Front Load Washer Rubber Door Seal Not Aligned? Whirlpool WFW560CHW
Currently renting a unit and noticed clothes sometimes smelled out of the washer. Peeled back the door seal and can see that the holes don't align (see pic attached).
Are the holes in the seal supposed to align with the holes in the solid plastic in front of it?
Also are those black dots mold?
Solution Summary
AI-generated from this discussion
This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
Whirlpool WFW560CHW door seal drain holes slightly misaligned and mould concern
- The problem
- The renter noticed occasional bad smells from a Whirlpool WFW560CHW washer and found the rubber door seal drain holes did not appear to line up with the holes in the front plastic. They also asked whether black dots on the seal were mould.
- Likely cause
- The accepted reply says the seal drain holes should sit at the bottom, around the 6 o'clock position, but slight misalignment should not normally cause a problem. The smell and black dots were most strongly linked to black mould developing in the damp door seal area.
- What fixed it
- No repair was confirmed. The accepted advice was that slight hole misalignment is usually not an issue. Recommended care was to wipe out standing water from the seal after washing, leave the door open to dry, leave the dispenser drawer open, carry out regular hot maintenance washes, and use proper detergent rather than liquid detergent to help prevent mould and odours.
- Checks to try
- Observed whether the seal holes were positioned at the bottom of the door seal at roughly 6 o'clock
- Checked the door seal area for black dots or mould
- Noted occasional bad smells from the washer
1 Answer
Hello there. The holes in the door seal should be right at the bottom of the door seal at 6 o'clock position. So if for example there are 7 holes then ideally the fourth centre hole should be bang at 6 o'clock. However, if they are a little bit out of line, it shouldn't really cause any problems. Door seals didn't even have any holes in the bottom of them for at least 30 or 40 years.
They are just there to help drain the last bit of water that gathers in the bottom of the seal. It's extremely rare for any door seal to be designed well enough that it never holds any water at the end of the wash, most of them do.
But having said that, ideally you should wipe out this water at the end of washing. You should definitely leave the door open to help it dry out. Black mould is a common issue in washing machines due to the obvious damp conditions, and mould can cling and embed itself very easily into the soft rubber of the door seal.
If it is left to build up too much, it can cause a lot of problems. It can even infest the entire washing machine inside. The best way to avoid mould is to do regular hot maintenance washes, use proper detergent not liquid detergent, and dry out the door seal at the end of washing. Also leave the door open, and even the soap dispenser drawer, which is another place that can get infested with black mould.
Try to take time to read the following articles carefully which will inform you fully
Causes of black moulding washing machines
Washing machine smells, gunge and mould
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