This is a clear sign that your washing machine has mold. How to remove mildew smell from washing machine?
Black mold of a household nature is one of the varieties of a fungus that can form on all surfaces and spreads at a tremendous speed.
How to get rid of mold in a washing machine
The main reasons for the appearance of this type of fungus are:
- Increased indoor humidity.
- Insufficiently good ventilation.
- Weak lighting.
- Poor heating in the room.
- Accumulation of a large amount of household waste and dirty things.
- Rare cleaning with wet processing.
- Clogged ventilation ducts.
- Leaking plumbing.
Getting rid of mold on the rubber band of a washing machine is quite easy and simple, if the affected area is not very large, and you noticed this problem in time. But it happens that the drum gum is affected by the fungus almost imperceptibly, and after detection it turns out that the result is terrible. Also note that mold poisons your laundry, easily spreading these spores throughout the air of the apartment and creating an unpleasant odor that a person cannot immediately detect.
You should prepare for the fact that if you thoroughly clean the contaminated surface, you will have to resort to drastic methods, sometimes even to the point of replacing parts of your washing device. If a mycelium appears, which is firmly fixed and spread over a large area, you cannot get rid of it with simple disinfection and treatment with fungicides.
That is why, in order to protect yourself and your family from this harmful fungus, and in the future not to face such an unpleasant problem, you should regularly take preventive measures and follow all care rules for household appliances.
In particular, behind a washing machine, in which, due to the type of activity, there is a lot of water, which predisposes it more than other appliances to mold damage.
TOP 5 places for mold to appear
The very first rule in the fight against mold is a general analysis for the presence of other formations and the extent of lesions.
Check the following parts of your washing machine:
Rubber compressorlocated at the door of the washing machine.- Capacity dispenser for powder and conditioner.
- Water-conducting hose.
- hose for water drain.
- filter element.
It is also worth checking parts that have direct contact with water and have a chance of mold infestation. This fungus easily grows on almost all surfaces and can well spoil some of the details if you do not clean them in time.
The affected areas should be treated with household products with the addition of fungicides, which are sold in large quantities in the departments of household chemicals.
Causes of black mold in the washing machine
It's worth noting that mold can spread to the bathroom or other parts of your home due to high levels of humidity during the seasons when mold is most active and ready to thrive.
But in a washing machine, the chances of appearing increase if you use a quick wash at a temperature of 30-40 degrees Celsius and forget to take the laundry out of the drum of the device in time.- Powders and fabric softeners also play an important role. Cheap powders with a small amount of bleach do little to clean the washing machine from mold, but only encourage it to spread.
Washing at low temperatures does not kill the fungus. Moreover, the mold feels comfortable even at 60 degrees Celsius.- Bleach products can not only clean your clothes, but also kill the fungus in the washing machine. However, if you use cheap products or don't use them at all, then disinfection does not occur and bacteria remain in your washing machine.
Laundry left in the washing machine is an excellent damp soil for fungus to thrive. Therefore, be extremely careful and take things out in time, and then leave the drum open to dry and wipe the hard-to-ventilate places with a dry cloth or sponge.
Preventive measures to ensure that you never have a fungus
If you just bought a washing machine and want to know how to prevent and remove the fungus, if you suddenly need it, follow these instructions:
Mold fungus does not tolerate acid well. For this purpose, you can clean the drum, as well as the drum gum and hoses, with a solution of bleaching chlorine or slightly diluted citric acid.- Mold also cannot live at high temperatures. Therefore, after cleaning the drum, wash with a temperature of 90 degrees to completely remove the pest or only its rudiments. And in the powder dispenser, you can pour a little bleach or a solution of vinegar.
- As a preventive measure, cleaning the drum and parts with hydrogen peroxide or acetic acid is perfect.
But it is also important to remember that these strong chemicals can harm household appliances, so do not forget to read the instructions and be careful not to lose your glorious au pair. This way you will protect your washing machine from mold.
If you have already found the answers to all the questions in our article and want to protect your equipment in the future, follow these rules:
Never forget to wipe the drum dry after you have finished laundryand wipe the rubber seal and hoses.- Dry the tray for powders and gels.
- Do not leave damp, freshly washed laundry in the drum for more than an hour.
- Try to regularly arrange a "hot day" once a month: these are washings at high temperatures with the addition of anti-mold products and high-quality washing powder or gel to the drum of the device.
Once every 6 months arrange complete cleaning the entire washing machine with vinegar or citric acid. These “acidic” treatments will remove accumulated dirt and bacteria, which, without such cleaning, can create mold for you and ruin the entire washing machine.
Do not often use various rinses and fabric softeners, as washing machines perfectly help the development of harmful microorganisms inside and it is almost impossible to wash them completely.- Do not forget that mold infects not only the rubber band in the drum, but also the hoses and the filter element. Because of such a serious threat, make it a rule to clean not only the gum, but also other devices with special chemicals once every two or three months.
How to get rid of mildew smell in washing machine
To avoid this, pay attention to this:
After cleaning with bleach or citric acid, pay attention to the fact that there may be pieces of dirt left on the gum that you do not understand and which spread an unpleasant odor. To do this, make a blank wash on the boil with the addition of the same vinegar or other means.- An unpleasant odor may be due to a clogged hose. In this case, you should either clean the hose well, or buy a new one.
- A heating element can also be the cause of a musty aroma, the reason for the eternal question “how to remove the smell of mold?” Experts in this field will help you understand this issue and tell you whether it is worth changing the part, or whether it can still be cleaned somehow.
As you can see, regular cleaning of the washing machine and following a few simple rules will be an excellent basis for preventing fungal growths from appearing in your device, and you will not encounter the problem of cleaning the washing machine from fungus.
In addition to regular cleaning, do not forget that not only the washing machine can be a hotbed of mold, but all household appliances need proper care. Ventilate your rooms more often, try to make sure that you are always warm, the ventilation works well and ventilate the rooms with flowers so that they do not start to overgrow with fungus.
