• Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    

    MyThirtySpot

    When Girl Meets 30

  • Beauty
  • Fashion
  • Health
  • For The Home
    • Entertaining
  • Family
  • Life
    • Relationships
  • Travel
  • Love for Thirty Project
  • Shop

MyThirtySpot

When Girl Meets 30

How To Wash Your Washing Machine

December 15, 2010 By Erin Kennedy 24 Comments

 

How did I not ever know about this? No one ever told me.  It never occurred to me that my washing machine needed washing, and I have owned a few washing machines over the last 10 years. Doesn’t it get clean while washing the clothes? I mean there is soap with each load right?

Looking back, I realized there have been times in my life when things get so busy that I have completely forgotten about a load of wash in the machine for a few days. I am sure you all know what I am talking about.  When I go to do another load of wash I discover that rancid mildewy smell that takes your breath away. So I would just re-wash the clothes and move on. I never knew that the mildew could stay in the washer, not to mention after many washes, your washer can grow mold. It also holds dirty water, mineral deposits, detergent deposits and feces can stay in the washer. This means that all the other clothes that you are trying to wash, come into contact with all that junk. It wasn’t until I smelled my washer without any clothes in it, and realized it smelled a little funky. That funk is coming into contact with my clean clothes and then thrown into the dryer with that funk drying into them. There is nothing worse than getting out of the shower and smelling that rancid smell on your towels.

Gross!

Here are some ways to clean your cleaning machine:

Whichever option you choose make sure you don’t mix them together. I personally have only done the bleach option and it has worked well for me. I think I might try the vinegar next time. Always let air dry with the lid open.

Bleach: Kills bacteria and any feces left behind. Will also remove any stains, prevents slime and mold. Fill your machine with hot water and set the water level on high. Add 2 cups of bleach and let it run through the entire cycle.

Vinegar: Distilled white vinegar, a non-toxic alternative. Removes soap scum, grease and odors.
Fill machine with warm water and add about half-gallon vinegar. Run through the entire cycle.

Lemon Juice:  For rust and odor removal.  Add 1 cup lemon juice to hot water on high-level and run through the whole cycle.

**Remember when cleaning your washer to make sure it is empty of clothes.
***For best results try to clean once a month.

If you have a front loading washer, then be sure to check out How to Clean Your Front Loading Washer and Get Rid of that Smell!

Filed Under: For The Home

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    June 20, 2012 at 12:16 am

    So u give directions for an older type washer but post photo of front loader, how do I use these tricks with a front loader? Can’t fill with hot water first?????!!!!

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    June 20, 2012 at 2:44 am

    I was wondering the same thing!!!

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    June 20, 2012 at 4:19 am

    Does the front loaders have a dispenser for bleach? If so I would use it.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says

    June 30, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    I have a front loader that allows me to pause. Once the initial water is in the machine, I pause the cycle then add vinegar.

    Reply
    • Jen says

      May 29, 2014 at 2:44 am

      Makes sense. Thank you!

      Reply
  5. [email protected]tness says

    August 15, 2012 at 2:54 pm

    lol please make sure washer isn’t full of clothes… Common sense would tell me that but then again seems now days people don’t have much of that anymore! :) anyway, that made me laugh

    Reply
  6. Sheila.reed says

    September 18, 2012 at 2:59 am

    How do you clean inside of a dryer ?

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    September 28, 2012 at 5:13 pm

    How do you do these tips with a modern machine that is HE so it detects by weight how many clothes there are. If I dont have any it wont start.

    Reply
  8. My Thirty Spot says

    October 2, 2012 at 3:45 am

    Hi Sheila. Reed. There is not much you need to do to clean a dryer. You can just wipe out the inside with a dry cloth and you can also read this post:
    How To Get Your Dryer To Last Twice As Long

    Reply
    • Virginia Comerford says

      June 6, 2014 at 8:10 pm

      I would put a few rags in the machine that you might use for dusting, etc…or some dish towels. This way you don’t have to use the vinegar with your clothes.

      Reply
  9. My Thirty Spot says

    October 2, 2012 at 3:52 am

    Hi Anonymous,

    Thanks for commenting. Your comment stumped me. I have an old fashion top loading washer, so I didn’t even know they made those types of machines. I need to get with it. I would suggest using the vinegar method and just include it with some clothes. The vinegar will wash out of your clothes and won’t leave a smell.

    xoxo

    Reply
  10. niel says

    December 28, 2012 at 6:41 am

    Hello.
    How often should this be done?

    Reply
  11. My Thirty Spot says

    December 29, 2012 at 12:14 am

    Hi Niel,

    I would suggest that you do this 2-3 times a year, or if you start to smell a funky odor coming from your washer.

    Thanks for commenting!

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

    January 11, 2013 at 5:12 am

    I use vinegar in the fabric softner dispense(of my front loading machine) in 6 or 8 loads of clothes when I notice that smell. It gets rid of it and the clothes do not smell like vinegar.

    Reply
  13. Anonymous says

    November 1, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    This just happened to my washer. It put black mildew all over a white load of clothes. And it did have that stinky smell, but I thought that it was coming from the drain and not the machine. My machine is less than a year old (Whirlpool water-saver). I am not that crazy about this water-saver model. But as soon as I realized that it was mildew, I put it on the clean cycle (it has one and uses lots of water to do this) and put in a 1/2 cup of Charlie’s soap and ran it through and then did another clean cycle with a 1/2 gallon of white vinegar. I will be using vinegar in my wash loads more often now.

    Reply
  14. Mamma says

    January 16, 2014 at 4:02 pm

    I had a front load washer and once a month I put vinegar in the detergent area, softener area, and bleach area, ran the machine with the hottest water through all the cycles, let the machine dry with the door open, That is the key after every wash too. If you do this once a month your machine will stay fresh.

    Reply
  15. Anonymous says

    April 24, 2014 at 5:37 pm

    Phew, I’m glad the bleach will remove any remnants of feces left in my washing machine. (WHAT?!)

    Reply
    • Anonymous says

      May 30, 2014 at 12:51 pm

      Cloth diapers are making a comeback.

      Reply
  16. Shawn says

    November 1, 2015 at 11:18 pm

    Thank you. I know your post is old but since I bought my home and spent about $1,800 + tax on a new washer and dryer (house didn’t come with any) I was looking for something to help maintain it. I didn’t have enough vinigar or lemon juice on hand so I am now running a load with bleach,

    Reply
  17. Shannon says

    April 23, 2016 at 2:53 am

    I always leave my door open when not in use, and wash every load of towels with bleach (all white). I never have odor issues.

    Reply
  18. Amanda Bowen says

    June 15, 2016 at 12:31 pm

    So using white vinegar in your wash with clothes can essentially remove oders from clothes? How about disinfecting clothes any typos because I have to use public machines and I’m noticing a huge difference in our clothes and I’m not happy.

    Reply
    • Erin Kennedy says

      June 15, 2016 at 12:44 pm

      I have a post that gets the funk out of towels, it would work the same on clothes I am sure. You should try it. https://www.mythirtyspot.com/de-funk-your-bath-towels/

      Reply
  19. Amanda Bowen says

    June 15, 2016 at 12:32 pm

    That comment ment to say do you have any tips for disinfecting clothes

    Reply
  20. Linda Scofield says

    February 19, 2017 at 2:25 pm

    I have a relatively new washer, 1 year old. I do not have HOT WATER, only cold. My towels are also relatively new because I can’t stand the oily smell and have replaced them several times. They move the water around on my body they don’t driy me and they are 100 Cotton.. I use a non-smell liquid detergent and no softner. HELP!!!!!!!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome

Erin Kennedy is the editor of My Thirty Spot, a lifestyle blog for sharing tips and stories for women in their 30s to live the best 30 lives we can. Read More →

Never miss a post!

Get the latest posts and articles sent straight to your inbox

  • Contact
  • Write for MTS
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
POPSUGAR Select PLUS

Copyright © 2023 My Thirty Spot · Implemented by WPopt

Copyright © 2023

7ads6x98y
MENU
  • Beauty
  • Fashion
  • Health
  • For The Home
    • Entertaining
  • Family
  • Life
    • Relationships
  • Travel
  • Love for Thirty Project
  • Shop