about what he puts in there in the first place. He's a grown-up, supposedly, so I draw the line at going through his pockets.