How To Deep Clean Your Washing Machine

How often do you clean your washing machine?

We send our clothes through the washer to get them clean, but do we ever take time to actually clean our washer? It may sound silly, but you should clean out your washer every 6-8 months, depending on how often you’re using it. The soap residue builds up in your machine, not to mention all the things we end up washing off of the cloths – dirt, oils, etc. It makes sense then, that every once in a while we’d need to hit the “refresh” button on the washing machine to keep it running like new! Follow these easy steps for cleaning your machine. You’ll be surprised at what a difference it makes!

Hot Water & Bleach

Via wrappedinrust.com

The first step is to fill your machine with hot water. Then, add a quart of chlorine bleach to the water and let it agitate for about a minute. Let this mixture sit in the machine for about an hour in order disinfect and clean all the little nooks and crannies in the machine.

Long Cycle

Next, run the machine on the longest cycle with the bleach mixture still inside. This will ensure the solution gets into all of the spaces the water and soap would during a normal washing machine cycle.

Repeat

Repeat the agitation, waiting an hour, and running the longest cycle again, but this time use a quart of white vinegar instead of bleach when adding to the hot water. This time, while you’re waiting for the cycle to end, you can wipe down the outside of the machine with a warm rag, making sure to clean the places you touch with your hands most often – the knobs, buttons, and edge of the door. Wipe down the side of the machine as well where dust might collect.