3 years ago when we bought our home, my husband and I jumped on the front loading band wagon and got ourselves a pretty, modern-looking, shiny new washer and dryer. You may not even believe me when I tell you my husband had to convince ME to get it. He couldn’t wait to do laundry and even said he would do all the laundry if I would fold. I gladly accepted that offer, but 3 years later I’m doing both the laundry AND folding, so who’s the fool here?
We didn’t know that with these front loaders came a few issues. Obviously we were blinding by the popularity of these machines and the sleek look. The washer STINKS! Smells like moldy crap after a bunch of uses. Again, being new to these kind of machines, I didn’t know the proper care that goes into the front loaders and learned the hard way.
The stinky, mold smell does transfer on to some of your clothing, but the main thing I’m having an issue with is our towels. All my towels have a funky odor to them. I thought I was leaving them in the washer too long after they finished, but that wasn’t the problem. It was the washer itself, leaving build-up on the towels and making them smell.
So if you are like us, and I’m sure there are many of you out there with front loaders, you may wonder how to fix this problem. It’s pretty simple – Monthly cleaning of the front loader and ongoing spot cleaning after each load – simple as that! I will give you a step by step of how to clean and freshen up your front loader with just a few simple household items.
What you need for cleaning your front loading washer:
- Bleach
- Distilled Vinegar
- Old rags
Step 1: Check your machine for any mold or grime.
Be sure to check your machine for any build up of mold or grime. Take a towel and run it through the rubber seal and other outlets. Take out the detergent drawer and check that out as well. Clean that out or soak in some soapy water. With an old tooth brush, I cleaned the basket and inside the compartment where the drawer goes. The tooth brush got into all the nooks and crannies and cleaned out any build up that was there.
Step 2: Bleach Cycle.
Now that your drawer is clean, it’s time to clean the basket-this is where most of the issues begin. Mold definitely builds up so we need to kill that with some bleach! Be sure the door is closed, measure out 1 cup of bleach and put it where your liquid detergent would go. Run your washer on the longest setting with HOT water. Let it run and do its thing.
Step 3: Run it again!
After the bleach cycle is complete, I ran the same cycle again, with just the HOT water. I’ve read other places that people have skipped this step and gone straight to the next one, but I wanted to make sure all the bleach was out. After this cycle is complete, I went in and sopped up some of the liquid that was caught in and around the rubber seal. Make sure you use an old rag in case there is some bleach left over in that liquid.
Step 4: Vinegar Cycle.
Measure out 1 cup of white distilled Vinegar and place it in the liquid detergent compartment. Again, be sure the door is shut. Run on a longer, heavy load setting in HOT water. Let that run. The vinegar helps deodorizer the basket to help with that stink!
Step 5: Run it again!
After the vinegar cycle, run a hot water cycle or if your machine has a cleaning setting, run that.
Step 6: Let it Dry.
After the last cycle is complete, get a rag and wipe down any remaining liquid in the rubber seals and around the door. Be sure to leave the door open to dry at least over night along with the detergent drawer. Your machine should be nice and sparkly in the morning!
After I did all the above steps, my machine smelt delicious and looked extra sparkly on the inside. I know it seems like a lot of cycles are going, but by doing this at least once a month will help maintain a fresh smelling washer. Be sure to wipe down any liquid in the seals after every load you do and keep the door and detergent drawer open to dry out. You can even remove the drawer when you are done your wash, rinse it and leave it on a towel to dry. Good maintenance like this will only help you and your clothes in the long run!
Now that the stank is gone, my next mission is to tackle the grimy towel problem!
– Amanda
