If your washing machine has a black jelly-like substance growing in the soap dispenser it is likely to be a fungal, bacterial growth called biofilm. Apart from looking nasty, it can block up the little holes in the top of many soap dispensers causing water flow to be restricted.
Partially blocked up nozzles can also cause water to get deflected into the fabric conditioner compartment causing the fabric conditioner to flush out too soon. Finally, deflected water can spray over to the front of the dispenser and leak out of the bottom of the dispenser drawer.
What causes the black jelly biofilm in the soap dispenser?
The growth is accelerated by moist environments. Bacteria and fungi need both water, and a source of nutrients. If both are present on a surface the organisms will grow and multiply to produce a grey/black jelly-like (slime) growth or produce a pink/red staining around bathroom tiles.
If you have a water valve not shutting off properly you can get a very small but constant drip of water into the soap dispenser. This can sometimes be observed by removing the soap drawer and seeing if you can see any dripping, or a bulging globule of water some time after the washing machine has finished. (If so, wipe the water away and see if it comes back, if it does you may need to have a new valve fitted although in some cases a badly blocked filter in the back of the valve can cause it not to shut off properly, or even water pressure that’s too low).
How to prevent biofilm growth
The best way to prevent this growth is to improve ventilation to allow these damp areas in kitchens and bathrooms to dry rapidly. With a washing machine I would leave the soap dispenser drawer open (at least partially) after using the machine drying it out manually first. If badly affected you may need to remove the drawer and wipe everything with kitchen towel or similar. It’s a pain, but large growths can be troublesome and may require a complete new soap dispenser to be fitted – plus the growth will reoccur if nothing is done to stop it or at least control it. Most soap dispenser drawers can easily be removed as there’s usually a clip to depress at the back which allows the drawer to come out.
It is also important to reduce the food sources for the bacteria and fungi to prevent growth. Food sources can include shampoo, soaps, propellants from hair spray and deodorants, and general kitchen food but with washing machines it’s clearly the detergent and fabric conditioner that the growth feeds on.
How to remove biofilm growth
Wiping with bleach or commercially available mildew removers should successfully remove the growth unless it’s really well established. Kitchen surfaces and bathroom tiles can be wiped with a household cleaner or mild bleach solution that will kill the bacteria and fungal spores.
Black slime associated with tap fittings can be removed by cleaning the inside of the tap or around the base of the tap with a small brush dipped in a mild solution of bleach. I used to have this problem with my bathroom taps. Little flakes of black substance would occasionally hang from the inside of the nozzle and if I pushed a bit of tissue up the nozzle to clean it there would be a slimy black jelly inside the tap.
Give your taps a very good clean occasionally by working a little disinfectant around not only the outside, but also the inside of the tap nozzle with a toothbrush or a cotton bud.
Removing the black growth from washing machine dispenser and drawer
If your washing machine’s soap dispenser is infested with a black growth try to clean it out with the soap drawer removed. Use on old toothbrush to clean the nozzles and top of the dispenser. Try using some of the products mentioned above. If it’s too bad to successfully remove it may need a new soap dispenser fitting
Further information – Slime and staining | Washing machine smells – causes of grease, slime and black mould inside washing machines (Washerhelp)
I have a Siemens washing machine and suffer the black slime coming out of the water inlet holes above the wash powder drawer which is impossible to get at because this is an integral part of the machine. Their solution to this is to put it on repeated (at least 5 or 6) boil washes to cure it. I can’t see how boiling water in the drum will cure this problem because it is a cold fill machine, but they are adamant. When you mention the valve, is this a valve within the machine which will be passing. I only have standard washing machine valves at the back of the machine which as far as I am aware remain open. Your help would be be appreciated.
Hello Chris: I agree, doing boil washes is no use for dealing with the black slime in the soap dispenser.I’ve fixed the link at the bottom now which was broken as they had moved the page.
The slime needs a steady supply of water and soap to thrive so you need to dry it out after use. Maybe even stop using the soap dispenser drawer for detergent and try putting tablets in the drum instead using the correct dispenser or net.
You could also try turning off the taps when you’ve finished washing and de-pressurising the hoses by putting the machine onto non fast coloureds for a few moments to get the valve to suck out the remaining water. This would be a lot of messing about though and may not even be practical if you can’t get to the washer taps but if you can it may be worth trying if only to see if it makes any difference,
I recently had a problem with the conditioner department of my washing machine,I also noted the black slime attached to the jet holes etc. The way I removed the black slime was: Using an old toothbrush and 2 large teaspoons of bi-carbonate soda, mixed in hot water & scrubbed the black slime away! This seems to be working.
I hope that this is on the right topic. I recently opened my soap drawer and slopped water all over the place. The whole fabric conditioner compartment appears to be filled with some almost solid jelly like substance, which never clears out. I have tried taking the drawer out, but it appears to be stuck, and I don’t want to force it since I may never get it back in again. I have been considering using neat bleach (household stuff) so that it would at least disolve the stuff without a need to add too much liquid. For example, pouring boiling water into it might do the trick, but would probably over flow before doing any good. Also, I would prefer to dissolve it before too much runs elsewhere into my washing machine.
Could this also be causing the terrible state of my washing? My machine is a pain in the neck anyway, as it keeps stopping and has to be re-started. I think this may be due to poor water pressure (I am in an upstairs flat, and the water has to be drawn from the mains on the ground floor. I don’t think that they used the most efficient way of doing this). The person who sold me the place may have known about the problem, but neglected to tell me, so I don’t know if it stopped when I moved in or whether it’s always done it. I tend not to be able to wash my clothes properly, and the drum stinks of mildew all the time. The water also collects in the filter, and I have to empty this regularly. This water stinks as well. Now my washing comes out smelling not very nice, although the smell usually goes away once they are dry. I did have some success with using baking powder, but I’m afraid of this clogging the pipes up if the circulation fo water is not good. Can this all be due to the blockage in the soap compartment, or is there more going on?
Any advise would be appreciated, as I don’t really have the money for a new machine, but it costs to keep washing stuff as well.
Hello Jessica: I have a help article about this on Washerhelp – The fabric conditioner / rinse aid compartment is always full of water (it’s the bottom article). Basically the gunge you describe is blocking the hole to the tube which siphons out the water from the fabric conditioner compartment when the conditioner is flushed out. You need to remove the cap in the fabric conditioner compartment to clean it out inside and you really need to remove the soap dispenser drawer.
They all come out and shouldn’t be difficult. If there isn’t a clip at the back or something to press to release the drawer it will just need easing out by holding the sides at the back and lifting and pulling. Instructions on how to remove the drawer to clean will be in the instruction book. (Download appliance instruction books)
The gunge in your soap dispenser isn’t likely to be causing your poor washing results and smells but it could be just another symptom of what’s causing those other problems. The black jelly-like substance in the soap dispenser is discussed in my article above.
Read these articles for help on the other issues -
Thanks for your reply, oh dear, it sounds like I’ve got big problems then. I’ll read the other articles at my leisure. I think I will probably have to call someone in, even if it’s just someone of my aquaintance to knows washing machines. I tend to be a bit clumsy in the ‘removing things’ category and I just seem to manage to break things. I’ve had some success with using white vinegar and boiling water, as the water level has now gone down somewhat.
I’ve wiped round the rubber seal – my sponge started by being COVERED in black mold – eeek! and then started to come away clean – so that’s obviously another area I need to look at.
Thank you again, hopefully I can at least get an improvement going.
I cleaned my machine with a machine cleaner i got and it has left my house smelling like mouldy damp water what can i do to get rid of the smell
sharon: Sometimes the first clean dislodges a lot of gunk so keep cleaning it until hopefully it stops.
I’ve recently noticed Black Jelly-like substance in the powder drawer. I tried to clean it out, but my Whites wash has just come out with black grease marks on it. In a panic I went and bought a machine cleaner, but the next wash has stained the clothes again. Any ideas? I’ve been given a mix of advise inc bearings problems.
Hello andrea: I would say the same as I did on my last comment. It sounds like you’ve dislodged a lot of black slime and jelly. I would do several washes with no laundry in to try and get rid of it all. I would do most or all of them on a hot wash with good detergent (preferably not liquid). Maybe do the last couple with some old sheets or something in to try and attract anything that isn’t being pumped away.
Many thanks for your help. Will try it out and let you know how I get on. Great website by the way.
I get black mould-like stuff in the dispenser drawer (nowhere else in the machine) but is is not jelly like but is sticky and difficult to remove and is felt-like. I have tried everything, as you have suggested, soaking and scrubbing the drawer with Milton Solution, and as the black stuff get gets into the inlet and in the runners where the drawer slides in and out, my husband has had to use the pressure hose to try and clean the inlet. When I spoke to the retailer and manufacturer (John Lewis) I was just told to do a hot wash! Is there anything else I should be doing?
Many thanks
Jenni
jenni: It’s not a fault on the washing machine unless by any chance the water valve isn’t shutting off properly and allowing a very slow but constant drip of water into the dispenser as described in my article.
If the machine isn’t in a damp environment or the dispenser constantly wet because of a valve not shutting off I would get your water authority to check your water supply. You could try turning off the tap after each wash if possible to see if it helps.
Hi, I bought a washing machine cleaner to clean my washing machine as I occasionally see flakes of dark brown stuff on my washed clothes. To my horror, the water (without) was filled with it and despite repeating 12 times, the problem persisted. After dismantling all that I could internally (horrible design), I found a whole lot more black slimy stuff which I scrubbed off manually. Thinking I had gotten to the root of the problem, I filled the washing machine with water and still I find a lot of the stuff, even though the colour had lighten. Tried to get washing machine repairmen to help but they say they only repair, they do not clean. Asked a favor from my air con man who tried to vacuum both the inlet and the outlet of the washing machine. Couldn’t get anywhere else as the rest of the parts are glue together (horrible design again). What should I do?
Claudia: I’ve never been convinced of the effectiveness of these so-called appliance cleaning products. They seem to just make an already clean washer or dishwasher smell a bit nicer but struggle to deal with really dirty or smelly appliances. Have you read my article Washing machine smells causes of grease, slime and black mould inside washing machines and tried the 90 degree boil washes with normal detergent?
Wondering why manufacturers dont invent a washing machine without a dispenser drawer, so that people can add the dispenser drawer to the wash and the water can come in straight from the mains. I have written to hotpoint. I suggest everyone else emails their manufacturer about the mould problem too and hopefullly they may invent this!!
Hi Steve: One of the problems would be for people wanting to use fabric conditioner, which needs to be stored somewhere until right at the end of the wash.
I recently had my washing machine soap drawer cause major problems and flooded my downstairs neighbour. I had to use this guide among others to completely dismantle my washing machine to dislodge the blockage which was a combination of this black stuff and undissolved powder in the pipe connecting the soap drawer to the drum.
As far as i can see its caused by the powder compartments jets lacking pressure, though it does come out at the correct temperature. I have thoroughly. cleaned the compartment with a bleached toothbrush and even poured undiluted bleach into it on a maintenance wash to hopefully clear away the rest of the black mould and powder from various parts of the machine.
I was wondering what the possible causes of this lack of pressure in the powder compartment are and how to fix it? Having taken it apart and put it back together again and working. I still cant see why the other two compartments on either side controlled by the same part spray strongly enough, but the centre compartment for the detergent barely drizzles.
Hopefully I can prevent this from happening again.
Hi Matt
I think that you will find that any blockage occurs in the compartments above the holes over the soap dispensers.
I have a Bosch machine, which suffers from black deposits building up above the Fabric Conditioner dispenser into a “sponge” consistency. No amount of “treatments” using chemicals and hot washing cycles deals with it because the deposit is in the holes that the water emerges from before entering the soap dispenser. As it happens we always put the soap directly in the drum; we do however put fabric conditioner in the centre compartment of the soap dispenser.
You have to remove the whole soap dispenser frame from the machine and dismantle the top water dispenser compartments above the “holes”, where the deposits are. The two halves of mine are just clipped together.
The blockage was preventing any water from reaching the fabric conditioner below.
In this top compartment, hot and cold water emerges from the hot and cold nozzles and is directed diagonally across the other nozzle into the respective spray areas above each soap compartment below.
When both hot and cold water emerge together, the water from the 2 nozzles collides and some of it is diverted into the centre area above the Fabric conditioner. With this upper centre area filled with the black sponge-like substance, the water had to find its way out through the hot and cold “holes”. Perhaps this middle area only receiving, a “reflected” mix and not a direct jet of water is why it is more prone to collecting fungus: It never gets a stream powerful enough to dislodge deposits. The two areas above the never used soap dispensers do not suffer the same problem.
I am resigned to repeating this sponge removal once a year.
Incidentally, this machine also has a double walled vertical tube inside the back panel that the waste water travels up before it leaves the machine. The gap between the two walls collects a grey jelly substance and it eventually overflows into the centre drain path and blocks the pump output.
I first noticed this grey sludge building up in the waste pipe after the soap manufacture changed its washing powder formulae.
Even putting the machine through a normal “Hot” wash with flushing chemicals does not have its full effect on this residue due to the machine adding cold water for safety reasons to the hot water just before it pumps it out. Hot water is needed to dissolve the sludge.
I have to stop the machine just before this cold water is added and then select “drain” to get the hot water to pass through this “sediment” catcher.
Incidentally, low water pressure in my case is restricted to the hot water, which is fed from a tank in the loft, which obviously would be worse if the machine was on the first floor. Go up one floor and the hot water pressure drops by a third in my case. The drop in mains pressure one floor up would not be significant.
I understand that some new machines have a liquid reservoir for the fabric conditioner. This feature may help prevent the black fungus from forming. Now for the grey sludge!
Detergent drawers could not be more effective in encouraging black mould if they were specially designed for the purpose – the plastic mouldings have sharp corners, both in the tray and the slot, which trap residues and are difficult to clean. My Bosch washer instructions do not sufficiently emphasise the importance of cleaning it.
By the way, a joy to discover a forum with such well-considered responses informed by technical knowledge and practical experience.
Just grappling with the fabric conditioner dispenser as we speak. I have thoroughly scrubbed the black growth off repeatedly. I have been inside the housing up to my elbow with various sponges and brushes and cloths. I can’t get any more black gunk out. And yet my fabric conditioner will NOT dispense. Grr. My husband is poking around at the nozzles with a bit of wire. Surely there must be a better design. If we ever get the wretched thing to work properly again, I will remove the drawer every morning and leave it to dry out.
Catherine: If fabric conditioner isn’t being taken in, there could be another fault – Fabric conditioner doesn’t get taken into washing machine
I’ve just stripped out the drawer filler assembly on my Bosch Classixx 1200 6 year old washing machine, due to the common issue of the fabric conditioner not emptying. After seeing the inside of this it is clear that it is probably almost impossible to clean without disassembly, as cleaning from below with a toothbrush or similar will just push the sludge upwards and block the channel completely.
Here is how I did this on mine. Only proceed if you are confident you know what you are doing around water, mechanical components and electricity!!! Mind your hands, a lot of the sheet metal parts are sharp.
1) turn off machine and unplug from mains
2) remove machine top (2 x torx at back, top slides backwards)
3) remove 3x torx to front panel exposed by removing drawer, and 1x torx at the controls end of the front panel (you need a long T20 bit as a short bit in a hex holder won’t get into the tight & deep holes)
4) unclip the front panel from the machine and put to one side
5) remove 2x torx on the bar across the machine (if not you won’t be able to get the drawer filler assembly out)
6) use pliers to slide the 2x hose clamps up the hoses between the drawer filler and the valves at the back of the machine. I found it easier to remove these at the valve than at the drawer filler. Detach the hoses from the valves (remember which is which!)
7) there are 6 clips holding the top of the drawer filler to the bottom of the drawer chamber. Unclip them, and via careful manouvering it should be possible to get the whole top assembly out (there is a peg at the back of the assembly which needs to be moved out of the hole it is sat in to get it all out).
Once you have it out, you can split it into two halves – the jet holes are all in a separate piece of plastic which is clipped in to the main body which has the water channels. I used a Menda spudger (google it) to pry the small plastic tabs so I could get the two parts separated without damaging anything. The amount of filth inside was disgusting – and indeed the conditioner channel was totally blocked with black sludge. Now was the time for lots of hot water, fairy liquid and a toothbrush to clear it all out.
Once you have it clean, clip it all back together in the reverse order, and then test it works!