Rubber fire after replacing door seal

This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.

New door seal likely fitted incorrectly or wrong type, causing drum to rub and burn rubber

The problem

After replacing the door seal on an Indesit Whirlpool washing machine, the machine made increasing noise during rotation and a very bad noise on spin, followed by a strong burning rubber smell and smoke from the detergent drawer and inside the drum. The drum then became difficult to turn by hand and later could be moved only after adding more washing-up liquid, but it still did not rotate smoothly.

Likely cause

The accepted reply says the most likely cause is either an incorrect door seal for the model or incorrect fitting of the new seal, causing it to catch on the drum. Exact cause was not finally confirmed.

What fixed it

Remove the new door seal and check whether the drum turns freely without it, then refit the seal correctly. Check that the seal is definitely the correct part for the exact model, make sure the drain holes are positioned at 6 o’clock, and identify where the seal was catching. The accepted reply advised not to use lubricant on the seal because it may allow the seal to slip off its fixings when the clamps are tightened.

Checks to try

• Check whether the drum turns freely with the door seal removed
• Confirm the replacement door seal is correct for the model
• Check the seal drain holes are at 6 o’clock
• Inspect where the seal is catching on the drum

Parts or tools mentioned

• Replacement door seal