green sludge in washing machine

every so often i get a build up a green sludgy material at the top of my washing machine where the fabric softner goes in. Any ideas what it is or how to stop it. I've never had this problem with any other washers. thanks

odds are it's the product you use, which has been slightly modified by an innocuous mold. There are a billion molds out there, and once they take a liking to a brand of soap or softener, you can't prevent it from growing into a colony (that is the term for mold growth visible to the eye.)

Washing machines are not designed to prevent water from sloshing around in the soap feed tray area, so I figure some of this gooey product stuck to pipe walls sometimes gets pushed back up to the tray it came from.

david