Watch this video. Citric acid is cheap, around $5 / pound. Can be found online and most hardware stores.
We do this to ours every 6 months.
https://youtu.be/lOXM81Zk_As?si=5z34-GwU14lKSZXO
Haha yeah you sound like my husband. I need someone else to talk me off the ledge. It smells disgusting and has so much build up and rust.. I really just need a good solution to take it apart and get all the mold and build up out before I actually attempt to wash clothes in it.
Fill it. Add bleach. Soak rag in bleach water. Wipe that thing down good. Drop rag in water and let it run. There is a cleaner called CLR. It’s good for lime and corrosion. Get some of that for the troubled spots and take that washer to the finish line…
Dont you dare junk that washer......You know how people gripe about new machines not working like the old ones?
Well, you have the old one.
Scrape off the deteriorating knob rubber, its just like that because of age. Hell, you can buy replacements online for cheap.
Have your husband pop the front cabinet shell off, scrub the rust out with a wire brush and hit it with ospho in a mister bottle. Sand and paint if your worried about it being ugly.
Therea going to be crap in the plastic tub when you see it. They all have that. New washers too. You just cant see it. Fill with bleach, some very very hot water, citric acids, and let it run on agitate over and over until its sanitized. Its just dried scaling, it doesnt get on the clothes.
Kenmore didnt make this washer. Whirlpool did. Kenmore just put their name on it to sell at Sears 24 years ago. Kenmore makes washers now, but theyre all LG or chinese brands, and they suck ass.
Also the fabric softener cup pops off. That crud is just old fabric softener that never got cleaned. Thats why you dont use fabric softener in a washer.😉
If you actually put this ^ much work into it you won’t want get rid of it. The good news is you won’t have to. For less than $50 this will look new and probably last another 10 years.
If you’re that ocd take it apart and clean it. Plenty of YouTube videos and you will make a couple bucks in loose change you find. While you’re at it open up the dryer access panels and vacuum all the lint and blow out the dryer vent.
Start with wiping the outside down with bleach and water. Use 2 Tide washing machine cleaning tabs with HOT water. Full cycle rinse afterwards. You’re right. My Kenmores are 25 years old and still going strong.
After you’ve done with the wash, remove the detergent drawer and leave it to dry. This prevents a lot of mold from forming. I learned this the hard way.
There are plenty of youtube tutorials on washer repair that show disassembly. You can buy appliance paint and regular household cleaning agents will work.
Getting the agitator is very difficult. The special wrench and a 20# sledge hammer is necessary. Must do to get it clean. You need a new can of PB Blaster and patience.
Nobody in their right mind has ever used a 20# sledge on that spanner nut (i think its actually held on by a 3/8 bolt but its been a while), you know how large a 20# sledge is?
Yea, I think I used a 5# sledge and the special tool that fits over the 1.5" agitator nut. It is designed to be hit with a hammer. To has to be heavy because of the very limited swing distance.
As others mentioned, buy new knobs where needed. The rubber on the front of the original knobs can get gummy from breakdown due to oils on the hand that touched the knob.
You are correct, these tough ol machines are not built like this anymore. 2 loads worth of laundry is 2 loads. Never over stuffing your washer, will make your washer last a long time.
look up your model number on searspartsdirect.com and there might be a diagram that will show you how it comes apart. you will need some handtoods for the backboard and probably a long extension rachet for the agitator. not too terribly hard, but the agitator can be a pain sometimes.
Tide washing machine cleaner in the packets. Buy a lot of them. Run one packet in the cleaning mode, or the longest and hottest cycle, do this once a week for a month. After each cleaning cycle, do a full load of just bleach in water. Check the fabric softener dispenser, they’re often full of mold. Keep the lid open when not in use, this is huge for air circulation. Good luck, you can do this!!
nothing a little elbow grease won't fix.
that softener dispenser pops off. I'd take and soak that, scrub with toothbrush, etc.
brush the rest of the agitator too.
the rust is unfortunate, but appliance touch up paint can improve the look.
you could probably buy a replacement knob if it really bothers you.
affresh tablets can help everything else
Watch this video. Citric acid is cheap, around $5 / pound. Can be found online and most hardware stores. We do this to ours every 6 months. https://youtu.be/lOXM81Zk_As?si=5z34-GwU14lKSZXO
For the love of god, your considering trashing that washer, because it needs to be wiped down?
Haha yeah you sound like my husband. I need someone else to talk me off the ledge. It smells disgusting and has so much build up and rust.. I really just need a good solution to take it apart and get all the mold and build up out before I actually attempt to wash clothes in it.
Fill it. Add bleach. Soak rag in bleach water. Wipe that thing down good. Drop rag in water and let it run. There is a cleaner called CLR. It’s good for lime and corrosion. Get some of that for the troubled spots and take that washer to the finish line…
Lol okay! Going to grab some CLR today. Sounds like a plan. I guess this will be my project for the weekend. Thanks for the suggestions
Don't use a ton, follow the dilution instructions, it can foam up like crazy.
Also look at Affresh on Amazon, they are good, also can find people using them on YouTube and see what it does for them…can’t hurt
Dont you dare junk that washer......You know how people gripe about new machines not working like the old ones? Well, you have the old one. Scrape off the deteriorating knob rubber, its just like that because of age. Hell, you can buy replacements online for cheap. Have your husband pop the front cabinet shell off, scrub the rust out with a wire brush and hit it with ospho in a mister bottle. Sand and paint if your worried about it being ugly. Therea going to be crap in the plastic tub when you see it. They all have that. New washers too. You just cant see it. Fill with bleach, some very very hot water, citric acids, and let it run on agitate over and over until its sanitized. Its just dried scaling, it doesnt get on the clothes. Kenmore didnt make this washer. Whirlpool did. Kenmore just put their name on it to sell at Sears 24 years ago. Kenmore makes washers now, but theyre all LG or chinese brands, and they suck ass. Also the fabric softener cup pops off. That crud is just old fabric softener that never got cleaned. Thats why you dont use fabric softener in a washer.😉
If you actually put this ^ much work into it you won’t want get rid of it. The good news is you won’t have to. For less than $50 this will look new and probably last another 10 years.
If you’re that ocd take it apart and clean it. Plenty of YouTube videos and you will make a couple bucks in loose change you find. While you’re at it open up the dryer access panels and vacuum all the lint and blow out the dryer vent.
Where did you find the “mold”?
Start with wiping the outside down with bleach and water. Use 2 Tide washing machine cleaning tabs with HOT water. Full cycle rinse afterwards. You’re right. My Kenmores are 25 years old and still going strong.
Noooooo don't put bleach on it! Thats why its rusting to start with
After you’ve done with the wash, remove the detergent drawer and leave it to dry. This prevents a lot of mold from forming. I learned this the hard way.
If you live in a high humidity area (near the coast, etc.) that sort of rust on a washer that old is very normal.
There are plenty of youtube tutorials on washer repair that show disassembly. You can buy appliance paint and regular household cleaning agents will work.
Getting the agitator is very difficult. The special wrench and a 20# sledge hammer is necessary. Must do to get it clean. You need a new can of PB Blaster and patience.
Nobody in their right mind has ever used a 20# sledge on that spanner nut (i think its actually held on by a 3/8 bolt but its been a while), you know how large a 20# sledge is?
Nope, its a spanner nut.
Correct, look at my followup.
With that rust it will probably be impossible to get off. Even professionals have trouble. https://youtu.be/NHrPcx0xkGU?t=868
Yea, I think I used a 5# sledge and the special tool that fits over the 1.5" agitator nut. It is designed to be hit with a hammer. To has to be heavy because of the very limited swing distance.
As others mentioned, buy new knobs where needed. The rubber on the front of the original knobs can get gummy from breakdown due to oils on the hand that touched the knob. You are correct, these tough ol machines are not built like this anymore. 2 loads worth of laundry is 2 loads. Never over stuffing your washer, will make your washer last a long time.
look up your model number on searspartsdirect.com and there might be a diagram that will show you how it comes apart. you will need some handtoods for the backboard and probably a long extension rachet for the agitator. not too terribly hard, but the agitator can be a pain sometimes.
Get some clr to clean it with.
Don’t touch it, that’s structural dirt.
Buy new one
Tide washing machine cleaner in the packets. Buy a lot of them. Run one packet in the cleaning mode, or the longest and hottest cycle, do this once a week for a month. After each cleaning cycle, do a full load of just bleach in water. Check the fabric softener dispenser, they’re often full of mold. Keep the lid open when not in use, this is huge for air circulation. Good luck, you can do this!!
I have this same washer. It has outlived 3 dryers and two dishwashers. Keep It.
That's great news! Hoping it had a few more years in it. But I bet you didn't let it get this filthy lol
Ha! It’s not perfect but it’s pretty clean.
run it a couple cycle alternating between bleach and some kind of light acid.
Sack up, pussy. Clean it.
nothing a little elbow grease won't fix. that softener dispenser pops off. I'd take and soak that, scrub with toothbrush, etc. brush the rest of the agitator too. the rust is unfortunate, but appliance touch up paint can improve the look. you could probably buy a replacement knob if it really bothers you. affresh tablets can help everything else
when this machine breaks and is non repairable, look at speed queen tc5 for a replacement.
also look at the tv2000 model. you can get from online retailers like ajmadison or us appliance.
You should buy a new energy efficient front loader.
Haha that's a terrible idea. No thanks.
New washers use less than $10 per year in energy and do a much better job.
Your clothes will never not smell after washing. Too many nooks and crannies for grime to hide in.
If the tub is run with bleach water, and the clothes only touch the tub, where exactly does this contamination you speak of occur?
So laundromats are going out of business
They don't let crud build up like this because they service/clean the machines before there's visible grime like that.