I have a 10yr old washer and I popped the top cover just to see how dirty it was in there, to my surprise the plastic tub cover/seal was engrossed with mold/mildew. I removed the seal and scrubbed it as well as the base of the tub and it’s fine now… but how can I prevent it from occurring again and what caused it?
It’s a top load washer, should I be leaving the lid open when not in use like they recommend for front loaders to minimize this problem?
Simple answer “yes”.
All washers have some water in them after the cycles have ended. In that water are little amounts of whatever you washed out of the clothes. Dead skin, bacteria, molds, dirt, and many other things you don’t really want me to describe. When you leave the lid shut, it makes an excellent place for these things to grow and reproduce.
I bet if you checked your owners manual you would find it says to wipe up all excess water and leave the lid open.
Also, it never hurts to sterilize the machine every few loads. I like to use a little Clorox diluted in a lot of water to keep my machine clean. I usually wash my towels and underwear that way.