How to Remove Softener Scum Build Up in Your Clothers Washer Dispenser

After many years of using an automatic clothes washer that offered limited accessories my wife was pleased and excited when our new replacement clothes washer arrived.

The new washer contained many of the "bells and whistles" my wife and I had long done without. These included four different wash cycles, variable water and temperature settings, water saving sensors, bleach dispenser, and many other features we have yet to use. But, the one feature my wife most enjoyed having was the automatic fabric softener dispenser. For years we had used an outdated machine with no more capability than adding water, agitator washing, draining dirty water, replacing it with clean rinse water, rinsing and then spin dry water extraction.

The absence of a softener dispenser required us to listen intently as the washer cycled through the water fill and wash cycle and wait for the rinse water to be added in order that one of us might arrive at just the right moment to add softener during the very brief rinse cycle.

More often than not we missed the rinse cycle and as a result missed adding softener to the wash.

The new washer eliminated the problem as it has a convenient softener dispenser cup right in the middle of the agitator that once filled at the start of the wash automatically dispenses softener at just the right time in the rinse cycle. My wife suggested that this feature alone was worth the price of the new machine.

All went well for the first year of the new machine's service when suddenly the softener dispenser quit working. The softener we had put in the dispenser at the beginning of the wash was still there at the end of the wash.

On inspection it was obvious that after twelve months accumulation of the thick softener a scum had built up in the dispenser and had clogged the outlet vents through which the softener was to pass.

Using a brand name soap scum cleaner and a toothbrush I was able to remove most of the scum and open the vents, but my concern was how to prevent a recurrence of this problem. The answer came from a wise neighbor who had addressed this situation years earlier. Her simple solution that solves the problem completely is listed below:

To prevent fabric softener scum build up:

Once each month measure one cup of white vinegar and warm this until tepid to the touch in either a conventional oven or microwave.

Prior to the next wash cycle and with the washer empty pour the warm vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser cup.

Set the washer cycle for the highest water level and to use the hot water wash.

Run the washer through a complete cycle using the hot water and full load settings.

This will cleanse your dispenser of any scum and eliminate the build up problem.

My wife has since learned that she can remove soap scum build up and odor from inside the main washer tub by adding one half gallon of white vinegar to the tub and then running a medium water level, hot water wash cycle. She does this every six to eight months.

We have considered white vinegar to be a "wonder cleaner" and deodorizer.