Detergent drawer problem, Bosch washing machine WAA20160GB

Hello

Whilst my mother was away I went over to look after her house and found that the detergent draw of the washing machine was thick with black mould.

I took it out and throughly cleaned it - it was so bad I had to use a Dettol mould-killer spray on it (Dettol mould and mildew remover in a green spray bottle).

One I had it all cleaned I noticed the housing where it goes in also had a lot of mould in it. I was reluctant to use the mould spray in there as it has bleach in it, but nothing else would shift it so I used it and a toothbrush then rinsed it as best I could with a sponge, and then immediately put two empty boil washes on to flush it all through. I hope I haven't damaged it but it seems OK and I couldn't think of any other way to deal with it. Do you think it'll be OK?

Second trouble is that the front of the drawer came off whilst I was cleaning it - the part which contains the handle with "Bosch" written on it that you actually pull. It seems to be designed to deatch, I presume for cleaning, so it should be OK. But when I clip it back on using the two clips and catches, it only seems to attach properly at the top, so when you pull the drawer out it's flexing at the bottom and easily comes off again.

I can't see any other attachment at the bottom - there is a housing which doesn't seem to fit quite as it should but I can't see any other way of fixing it - it doesn't seem to have any catches on it anywhere else. I can't see anything I might have broken.

Can anyone advise if you think I'll have harmed the washing machine with how I cleaned it and how I might be able to get the drawer front back on properly please?

I have checked the manual but it just says how to remove the entire draw and doesn't give any real advice on cleaning the housing.

Preferably before my mum comes back in a few days time LOL

You will not have damaged the machine at all so don't worry about that. You could stick the front cover on with a drop of super glue if you are worried about it, but I doubt it will come off again during normal use. I think you have actually done them a big favour in grotting it out.

Thank you, it's a relief to know I haven't damaged it at any rate!

I noticed the fabric conditioner bit of the draw still has the odd spot of black mold in it, loose at the end of a wash cycle (I did two boil-wash cycles to rinse it all out and then a cycle with some commercial washing machine cleaning solution to de-grot the insides) so I think it's still being flushed out of the jets at the top even now!

I've noticed the fabric conditioner bit doesn't entirely empty - as the draw is now clean I can only assume the holes which dispense the water are still a little big clogged despite my efforts with a toothbrush and the mould cleaner. I think perhaps a pipe cleaner to go up the holes a bit, or those interdental toothbushes if I can find one.

Someone on another forum suggested a steam cleaner - I've just bought one but I thought the steam it produced might be too hot for plastics like that.