Ugh. I opened up the washer and started tossing things into the dryer and noticed the "gel" stuff - -EVERYWHERE. My daughter is potty trained, but I put pull-ups on her at night and sometimes during the day if we'll be in the car a long time, or sometimes for naptime. (Will be re-thinking this strategy).
Anyone been there or have any advice? I let it be overnight, but I don't think that it will dry out to a degree that will let me brush it or vaccuum it up.
Thanks so much. I tried everything suggested and finally have my washer/dryer back. I think I must have washed 4 times and dried 2 times when all was said and done. I LOVED the salt idea. I did that twice and it seemed to work the best.
"next time" or advice I would give would be to try the salt 1-2 times, then wash with detergent, then dry once clean. This was a Huggie Pullup and the gel never did dry enough - either air dry or in the dryer - that I could brush or shake it off.
I hope it's advice that's not needed : )
put the entire load back through the wash - you may have to wash and dry a couple times, but it comes off - i promise! I've been there!
QUICK AND EASY SOLUTION!!!
Use an entire container of table salt (the kind you refill the salt shakers from, about 89 cents at safeway) in your washer with the clothes, re-run the washer cycle with the salt in there(no detergent). If you tightly packed the washer with clothes, it may take two cycles of this. Salt is a desiccant, it will chemically break the bonds holding the gel together, causing it to dissolve and be washed away harmlessly. :)
Best of luck, from a mom who's done this more times than she cares to recount!
When this happened to me, I just ran the load of laundry again with some more soap, and the stuff was gone. Good luck!
A WET-DRY vac is what you need. It sucks everything up regardless if it is wet or dry, made by Black and Decker found at all hardware stores. I have 5 kids-4 boys and 1-girl there is not a mess that they have made that the WET-DRY vac has not been able to clean up.
The salt tip was a life saver! I was nearly in tears when I saw the mess in my washer. I took the load outside and shook as much off as I could. Then I ran the load through the washer again with a container of table salt. No gel visible when the load was finished. Clothes are drying now. Thank you for this great tip!!
Oh my gosh! This just happened to me too! My load of clothes (and the pull up) went through the dryer, too. Yuck! I only noticed it when I was cleaning out the lint trap. Fortunately, I didn't find any beads left in the dryer or on the clothes. I did rewash everything just to be sure. Whew!
My only advice is to be very careful you get it all out of the dryer and to clean your lint screen really well. You must be sure you have nothing in there that could cause a dryer fire in your house. Never leave your dryer on when you are not home or awake.
I had the same gel stuff everywhere when I let a nursing pad go thru the washer. Just wipe up as many of the beads as you can...I wouldn't vacuum with a household vacuum as they may get stuck in the hose...maybe a shop vac? If you want you can run a small empty load to clean it out. I was able to wipe any out of the tub...Every where else seemed to have rinsed out.
I washed a "squishy" pillow once and it ripped in the washer and all the tiny little foam beads were ALL OVER THE PLACE! Not as big a pain as that gel, I'm sure, but a PAIN nontheless!
That stinks!I don't have any other ideas than what the other ladies said. I just wanted to give you a little encouragement!
Hang in there!
Hello!
I've had this happen a couple of times. What I've done is just ran the washer again with no clothes and the gel stuff just washed away. It's been a couple of months now and the washer still works well, so I guess it was safe to do. Good luck!
A.
Oh, good GRIEF!!! What a bummer! I did this about 6 months ago and it was a nightmare to clean! I put all the clothes outside to air-dry because you can't re-wash them with the gel on it, it just swishes around and lands back on the clothes. So air-dry everything, the gel will dry out and you can give the clothes a good shake. Now, for the washer...this is a little harder. Leave the lid open so you can wipe up or vacuum what is dried out. A lot of those little gel-beads will have gone inside the washer, in the holes and will come back out again for your next wash, so run the washer and let it dry out at least 2 more times, or keep doing that until you wipe them all up or they get rinsed out. Then it will be safe to use again.
I do not envy you today. Sorry that happened.
I've used a hose to hose most of it off. My husband has shook out each piece of clothing...We've had this happen a couple of times. Let the clothes air dry and it will be easier to get off, still a pain but a little easier.
I'm sorry to hear that. It happened to me before. To get rid of the gel stuff, I turned on the washer with no cloth. So the water would clean the washer. The I washed the clothes again. It worked for me. Give it a try and see what happen.
What about putting a fan in front of the open door and blowing the air in to dry out the interior better. Another idea would be to use diaper wipes. Is there an 800# on the pull-up package? I'm sure you're not the first person this has happened to.
Let us know what worked.
Blessings,
D.
