Cleaning the Washer Filter

A few days ago my roommate Lucie was trying to do laundry when the washer stopped mid-cycle. Ugh. We had no idea what the problem was, but online the general consensus seemed to be that cleaning the washer filter is a good idea and solves some problems. And we had never cleaned that before, so we decided to give it a try.
 

Twist that fucker off and get ready for some NASTY ASS WATER.

All washer models vary, but for our Bosch Nexxt 100 Series washer, we had to remove the white access panel on the front and then twist off the filter cover. Apparently some newer models have a hose to drain the excess water, but ours did not. TWIST OFF THE FILTER CAP SLOWLY and clean up the water that will leak out. Many sources online recommend using a wet vac for this, but we don’t have one so we had to improvise.
 
I didn’t document the experience in pictures, but I don’t think pictures would have done it justice. Pictures don’t capture the essence… the smell. It was so gross.

 
We had ample towels but were not prepared for how nasty that water would smell. We quickly realized towels weren’t the solution and we grabbed a mac and cheese box from the recycling. It had a light coating on the cardboard so it held up to water pretty well. We fashioned it into a tube (like a half pipe for skateboarders) and used it to direct water from the filter into a tray waiting on the floor. Success!
 
Upon opening the filter cover and removing it, we were met with a lot of gray slimy matter and dark black particles. And more disgusting smell. We cleaned with paper towels, and paper towels, and paper towels, and Q-tips. There is a hose connected to the filter which I assume is where water goes out, and that was also coated on the inside with more gray slimy matter. Unfortunately I couldn’t clean it very well without being much more invasive to the washer, so I only went as far as I could reach from the mouth of the hose.
 
Mostly clean! We put everything back together and tried to wash that nasty towel that got the worst of the filter water. The washing machine got through the wash cycle and then… stopped. Tried a couple more times and it wouldn’t even get through the wash cycle again.
 
Fuck.
 
We have no intention of keeping these machines as we already wanted to replace them before they started having problems. We just hadn’t gotten around to it yet because hey, they were working well enough. No use paying to repair these now, let’s just buy a new set. Our new washer/dryer is coming but they can’t deliver until February 18, nearly 2 months away. #homeownership