Cleaning New Speed Queen

9 years ago

Thanks to all the great advice here I went from never having heard of Speed Queen to buying a new Speed Queen top loading washer. I'm sure it's going to be a great washer if I ever get to use it.

The instructions say to clean the inside of the drum with all purpose cleaner before the first use to get rid of factory dust. That sounded like a pain, so I just ran it with no clothes or soap in it, full of hot water and then checked. Nope, white paper towel comes away with lots of black stuff. That's some very persistent dust.

So I went at it this morning with Method all-purpose cleaner and some paper towels. Cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and the paper towels are still coming away with grey stuff.

So now I'm trying a few old towels, hot water, laundry detergent and a couple of drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid, which I use on laundry grease spots and which I'm hoping will help with what I think is some very greasy dust. I'm hoping the combination will sort of scrub the drum clean, but I'm not hopeful.

Any suggestions?

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Comments (8)

stir_fryi SE Mich
9 years ago
Seriously? I have never heard of having to scrub the drum of a brand new washing machine before using.

That is unacceptable for what that machine costs and I'd call your salesperson.
whirlpool_trainee
9 years ago
It's polishing agent used at the factory. Seems to be a problem (?) with Speed Queen washers - I've read about it several times.
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msl511
Original Author
9 years ago
The instructions say to use all purpose cleaner to clean factory dust from the drum before the first use. A quick wipe down is one thing and I wouldn't fuss. But having to go over it again and again has me a little put out. Meanwhile, my son is leaving for overnight camp on Tuesday and I have laundry to do!
mrb627
9 years ago
That grey residue has nothing to do with manufacturing dust at all. Go scrub your kitchen sink and the same 'tarnish' comes off on a paper towel.

I don't think it is anything to worry about, really.

MRB
emma
9 years ago
I didn't read that in my manual. I knew it might be a bit dirty from the building of it and washed a load of old towels. It was fine and the towels are fine. Maybe buying the cheapest washer I could find was a good decision after all. LOL
secsteve
9 years ago
It's actually not in the manual, but in the installation instructions which the delivery man was good enough to point out.

Instead of using 409, etc., I just washed a bunch of old towels that I use for cleaning and used the hot water setting. I did this twice and after the second load, all the dust was gone.

I love this SQ machine. My wash time is cut in half, no more cloths plastered to the washer drum, and the cloths come out cleaner.
msl511
Original Author
9 years ago
Just to follow up - the load of a few towels in hot water with detergent and a bit of Dawn helped a lot. It only took a little more wiping down with cleaner and paper towels to get it really clean.

It works nicely and holds a lot. I'm not finding clothes particularly drier after the spin cycle than I was getting with my old Maytag, but that's a passing comment, not a complaint. The spin cycle does just fine.

>>That grey residue has nothing to do with manufacturing dust at all. Go scrub your kitchen sink and the same 'tarnish' comes off on a paper towel.

My sink isn't stainless, but I take your point. But when I first started cleaning the washing machine, the paper towels were coming away black. The more I cleaned, the lighter they got until it got to the point where the paper towel came away clean. So there was SOMETHING there. All our regular towels are white and from Restoration Hardware, so not cheap. I really wasn't going to experiment with them.
pegandken
9 years ago
Just received my new SQ 412 TL washer last week. Before I did a load of wash I simply cleaned the inside tub with soapy warm water then ran the machine on a hot wash with detergent, unloaded. Washed 4 loads of clothes already and everything is coming out clean and fresh.