How to clean the inside of a washing machine and keep it that way

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AFAIR, no.

Double check. You will have to sit and watch for the water to drain. It isn't obvious and should occur within the first five to ten minutes.

The Eco Drum cleaning cycle is almost 1 hour 40 mins and I've seen water for more than 1 hour, and the water is very hot.

If smells develop then use it otherwise I don't know if Vanish is needed with such a vigorous drum clean.

Citric acid will be more useful to remove detergent residue or any scale that might have developed

 

[Ssreek]

Double check. You will have to sit and watch for the water to drain. It isn't obvious and should occur within the first five to ten minutes.

If smells develop then use it otherwise I don't know if Vanish is needed with such a vigorous drum clean.

Asked my friend too who has the same model. Water stays almost till the end of the cycle. Just a few mins till the end of the cycle, it drains the water to dry up.

Citric acid will be more useful to remove detergent residue or any scale that might have developed

Samsung service guys told me to use the liquid detergent (Surf) itself for drum cleaning.

 

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Asked my friend too who has the same model. Water stays almost till the end of the cycle. Just a few mins till the end of the cycle, it drains the water to dry up.

Interesting, can you post the model number of your machine?

So Sammy changed things after your model then.

Samsung service guys told me to use the liquid detergent (Surf) itself for drum cleaning.

Not useful at all and counterproductive as liquid detergent cannot contain any oxygen bleach

Is the drum clean on your machine as vigorous as the videos posted above?

 

[Ssreek]

Interesting, can you post the model number of your machine?

So Sammy changed things after your model then.

I will recheck this process again and see if it drains after 5 mins.

Not useful at all and counterproductive as liquid detergent cannot contain any oxygen bleach

Is the drum clean on your machine as vigorous as the videos posted above?

All these days I was using surf liquid whenever I use drum clean mode, based on their suggestion. Probably this was unnecessary but even their top service men/staff said to use surf liquid and I’m surprised.

Regarding vigorous, can you be specific? Temp stays 60C and that cleaning mode mentioned in the video seems similar to what I observed earlier.

 

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All these days I was using surf liquid whenever I use drum clean mode, based on their suggestion. Probably this was unnecessary but even their top service men/staff said to use surf liquid and I’m surprised.

See post #168

Detergent builds up. Can't use detergent to remove detergent residue. It just adds to the residue. You want to remove the residue.

Regarding vigorous, can you be specific? Temp stays 60C and that cleaning mode mentioned in the video seems similar to what I observed earlier.

Watch any of the videos in post #179

The drum does not stop. It turns in one direction fairly fast, then the other and back again. Just keeps moving like that until the cycle ends.

I wrote the post based on my LG. Whose drum clean is like a wash cycle. The water level is higher and it will thrash things about now and then. But it's not as continuous as the Sammy. You can see part of the cycle in post #168, slower than the Sammy.

 

[Ssreek]

See post #168

Detergent builds up. Can't use detergent to remove detergent residue. It just adds to the residue. You want to remove the residue.

Watch any of the videos in post #179

The drum does not stop. It turns in one direction fairly fast, then the other and back again. Just keeps moving like that until the cycle ends.

I wrote the post based on my LG. Whose drum clean is like a wash cycle. The water level is higher and it will thrash things about now and then. But it's not as continuous as the Sammy. You can see part of the cycle in post #168, slower than the Sammy.

Ran the drum clean cycle today, without adding any liquid/cleaning powder. Spent some time and observed the cycle at various intervals and here’s what I found.

It’s a 60C temp cycle, with 400 spin speed and runs for 1 hour 46 mins. At first, the machine let lot of water in detergent compartment and started the cycle.

Regarding water drain after 5 mins, yes it drained the water. But what happened later is, it kept on drawing water from the tap, runs the cycle and spins for sometime, then drains water after gathering up lot of lather (probably detergent residue that’s already in the machine somewhere). I observed this behaviour for 5 times, so this could have happened more than that.

When there's 20 mins left in the cycle, it drained all water and then drew more water than before and ran the rinse cycle for almost 15 mins. Final 5 mins cycle was just dry spin at 400 rpm.

So throughout the cycle there's water and it didn't run empty except during the drying spin.

I could see lot of lather/foam buildup even though I didn't add anything to this cycle. Using the surf liquid earlier for drum clean cycle, seems like a mistake and the technicians really either have no clue or misled people.

One question though, how much detergent liquid do you guys use for washing a full load of clothes? I usually fill up the whole cap that comes with surf excel bottle and sometimes a little more if clothes are dirty.

 

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Ran the drum clean cycle today, without adding any liquid/cleaning powder. Spent some time and observed the cycle at various intervals and here’s what I found.

It’s a 60C temp cycle, with 400 spin speed and runs for 1 hour 46 mins. At first, the machine let lot of water in detergent compartment and started the cycle.

Regarding water drain after 5 mins, yes it drained the water.

So any product is going to be wasted if used with this cycle. Or you add it after five minutes

But what happened later is, it kept on drawing water from the tap, runs the cycle and spins for sometime, then drains water

The way you described it made me recollect a video I saw long ago from 2012

The guy hacks a drum clean cycle by attaching the drain hose to the detergent drawer and setting the machine on a 1,400 rpm spin. No idea how he did this recirculating idea but the water is already boiling hot and will splash everywhere. And that water contains citric acid. It will clean very well.

Not quite the same but it seems Sammy is doing something similar. A fine balance between drawing in water from the tap and draining at the same time if indeed that is what is occurring here.

after gathering up lot of lather (probably detergent residue that’s already in the machine somewhere). I observed this behaviour for 5 times, so this could have happened more than that.

Did the lather go away or linger? Since the cycle is quite vigorous, it will create foam even if there is only a little residue.

To gauge how much reside is there I would run a Cottons cycle at 60C, the Intensive option selected with 400rpm spin and nothing in the machine. After a half hour see how much foam is generated and whether it lingers like this or goes away like this

If it lingers then you have residue to deal with.

You will have to catch it before it drains the water so be alert after 20-30 minutes. I usually take photos/videos to keep as a record which can then be used to compare later after several cleaning cycles to see improvements.

When there's 20 mins left in the cycle, it drained all water and then drew more water than before and ran the rinse cycle for almost 15 mins. Final 5 mins cycle was just dry spin at 400 rpm.

So throughout the cycle there's water and it didn't run empty except during the drying spin.

Normal to follow up with a couple of rinse cycles with spins but the product is gone at this point and these cycles are to rinse away any cleaning product residue that may be left behind.

I could see lot of lather/foam buildup even though I didn't add anything to this cycle.

Try the Cottons 60 wash and see how much foam you get. Then we can see what to do. I would not use Vanish with Samsung's drum clean cycle.

Using the surf liquid earlier for drum clean cycle, seems like a mistake and the technicians really either have no clue or misled people.

I did experiment with detergent alone as it is the simplest, everyone has it and it plausibly could work but was not convinced. I would say it is counterproductive if allowed to be used for the entire cycle but as you've discovered it was thrown out after just five minutes. A waste.

These techs know how to repair things and do replacements but preventative maintenance not so much.

One question though, how much detergent liquid do you guys use for washing a full load of clothes? I usually fill up the whole cap that comes with surf excel bottle and sometimes a little more if clothes are dirty.

I use a measuring glass that I got from an old cough syrup bottle. Use measuring spoons, two tablespoons is 30ml, and a desert spoon is 10ml

For me 30ml is good enough I might add 40ml for a dirty load but that's about it. I don't use liquids much and prefer powder as it leads to fewer problems. Faster and less messy to dose, the only option with delayed cycles and/or using prewash. Whereas generally speaking liquid is not suitable for delayed wash and in the case of my machine just flows into the machine from the main wash section of the detergent drawer during the prewash phase of the cycle and is wasted as a result.

I think a full cap is double or a little more. That is the recommended national average dose. I usually start with half of what is recommended and adjust from there. So you will have to adjust and see what works for you. My water is medium hard so this works. If yours is harder then you will need more detergent. This is why I recommend people test their water hardness throughout the year to have an idea. There are kits on Amazon that allow you to do this and are helpful.

The whole reason I got a smelly machine was I was underdosing. Using 20gm of powder which I've since upped to 30gm. I was running regular drum cleans with nothing or the occasional citric acid wash. Could not figure out how to get Vanish to work without it filling the machine and could not use Affresh as the tabs had become too expensive.

Wash temperature is important. I used to use 40C as a minimum but these days have moved to 60 as in reality the machine does not get hotter than 52 and 50s is an ideal temperature to get things clean. Clothes come out perfect at that temperature from a heavily soiled state. Mostly cotton is washed.

See this post if you want a summary of do's and don'ts. In spite of three tub cleans a year that guy's Samsung spider was gone in 7 years.

 

[Ssreek]

So any product is going to be wasted if used with this cycle. Or you add it after five minutes

Try the Cottons 60 wash and see how much foam you get. Then we can see what to do. I would not use Vanish with Samsung's drum clean cycle.

What exactly can I use? Now that Vanish is also out of the question. Or do I need to use anything at all?
I am thinking maybe vinegar + baking soda solution as per this video.

The way you described it made me recollect a video I saw long ago from 2012

The guy hacks a drum clean cycle by attaching the drain hose to the detergent drawer and setting the machine on a 1,400 rpm spin. No idea how he did this recirculating idea but the water is already boiling hot and will splash everywhere. And that water contains citric acid. It will clean very well.

Not quite the same but it seems Sammy is doing something similar. A fine balance between drawing in water from the tap and draining at the same time if indeed that is what is occurring here.


Did the lather go away or linger? Since the cycle is quite vigorous, it will create foam even if there is only a little residue.

To gauge how much reside is there I would run a Cottons cycle at 60C, the Intensive option selected with 400rpm spin and nothing in the machine. After a half hour see how much foam is generated and whether it lingers like this or goes away like this

I cleaned the residue on the rubber gasket, lint filter, detergent filter and also hard water deposits on the backside inlet valve.
Then I ran the daily wash cycle at 60C for 56mins without adding anything in the machine or detergent tray. The lather is a lot less this time. A little lesser than the link you have shared here

Still, the gasket isn't 100% clean. I wish there is a product that does instead of manual cleaning.

If it lingers then you have residue to deal with.

You will have to catch it before it drains the water so be alert after 20-30 minutes. I usually take photos/videos to keep as a record which can then be used to compare later after several cleaning cycles to see improvements.


Normal to follow up with a couple of rinse cycles with spins but the product is gone at this point and these cycles are to rinse away any cleaning product residue that may be left behind.

I will follow up with 1 more drum clean cycle and see if it lathers up again. If it doesn't, then work is done otherwise I will do 1 more daily wash or cotton cycle at 60C. Cotton cycle is the only one that runs for 2.5 hours and there is another baby cloths wash cycle which runs at 95C. Only used it once.

I did experiment with detergent alone as it is the simplest, everyone has it and it plausibly could work but was not convinced. I would say it is counterproductive if allowed to be used for the entire cycle but as you've discovered it was thrown out after just five minutes. A waste.

These techs know how to repair things and do replacements but preventative maintenance not so much.

I use a measuring glass that I got from an old cough syrup bottle. Use measuring spoons, two tablespoons is 30ml, and a desert spoon is 10ml

For me 30ml is good enough I might add 40ml for a dirty load but that's about it. I don't use liquids much and prefer powder as it leads to fewer problems. Faster and less messy to dose, the only option with delayed cycles and/or using prewash. Whereas generally speaking liquid is not suitable for delayed wash and in the case of my machine just flows into the machine from the main wash section of the detergent drawer during the prewash phase of the cycle and is wasted as a result.

I think a full cap is double or a little more. That is the recommended national average dose. I usually start with half of what is recommended and adjust from there. So you will have to adjust and see what works for you. My water is medium hard so this works. If yours is harder then you will need more detergent. This is why I recommend people test their water hardness throughout the year to have an idea. There are kits on Amazon that allow you to do this and are helpful.

The whole reason I got a smelly machine was I was underdosing. Using 20gm of powder which I've since upped to 30gm. I was running regular drum cleans with nothing or the occasional citric acid wash. Could not figure out how to get Vanish to work without it filling the machine and could not use Affresh as the tabs had become too expensive.

Wash temperature is important. I used to use 40C as a minimum but these days have moved to 60 as in reality the machine does not get hotter than 52 and 50s is an ideal temperature to get things clean. Clothes come out perfect at that temperature from a heavily soiled state. Mostly cotton is washed.

See this post if you want a summary of do's and don'ts. In spite of three tub cleans a year that guy's Samsung spider was gone in 7 years.

I admit I did several cold washes (deselecting temperature setting in the panel) only to save power. That is probably a big mistake.

Do you really do Cotton cycle wash at 60C? That is 2.5 hours long and I was worried that it could damage clothes.
I mostly use the handwash cycle which is the delicate cycle in the machine, and daily wash cycle if clothes are dirty/smelly.

 

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Then I ran the daily wash cycle at 60C for 56mins without adding anything in the machine or detergent tray. The lather is a lot less this time. A little lesser than the link you have shared here

Ah, so there is a difference. Did the lather linger or break up? with LG the cycle stops for a few seconds so you can tell. I'm assuming a wash cycle with Samsung is similar.

You should get some citric acid and try the same cycle with it. It will go after the detergent residue more. That is why you see more foam in the video.

In your case, things are a little more complicated since you mostly use liquid detergents.

From what I can tell...

Citric acid goes after powder detergent residues better than Vanish. It will also go after limescale.

Vanish goes after liquid detergent and/or fabric softener residue better than citric acid. This is why Affresh was made and that is its purpose. It can also handle smells.

Still, the gasket isn't 100% clean. I wish there is a product that does instead of manual cleaning.

There isn't one. This is caused by mould by not leaving the door open after a wash or clogged drain holes, see below. Forget this door slightly ajar business, after a wash my washer door is left WIDE open for ten-plus hours. My gasket looks brand new seven years on. I do give it a wipe after a wash so it dries faster.

Mix Rin ala and water in equal proportion, so 50:50. Wet some towel or cloth with the solution and use that to wipe the gasket. If the mould is more stubborn you will have to leave the towel or cloth in the gasket for say a half hour and then try to wipe again. Be gentle as you do not want to damage the gasket.

I usually recommend water purification tabs for anything chlorine bleach-related but Rin ala is probably faster to get hold of.

One less obvious reason is the drain holes in the gasket have got clogged with lint or whatever and all you need is a matchstick or cotton bud to clear them out. See this video. I would not be surprised if this was the main contributor to mould on the gasket for a lot of people. Clogged gasket drain holes. Who would think to check for that..

You know what. If you got mould on your gasket then you got it in the machine as well. So at some point, a Vanish or more session is going to be necessary. All in good time.

I will follow up with 1 more drum clean cycle and see if it lathers up again. If it doesn't, then work is done otherwise I will do 1 more daily wash or cotton cycle at 60C. Cotton cycle is the only one that runs for 2.5 hours and there is another baby cloths wash cycle which runs at 95C. Only used it once.

I would run a boil wash with nothing once a month, every month. That will keep the machine clean. Not the drum clean program but a Cottons 95C program. You can use 100 gm (2 detergent scoops worth) citric acid with this program if you want and alternate between nothing and citric acid per month.

I admit I did several cold washes (deselecting temperature setting in the panel) only to save power. That is probably a big mistake.

Yep but a few maintenance washes will remove any residues. I doubt your machine has had a proper cleaning since it was bought.

Do you really do Cotton cycle wash at 60C? That is 2.5 hours long and I was worried that it could damage clothes.

That cycle can take the rated load. It does not damage cotton. I try to do full loads so the machine gets less use and I get more free time.

If you have mixed fabrics then the cottons program might be too hard. I have found over time my tees get thinner as they shed fabric. This would be like two years after buying them. They've had about 100 washes by then. Does that qualify as damage for you?

I mostly use the handwash cycle which is the delicate cycle in the machine, and daily wash cycle if clothes are dirty/smelly.

If your clothes come out clean and are not damaged then stick with those cycles but ensure you use at least 40 degrees so the cleaning is better. But bear in mind these programs take less than the rated load so you will have to load appropriately.

The delicates cycle takes a max of a quarter of the rated load

The daily wash cycle takes a max of half of the rated load.

If I was using those cycles, I would be running the machine almost every day instead of much fewer per head.

What exactly can I use? Now that Vanish is also out of the question. Or do I need to use anything at all?

Vanish is not out of the question. Just not with the drum clean cycle. I want you to confirm first that the foam is under control with a regular cottons cycle before you use it.

Also to use Vanish you need at least a half kilo of fabric to control the foam. I use a few clean mops and old hand towels. Keep that ready. You cannot use Vanish alone in the machine.

I am thinking maybe vinegar + baking soda solution as per this video.

This solution is very common but not very effective. as explained already over here.

Vinegar isn't good for the seals. Citric acid is safer. Baking soda is a mild abrasive but Vanish with oxygen bleach loosens any deposits so it's better.

 

[Ssreek]

Ah, so there is a difference. Did the lather linger or break up? with LG the cycle stops for a few seconds so you can tell. I'm assuming a wash cycle with Samsung is similar.

What I observed was, the lather kept on accumulating for several minutes during the spin and finally everything exited slowly when the rinse cycle started. After the end, there's no lather.
Foam stays for several minutes though and it doesn't go away as fast as this one you posted.

You should get some citric acid and try the same cycle with it. It will go after the detergent residue more. That is why you see more foam in the video.

In your case, things are a little more complicated since you mostly use liquid detergents.

From what I can tell...

Citric acid goes after powder detergent residues better than Vanish. It will also go after limescale.

Vanish goes after liquid detergent and/or fabric softener residue better than citric acid. This is why Affresh was made and that is its purpose. It can also handle smells.

There isn't one. This is caused by mould by not leaving the door open after a wash or clogged drain holes, see below. Forget this door slightly ajar business, after a wash my washer door is left WIDE open for ten-plus hours. My gasket looks brand new seven years on. I do give it a wipe after a wash so it dries faster.

Mix Rin ala and water in equal proportion, so 50:50. Wet some towel or cloth with the solution and use that to wipe the gasket. If the mould is more stubborn you will have to leave the towel or cloth in the gasket for say a half hour and then try to wipe again. Be gentle as you do not want to damage the gasket.

Will try the rin ala method tomorrow. I tried with Colin spray and wiped it with a scrub, it worked almost fine, but not 100% clear as some places are hard to be wiped/seen.

I usually recommend water purification tabs for anything chlorine bleach-related but Rin ala is probably faster to get hold of.

One less obvious reason is the drain holes in the gasket have got clogged with lint or whatever and all you need is a matchstick or cotton bud to clear them out. See this video. I would not be surprised if this was the main contributor to mould on the gasket for a lot of people. Clogged gasket drain holes. Who would think to check for that..

You know what. If you got mould on your gasket then you got it in the machine as well. So at some point, a Vanish or more session is going to be necessary. All in good time.

I would run a boil wash with nothing once a month, every month. That will keep the machine clean. Not the drum clean program but a Cottons 95C program. You can use 100 gm (2 detergent scoops worth) citric acid with this program if you want and alternate between nothing and citric acid per month.

Will have to try the citric acid powder method then.

Yep but a few maintenance washes will remove any residues. I doubt your machine has had a proper cleaning since it was bought.

That cycle can take the rated load. It does not damage cotton. I try to do full loads so the machine gets less use and I get more free time.

If you have mixed fabrics then the cottons program might be too hard. I have found over time my tees get thinner as they shed fabric. This would be like two years after buying them. They've had about 100 washes by then. Does that qualify as damage for you?

Clothes get faded or loosened even before 50 washes. That's why I started using hand wash cycle only and clothes are fine. Hand wash cycle only uses 30C.

If your clothes come out clean and are not damaged then stick with those cycles but ensure you use at least 40 degrees so the cleaning is better. But bear in mind these programs take less than the rated load so you will have to load appropriately.

The delicates cycle takes a max of a quarter of the rated load

The daily wash cycle takes a max of half of the rated load.

If I was using those cycles, I would be running the machine almost every day instead of much fewer per head.


Vanish is not out of the question. Just not with the drum clean cycle. I want you to confirm first that the foam is under control with a regular cottons cycle before you use it.

Also to use Vanish you need at least a half kilo of fabric to control the foam. I use a few clean mops and old hand towels. Keep that ready. You cannot use Vanish alone in the machine.

This solution is very common but not very effective. as explained already over here.

Vinegar isn't good for the seals. Citric acid is safer. Baking soda is a mild abrasive but Vanish with oxygen bleach loosens any deposits so it's better.

I have a few old turkey towels and will try a Vanish wash instead of using mops.

As per the manual, they say not to use any cleaning agent, but still, if we want to use it, then we need to avoid chlorine-based agents and instead use oxygen-based agents. It is indicated to use only 10% of what the cleaning agent maker says.

As I used Surf liquid from day 1, and never used powder, Vanish seems the right option as per your previous message. Will probably try that first as I have it ready.
What I don't want is, vanish getting accumulated along with detergent

 

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What I observed was, the lather kept on accumulating for several minutes during the spin and finally everything exited slowly when the rinse cycle started. After the end, there's no lather.
Foam stays for several minutes though and it doesn't go away as fast as this one you posted.

You have detergent buildup then. Just See how fast the foam collapses in this guy's machine during drum clean. Another point

In that second one, his water is still a bit soapy though and does not become clear.

If you notice in my video the water becomes clear towards the end. That is the target to shoot for.

It doesn't matter how much foam is generated but how quickly it dissipates that is more important I think.

Will try the rin ala method tomorrow. I tried with Colin spray and wiped it with a scrub, it worked almost fine, but not 100% clear as some places are hard to be wiped/seen.

Colin has alcohol but insufficient concentration, it's for cleaning glass. I've never seen anyone recommend alcohol to clean the gasket.

It's safe. No effect on EPDM rubber (Ethylene-Proplene) which is the material used for the gasket with alcohol. Isopropanol (IPA) or Ethanol are both safe to use.

And don't use anything abrasive on the gasket. Only soft cloth.

Clothes get faded or loosened even before 50 washes. That's why I started using hand wash cycle only and clothes are fine. Hand wash cycle only uses 30C.

The cycle might be too hard on your clothes then. The only time I've seen fading is with coloured bedsheets. I suppose you notice it easier with darker colours.

How high in temperature does the Woolens program go? maybe same

I'd experiment with the Colours or Synthetics cycle as they take the same load as the Daily and are gentler than Cotton

I have a few old turkey towels and will try a Vanish wash instead of using mops.

Make sure they're clean and keep them aside just for this purpose

As per the manual, they say not to use any cleaning agent, but still, if we want to use it, then we need to avoid chlorine-based agents and instead use oxygen-based agents. It is indicated to use only 10% of what the cleaning agent maker says.

Already covered that here

As I used Surf liquid from day 1, and never used powder, Vanish seems the right option as per your previous message. Will probably try that first as I have it ready.

Try with 30 gm Vanish and those towels in a cotton 65 cycle with intensive selected. Do not do this with the drum clean cycle.

Take a look a the photos in post #5. when it is working you want the foam under the halfway mark. If that makes sense.

Get a bright torch and watch the colour of the water during the first 20-30 min of the wash cycle. Is it clean, cloudy or coloured?

If foam fills the machine up completely then there is too much residue in the machine and you will have to try with citric acid before trying with Vanish again.

What I don't want is, vanish getting accumulated along with detergent

The way you tell is the foam breaks up soon and does not linger. Whether Vanish alone does that or citric or a combination of both is to be seen.

There is the Labogens which is pure percarbonate. The thing is over time I've come to realise it isn't enough alone. It needs a little detergent mixed in it to help clean better. Which is what Vanish is but with a lower concentration of oxygen bleach.

The advantage of the Labogens is it does not foam as much as Vanish but isn't as readily available. I'm experimenting with boosting Vanish with the Labogens but it foamed up the machine completely the last time I tried so I need to tweak the proportions some more.

 

[Ssreek]

You have detergent buildup then. Just See how fast the foam collapses in this guy's machine during drum clean. Another point

In that second one, his water is still a bit soapy though and does not become clear.

That is probably the case. Foam goes away, but rather slowly.

I tried the Vanish method today. Took two turkey towels, they weight almost 1kg and added vanish to the tray with 60C intense cycle.

Take a look a the photos in post #5. when it is working you want the foam under the halfway mark. If that makes sense.

Foam is controlled, similar to the one you have mentioned here.

Get a bright torch and watch the colour of the water during the first 20-30 min of the wash cycle. Is it clean, cloudy or coloured?

Throughout the entire cycle, the color of the foam is white only, never noticed any flakes or grime or dark colored foam.

If foam fills the machine up completely then there is too much residue in the machine and you will have to try with citric acid before trying with Vanish again.

Foam didn't fill up the machine. There was a lot of empty space.

This time somehow the rubber gasket is a little bit cleaner than what I observed yesterday.

But here is what I found afterwards, the drum has some kind of grime or whatever it is on the backside. You can see that in the pictures attached.
Some of this is coming off if I rub with finger, but not all and of course it is an unreachable area to clean manually.

Any tips on how to get this off?

 

[lockhrt999]

How many drum cleans have you done with a product before realising this? Many I bet and got no benefit.

This was my second drum clean and this time I stood there. For me there's no visible difference in before or after as I have soft water and the machine is new.

You need the hottest, longest, intensive option selected to wash with any cleaning agent to do a drum clean. The water level will be lower but that is how it was done before these drum clean cycles appeared.

It's locked at 70C. And I saw it takes relatively more water in the drum clean mode. I did put the detergent during the main wash cycle (I was out of descaler this time)

It spins the drum more aggressively during the drum wash. It's getting water to every nook and cranny. Saw white curtain of water falling through the top gap. It did create a lot of foam even with FL detergent which filled 60% of the drum.

How long does the cycle last? presumably, the main wash cycle after

Dunno but I can expect it lasted for 1:30 hr

This is the Indian Samsung and you can see it drained out the water around the 5:00 mark. A mere two minutes into the drum clean cycle

That is correct. Everything's thrown out in 5 minutes. And it would have been understandable if the descaler was placed in prewash detergent compartment and that got thrown out but the machine runs the water through main detergent compartment even for the prewash.

So in the end, this is what needs to be done. Stand there for 5 minutes, let it throw out the prewash. Then when it's taking water for main wash, quickly add descaler in the detergent compartment. The water levels is high for the drum clean so machine won't let you open the door even if you pause or disconnect it.

 

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Foam is controlled, similar to the one you have mentioned here.

That's good news. The fabric load was enough to keep the foam down.

This time somehow the rubber gasket is a little bit cleaner than what I observed yesterday.

But here is what I found afterwards, the drum has some kind of grime or whatever it is on the backside. You can see that in the pictures attached.

You're saying this grime was not there earlier and only appeared now?

So this grime might be a combination of mould and detergent residue that was on the tub. The first try wasn't enough to remove it just loosen it.

Did you notice any smell in the machine? time to catch these smells is when the cycle ends and you open the door and its still wet inside. Once it dries the smell gets harder to spot.

Some of this is coming off if I rub with finger, but not all and of course it is an unreachable area to clean manually.

Any tips on how to get this off?

This is what cleaning agents are for, to get to areas you cannot reach. But these cleaning agents are gentle and require repeated attempts.

You need to do more cycles with Vanish. This time a Cottons 60C, intensive but with 50gm of Vanish instead of 30gm

If you can watch the water drain out for any residue that will be helpful. So put the drain pipe into a large enough bucket to catch the solution after.

Also, check the drain filter after the cycle is over to see what gets caught in there.

Watch the foam and water in the machine as the second attempt loosens up more of that residue.

 

[Ssreek]

You're saying this grime was not there earlier and only appeared now?

So this grime might be a combination of mould and detergent residue that was on the tub. The first try wasn't enough to remove it just loosen it.

I think it has been like that for years, only today I bothered to rub it up and found that it sticks to finger. Earlier I thought it could be metal scratches or smthng.

This is what cleaning agents are for, to get to areas you cannot reach. But these cleaning agents are gentle and require repeated attempts.

You need to do more cycles with Vanish. This time a Cottons 60C, intensive but with 50gm of Vanish instead of 30gm

If you can watch the water drain out for any residue that will be helpful. So put the drain pipe into a large enough bucket to catch the solution after.

Also, check the drain filter after the cycle is over to see what gets caught in there.

Watch the foam and water in the machine as the second attempt loosens up more of that residue.

I'll try this and update what I find.

Why exactly Cottons cycle though? Is it only bcz it's a longer cycle (2.5hrs) or some other reason? The baby care cycle is less than 2 hours but 95C instead.

 

[blr_p]

Why exactly Cottons cycle though? Is it only bcz it's a longer cycle (2.5hrs) or some other reason? The baby care cycle is less than 2 hours but 95C instead.

Because it's the longest and most intense cycle. I was in two minds about whether to tell you to go with Cottons 95 or not. Stick with 60 for now and see how it goes.

But here is what I found afterwards, the drum has some kind of grime or whatever it is on the backside. You can see that in the pictures attached.

What an interesting contrast. The inside of the drum is nice and shiny, yet the outside is grimy.

Mot people just see that and call it a day, they don't go poking inside the gasket and miss the gremlins inside.

This was my second drum clean and this time I stood there. For me there's no visible difference in before or after as I have soft water and the machine is new.

Better to have discovered this quirk one year in rather than later

It's locked at 70C. And I saw it takes relatively more water in the drum clean mode. I did put the detergent during the main wash cycle (I was out of descaler this time)

It spins the drum more aggressively during the drum wash. It's getting water to every nook and cranny. Saw white curtain of water falling through the top gap. It did create a lot of foam even with FL detergent which filled 60% of the drum.

Detergent won't do much. Try with 30gm vanish and some fabric. That aggressive wash action is good but it would be better with a cleaning product.

So in the end, this is what needs to be done. Stand there for 5 minutes, let it throw out the prewash.

Right, this is what I think needs to be done for a proper drum clean with Samsung

Then when it's taking water for main wash, quickly add descaler in the detergent compartment. The water levels is high for the drum clean so machine won't let you open the door even if you pause or disconnect it.

If you press the pause button when it's taking water for the main wash, does it pause the water coming in?

You can add the descaler or Vanish with less stress at that point.

 

[Ssreek]

Because it's the longest and most intense cycle. I was in two minds about whether to tell you to go with Cottons 95 or not. Stick with 60 for now and see how it goes.

What an interesting contrast. The inside of the drum is nice and shiny, yet the outside is grimy.

No luck though. Even with such a vigorous cycle, the marks/grime at the back of the drum is still there and there's no change. I'm surprised that even with 50g of Vanish the foam was controlled just like you mentioned in earlier posts.

The lint filter too is mostly clean except for one or two threads probably coming from these towels.
The water from outlet is also clean, little foamy. and didn't find anything different.

Mot people just see that and call it a day, they don't go poking inside the gasket and miss the gremlins inside.

Maybe I should call it a day as nothing seems to work yet . But after seeing that and me able to rub it and finding it's grimy, I still can't get my mind to forget it.

 

[lockhrt999]

If you press the pause button when it's taking water for the main wash, does it pause the water coming in?

Yup.

 

[blr_p]

No luck though. Even with such a vigorous cycle, the marks/grime at the back of the drum is still there and there's no change.

Did you use the drum clean cycle here with vanish or was it the cottons 60?

I'm surprised that even with 50g of Vanish the foam was controlled just like you mentioned in earlier posts.

You said you were using Turkish towels. How big are they? The wash cycle only uses five litres of water. The tub clean in the LG uses three times as much

If the towels absorb all the water there will be less to go around you might want to use less of them. The idea with the fabric is to have just enough to keep the foam down but enough solution swirling around.

I'm thinking the inside of your machine looks like this Toploader and you can see how he goes at it with Oxyclean. He uses a lot more though since the water volume is higher.

The lint filter too is mostly clean except for one or two threads probably coming from these towels.
The water from outlet is also clean, little foamy. and didn't find anything different.

It seems the Vanish isn't taking any of the grime out then. I was expecting some of the black stuff to have come off.

Maybe I should call it a day as nothing seems to work yet . But after seeing that and me able to rub it and finding it's grimy, I still can't get my mind to forget it.

Have to try different products and see what makes a difference. This is a learning process.

Does the Rin Ala you have say it has chlorine bleach mentioned on the label?

Try the rin ala as an experiment. To bring the concentration down to 250 ppm it needs to be diluted at 1:200

Put 30ml of Rin Ala directly in the drum, not the detergent drawer.

That will mix with 5 litres in the wash cycle. No fabric is required. Cotton 60 cycle with intensive. Does it make any difference?

Do an extra empty Cottons 60 wash just to get rid of any bleach residue after so it won't affect your clothes.

 

[blr_p]

But here is what I found afterwards, the drum has some kind of grime or whatever it is on the backside. You can see that in the pictures attached.
Some of this is coming off if I rub with finger, but not all and of course it is an unreachable area to clean manually.

Any tips on how to get this off?

Am wondering what the origin of that grime is if it isn't the usual mould

In two of the photos where the paddle is, the one you circled there appears to be more of it than in the first. If you notice the spider arm is in the same plane as the paddle.

Can you confirm whether there is a similar accumulation of that grime where the other two paddles are? Turn the drum around to where the paddles and see whether there is more localised grime there compared to other areas of the drum that is visible

Do you notice any dark deposits in the clothes when washing?

Does the machine sound a little louder in operation of late than it used to be?

The theory and it could well be wrong is whether grease is leaking from the bearing seal. Flowing down the spider arm, under the paddle and making its way to the front.