Worms in My Washing Machine

“Do you have any idea what the little brown worms might be that live in washing machines?” is not the kind of question to throw out lightly at a dinner party in Arusha. In fact, it’s not even a question I’d pose to my best girlfriend. After all, washing machines are supposed to be clean, and the presence of worms, regardless of how small, precludes that.

It wasn’t worms I suspected initially as the problem. It was mould. My washing machine smelled funky inside. I read somewhere that a good healthy dose of vinegar can be used to clean out washing machines. So I selected “Rinse Hold” and “Medic Care Rinse” (hot) and poured an entire litre of white vinegar into the machine then went off to run errands.

A few hours later I drained the water out into the shower. Long ago rats chewed on the outlet tube when it was plugged into the proper drain (which has been plugged and a heavy container now sits on top of it). The shower drain is backed up so the rather murky water sat in the shower awhile. In the evening when I went to close the window I glanced into the shower and saw a bunch of little brown lines that looked like dead worms. Closer inspection revealed that they were larvae – brown, about half an inch long with teeny legs and hairs. Eek!

When in doubt Google it. “Brown worms in the washing machine” yielded a question by a stressed housewife in the backwoods of the United States. Her worms turned out to be a millipede problem. I decided to be more technically correct. “Brown larvae in washing machine” didn’t get me anywhere, but “Brown larvae in water” had better results. It led me to consider moth flies – also known as drain flies and sewer flies.

Moth flies, according to the Field Guide to Insects of South Africa by Mike Picker, et al. are in the family Psychodidae and are “small (body length 6mm or less), easily recognized by very broad and hairy wings that are held open, thus resembling small moths… Larvae feed on organic matter and aquatic fungi. Occur in very large numbers at sewerage plants, where they assist in breaking down fungal mats that clog filtration systems. Likewise, keep domestic drains from clogging with fungi.” I have seen the adult flies in my bathrooms.

So perhaps the larvae were in my washing machine eating the mould growing there? Further research on the Net explained that the larvae cling to the slimy sides of drains and waterways and carry air bubbles, allowing them to remain submerged for extended periods. You’d think they wouldn’t like the soap though.

Eventually it occurred to me that perhaps the larvae weren’t living in the washing machine at all, but in the drain. Perhaps the soaking in vinegar killed them and they floated up into the shower? More research is required. To be on the safe side though, I have put a new washing machine on my Christmas wish-list.

Photo above used with permission from University of Kentucky Entomology Department.
More information on drain flies can be found on the Web at:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef615.asp