There are numerous reasons to regularly clean your washer, both inside and out. The primary reason is that, although being made to clean your clothes, your washing machine frequently accumulates filthy materials from ordinary dirt and debris we get on our clothing and other washable materials, as well as from incidents involving the toilet and washing underwear.
Together with accumulation from hard water and detergent residue, all of this stuff leaves a layer of germs, mold, and mildew in your machine that can eventually combine to create an unpleasant, foul-smelling problem.
Washing your clothing in a dirty machine not only ruins them but also can cause bacteria to grow on them or give them an unpleasant odor. When you think about fecal material bacteria from your child’s diaper or underwear on your kitchen towel, can you say “gross”?
Fortunately, your machine can feel like new again and keep everything clean with a little preventative and routine maintenance.
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Tips For Cleaning Washing Machine Surfaces On The Outside
The interior of your washing machine, where you wash your garments, is the main area that needs cleaning. That does not negate the need for periodic cleaning of your machine’s exterior, though. Lint, dust, spilled laundry materials, and other debris can contaminate the outside of your washer. Thankfully, cleaning the exterior surfaces is simple.
Avoid using anything too harsh that could harm the surface or anything abrasive that could scratch it. A mixture of water and a few drops of dish soap ought to work instead. Wipe it down with this solution on a moist towel, then rinse with water and pat dry.
Use extreme caution when cleaning the area of your washing machine that houses the controls, since you don’t want to get them too wet and break them.
Additionally, if you have a top loader, remember to clean and wipe down the lid and the area around the top of the washing tub to get rid of dirt, lint, soap scum, and other debris. The techniques I outline below won’t effectively clean these areas.
How to Keep Your Washing Machine Clean
Sanitizing the washing machine is one of the most crucial steps in cleaning its internal components. This will keep it smelling fresh while eliminating and killing mold, mildew spores, and nasty germs. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to sterilize your washing machine once a month.
First, use a moist cloth to remove the dirt and grime from the washer’s interior. Then, use hot water and a standard amount of detergent to run the machine on a long, long cycle while empty and without any garments in it. Add around one cup of chlorine bleach to the load as well.
Stop the washer in the middle of the cycle after it has filled entirely and has been agitated for a few minutes. This will allow the bleach to fully do its job and clean the washer’s interior. Allow the washer to complete the remainder of its cycle after that.
All traces of bleach should be eliminated at the end because the washer will perform a rinse cycle as it completes its load. To ensure that all bleach residue is removed, you can run an extra empty short cycle if you’re worried about bleach damaging your subsequent load of clothing.
Cleaning the washing machine, Soap scum, and hard water Build-Up
Hard water buildup, soap scum, and detergent residue from your laundry detergent and other laundry supplies are other causes of a dirty washing machine. I would advise getting rid of soap scum approximately every four to six weeks because it can cause your clothes to become drab and grey. Furthermore, it’s advisable to deal with hard water buildup on a regular basis to prevent it from becoming too severe because it can eventually hinder your machine’s mechanics or clog the hoses.
The procedures for cleaning soap scum and hard water in your washing machine are the same as those for sanitizing your washer, with the exception that vinegar is used in place of bleach. Simply fill a large empty load with hot water and add 3–4 cups of distilled white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar). However, do not add detergent to this load.
Once more, let it rest in the middle of the cycle for 15 to 20 minutes, or even longer (up to an hour or more), so that the vinegar’s acidity can work to remove the detergent residue and limescale from the washing machine basket and other areas. Once more, your machine’s rinse cycle should remove any last traces of the vinegar, but if you want to eliminate any more vinegar odor, you can run a quick cycle thereafter.
Read also: Things You Should Never Put in a Washing Machine