Most standard household appliances, such as washing machines and refrigerators, are made primarily from stainless steel. This material is extremely strong and heat-resistant, as well as rust-resistant.
Stainless steel is 98% iron with a chromium alloy, protected by a chromium oxide layer that is designed to prevent rust. However, when this layer is exposed to household cleaners and moisture, it can become damaged, which paves the way for rust to occur.
Unfortunately, your washing machine is regularly exposed to both moisture and detergent, which is why no matter how durable your washing machine is, it’s going to rust eventually. Other factors such as rusted pipes or metal objects inside the machine can also cause it to rust.
So, your washing machine is rusting – how do you make it look new again? Lemon juice and vinegar are common household antidotes for rust. You can also use rust removers if the rust has become too stubborn. If these solutions do not work, there’s a chance that it’s your pipes that have rusted, not the washing machine itself.
In this article, let’s learn more about the causes of rust in your washing machine and how you can effectively remove the rust and prevent further damage to your washing machine.
How To Tell If Your Washing Machine Has Rusted
Rusting doesn’t always look like visible rust – the red or brown spots around the metal surface in your washing machine. This is pretty easy to identify, and you can usually spot them right away.
Sometimes, you don’t see any visible signs of rust in your washing machine, but there are telltale signs that your washing machine has rusted.
Your laundry may come out of the machine with visible rust stains and discolorations. You may also see brown flakes around the drum of the washing machine that can get on your laundry when you run the machine.
These are very strong indications that you have a rust problem in the washing machine’s drums.
You may also see rust on the exterior of the washing machine and think that it’s not going to cause a problem with your laundry, but that’s not necessarily true.
However, rust can spread if it’s not removed properly, and if you see rust on the exterior of your machine, it will spread to the interior of the machine soon enough and cause a problem in your clothing.
In any case, rust on the inside and the outside of your washing machine is not a hard problem to fix – you can easily remove rust using household solutions.
However, if you leave it alone for too long, the rust can eat away at your washing machine and damage your laundry. If left untreated, it can be very stubborn to remove, and you may need to replace your machine altogether.
Causes Of Rusting In Your Washing Machine
Although most washing machines nowadays are made of stainless steel, which is quite durable and rust-resistant, this material can still get rusted after repeated exposures to harsh cleaners, moisture, and other factors.
Learning about the causes of rust in your washing machine can help you prevent further issues in the future. Let’s learn about common causes of rust in your washing machine below.
Harsh Cleaners
Rust occurs when iron oxidizes. Although stainless steel is protected by a layer of chromium oxide which can prevent rusting, this layer can be damaged when it is exposed to harsh chemicals.
If you often use bleach or other harsh cleaners in your washing machine, you’ll find that the drums inside your washing machine can become rusted much faster.
This is because bleach is a harsh chemical that can damage the chromium oxide layer. After repeated exposure to bleach, the stainless steel may corrode and become rusted.
Exposure To Moisture
Exposure to water and humidity is unavoidable for a washing machine. To add to the problem, laundry spaces are usually closed off in dark and damp spaces of the house, like a basement, bathroom, or closet. Moisture can get trapped in these areas, making them very humid.
Unfortunately, prolonged exposure to moisture can easily corrode the most durable metal and cause rust. The corrosion can happen over a longer period of time, so it’s difficult to identify the problem until it is too late.
Metal Objects Inside The Drums
Accidentally washing metal coins, bobby pins, and safety pins are quite unavoidable, but this can be a problem if you lose them inside the washing machine.
These metal objects are quite small, so they can easily get into the machine’s parts. As your washing machine does its magic, these metal objects may be thrown around and cause abrasions to the stainless steel surface of your washing machine.
If the stainless steel is damaged, rust can easily occur and spread throughout the drums. In addition, metal objects like bobby pins can easily become rusted themselves after a few days in the damp environment inside the washing machine.
As we’ve learned, rust can spread quite easily, so if a metal object inside the machine is rusted, your washing machine drum will soon suffer the same fate.
To avoid this issue, you should always check your clothing and empty out pockets to make sure they are free from loose metal pins or coins before washing.
If you spot any metal objects inside the washing machine, make sure to remove them right away to keep them from getting into the nooks and crannies and wreaking havoc inside the machine.
Rusted Pipes
Older homes usually have old iron pipes that have become rusted over time. If you have a spotless washing machine but still find brown spots and stains in your laundry, chances are it’s not your washing machine but the pipes themselves.
This is usually a problem that you’ll need to get a plumber to help solve. In these cases, you will need to replace the pipes to get rid of the problem.
How To Make Rusted Washing Machine Look New Again
If you have identified rust in the interior or exterior of your machine, fortunately, there are simple ways that you can get rid of it.
Let’s take a look at how to remove interior and exterior rust below.
Interior Rust
Interior rust is very simple to remove as you can take advantage of the washing machine’s cleaning mechanism to get rid of the rust.
In most instances, you can use vinegar and lemon juice, which have acidic properties that can dissolve the rust in just a few hours. If the rusted area is too big or stubborn, you can also use a Rust Remover using the same steps.
Here’s how to remove rust from the interior of your washing machine:
- Before going ahead with the rust removal process, it’s best to check the washing machine first to see if the culprit is a safety pin lost inside the machine’s body. If your machine has an agitator (which is common for top-loading machines), you should be able to remove the agitator to check if any small objects are trapped inside. If you find any small metal objects or debris, you should remove all of them. Afterward, you can reattach the agitator if needed.
- If you are using vinegar and lemon juice, mix ¼ cup of lemon juice with two cups of vinegar. This solution is highly acidic and will be able to dissolve the rust inside your machine. If you are using a rust remover, you can skip straight to step 3.
- Pour your rust remover of choice (either the vinegar/lemon solution or the rust remover) into the detergent dispenser.
- Run a wash cycle with the empty washer, adjust the machine’s settings to hot water and let the machine soak in the solution for about an hour.
- After the machine has run through the cycle, check the interior of your machine, and wipe down any debris with a clean cloth. All the rust should be completely removed from the machine after this step.
- After cleaning the machine, it’s important to inspect it again to make sure that the rust has been removed. If the rust still persists, it’s time to replace your washing machine.
Exterior Rust
If your washing machine has rusted on the outside, you may think that this is just an aesthetic issue and not think much of it.
However, it’s important to remove exterior rust as soon as you spot it because it can easily spread to other parts of the machine and cause issues for your laundry.
Similarly to interior rust, you can also easily remove exterior rust using the same vinegar and lemon juice solution or rust remover if the rust appears to be stubborn.
Here’s how to remove exterior rust:
- Mix your rust removal solution using two cups of hot water, two cups of white vinegar, and ¼ cup of lemon juice. You can also use rust remover in place of this solution. To apply the solution, you can pour it inside a spray bottle.
- Spray the solution all over the rusted surface and let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes. After this time, the rust should be dissolved enough to be wiped away with a clean cloth.
- If the surface appears rough, you can use medium-grit sandpaper to sand down the entire area to create a smooth surface. Then, you can wipe down the entire area with a clean cloth.
How To Restore Washing Machine’s Exterior
After sanding down the outside of your washing machine, you may find that your washing machine is a long way from looking ‘like new.’
This is not just an aesthetic problem, of course. Rust is very likely to return again if you don’t provide proper coverage for your washing machine. This step will help restore the look of your washing machine’s exterior as well as protect it from further corrosion.
For this part, you will need a body filler that will adhere to metal (like steel or aluminum) as well as a rust-resistant metal primer and enamel paint in the color of your choice.
Here’s how to restore the exterior of your washing machine:
- Mix the body filler according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Body fillers usually come in two parts: a filler and a hardener, and the solution will start to cure when you mix in the hardener, so you’ll need to work quickly.
- With a putty knife or an applicator, fill in all of the corroded areas with the hardener.
- As the mixture hardens, use medium-grit sandpaper to sand down the area to create a smooth surface for painting. After sanding, you can wipe the surface clean to prepare it for painting.
- Apply a rust-resistant metal primer all over the exterior of your washing machine. This step will provide a layer of protection for your washing machine and help the paint adhere better to the surface when it is applied.
- Apply a coat of enamel paint all over the surface of the washing machine. You can use a color that matches the existing color of your washing machine or paint it a different color to refresh it. You will need at least two coats of enamel paint to provide decent coverage for the washing machine. You should let the first coat dry completely before applying a second coat.
- After re-painting your washing machine, you should be able to keep the rust at bay for a few years. If you spot new signs of rust, you can repeat these steps to refresh the look of your washing machine.
How To Prevent Rusting
Rusting is a natural process that’s quite unavoidable, but there are things that you can do to protect against rust and slow down the rusting process.
One of the easiest things you can do is to always check your laundry before washing and remove any pins, coins – or loose metal objects that can get lost inside the machine.
For items with metal zippers and clasps, you should wash them inside a mesh laundry bag to keep them from bouncing against the washing machine or getting stuck in the machine itself.
In addition, you should avoid using bleach and other harsh chemicals in your washing machine. If you need to bleach your clothes, you can do that separately and only use the washing machine to rinse your clothes to keep the bleach from doing damage to the stainless steel.
To keep the moisture at a minimum, you should always empty your washer right after a wash cycle. Keeping damp clothes in your washing machine for a long time is not just bad for your clothes; it’s also trapping moisture inside your machine and causing the stainless steel drum to rust faster.
On the same note of keeping moisture at bay, you should allow your laundry area to ‘air out’ after washing. If it’s not possible, keeping a dehumidifier around the laundry area to reduce the humidity, especially after using the machine, can be a huge help.
You can also keep your washing machine clean by wiping both the interior and exterior of the machine using a clean and dry cotton cloth once a week. This simple step can keep stains and moisture at bay, which will prevent rusting in the future.
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