Black flakes on clothes coming out of washing machine

pigtail33

After the last few washes, the clothes have been coming out of my washing machine with black flakes stuck to them. The flakes shake off the clothes, even when wet and don't leave any black marks.

So far I have ran a few 60° cycles, one with Soda Crystals, one with a Dettol Washing machine cleaner and one with Calgon. I've also ran vinegar through a cycle a few times. Each time, it loosens more flakes, but doesn't get rid of them. I have cleaned every accessible part of the machine - all around the seal, the drawer, the filter, drained it from the drain at the front, but there are still flakes appearing. I think it's also making the water murky as some of my white clothes are looking more cream coloured.

Any ideas what else I can try? It's a Bosch machine, 10 years old but hasn't had heavy use, only used once or twice most weeks. I've never used tablets in it, but would always use either powder or liquid.

Leg End Reject

Is the rubber seal perished?

pigtail33

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335376#Comment_122335376

No, not that I can see anyway. I noticed that a wash or rinse with one or two items seemed to get covered in the most amount of flakes. I'm assuming it's because the less number of items, the more room they have to move around in the machine. So I washed an old pair of pyjamas multiple times and that seems to have gotten rid of most of them.

I still don't know what they are, what caused them, or why it just started all of a sudden.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122337481#Comment_122337481

Could it be something under the drum, mould maybe? Leave the door wide open after each wash so it dries out after each wash as it's not used often.

Liquid detergent and fabric conditioner can cause a build up too.

pigtail33

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122337955#Comment_122337955

It seems to be coming from under the drum, and I do suspect it's a build up of fabric conditioner. I'm going to stop using it (apparently it's bad for the environment too) and just use vinegar for the rinse instead. Hopefully that will stop it from building up again.