Mrs Hinch rose to fame for posting cleaning tips and hacks on social media and now she's inspiring her millions of fans to share their tips and household hacks - and among the latest ones are for getting rid of washing machine sludge.
Sophie Hinchcliffe, her real name, created the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips Facebook page and encourages her fans to post queries and share advice, the Express reports.
Louise Harvey took to the Facebook page to share her washing machine dilemma and asked for advice. She said: “My washing machine keeps leaving small bits of black sludge-like bits all over my washing.
“My landlady got a repair man out and he said there’s nothing wrong with it.”
Read more: 14 crucial things to look for when buying a home from natural light to flooring
Having tried and failed to fix the problem with a dishwasher tablet, machine cleaner, and bleach, she implored the cleaning enthusiasts to help.
Louise added: “I’m so stuck as it’s ruining my clothes and bedding. At my wits end with the machine.”
Fortunately, Mrs Hinch fans were quick to help. Jo Danily stated: “Mine was doing this and I had to pull the draw fully out. It was a bit stiff and I was scared of breaking it but I was sick of the sludge. Once I had cleaned behind the draw it stopped. Hope this helps."
Laura Marciniak added: “A washing machine of mine used to do this until I found it was inside the seal, not the bit you can see but inside where the rubber meets the metal drum, as if it’s coming from the outside of the drum.”
Becks Langton seconded this: “Check the rubber seal where the door shuts into, and wipe it out. Otherwise, soda crystals on a 90° wash should solve it.”
Cleaning enthusiast Lorraine Bridgett too opted for soda crystals when she experienced this problem: “Use soda crystals in an empty machine on the hottest wash. I use crystals and powder now in my drum two or three times a week, and I swapped to powder as pods leave slime residue.”
Coriander Dean sympathised with the cleaning conundrum: “I used a machine cleaner and a couple of washes later I had all this sludge coming out. It was awful!”
Fiona Harrison recommended a popular cleaning product: baking soda. She explained: “The underside of the drum is probably covered in it, usually caused by the liquid detergent and low temperature washes.
“I find I have to do days’ worth of long hot washes (90 degrees) with just bicarb and it slowly starts to reduce. To limit in the future, do the same really hot wash every few weeks.”
Shelley Gorman had a similar solution: “Mine doesn’t make such dark spots but does occasionally smear but when it happens I do a near boil wash or as hot as possible with soap and old towels and it seems to clean it and stop happening."
Annette Meakin shared a game-changing hack: “I have the same issue. I live in a soft water area and it’s a combination of soft water and fabric conditioner.
“I bought some industrial washing machine cleaning sachets from Whirlpool and use once a month on a hot wash cycle…AMAZING!! No more sludge blobs on my washing! Whites were a nightmare!”
For news straight to your inbox, sign up for one of our newsletters here.
