One of life’s great absurdities is having to clean the places that make us clean. They’re often the dirtiest places in the house.
Think soap scum in the shower. Food scraps in the bottom of kitchen sinks. Dishwasher grime and, of course, washing machines.
Soap scum and dirty sinks are often daily jobs and dishwashers need a good once over every few weeks. But how do you keep your washing machine clean?
The trouble with washing machines is their very nature encourages bacteria and mould. They are warm, moist and in an enclosed space. It’s like germ and mould nirvana.
Your appliance might also harbour detergent build up, scale and even a stale smell that can all be improved with a thorough clean.
How do you have confidence your machine is clean, bacteria and mould free and keeping you clean?
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Of course, you can buy commercial cleaners. But they will only clean the drum and pipes, not the doors or seals. For a complete clean, you are going to have to roll up your sleeves.
Here are some cleaning tips that should give you confidence about your next wash. They’re gentle on the environment, too.
Front loader
Tip two cups of vinegar into the detergent dispenser and run the hottest cycle. Repeat, but add a generous cup or two of bicarb soda directly into the drum.
Wipe all surfaces with a surface cleaner, preferably containing eucalyptus oil. Eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil has a natural anti-bacterial content and smells great. You can also add a couple of capfuls with the vinegar or bicarb cycles as above.
Bleach is often the preferred method of removing mould and bacteria. However, this can damage your appliances and is bad for the environment when washed into waterways. Oh, and it smells awful.
Not to say there’s not a place for bleach. Sometimes you just need to zap that mould out of existence. But use it with a light hand.
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Several drops of tea tree or eucalyptus oil on a wet cloth is also ideal to clean the seals which are a dirt trap in front loaders.
Wipe rigorously around the seals and if any soap scum remains, leave it for a short soak. Then scrub it with an old toothbrush or small scrubbing brush.
If you can remove the dispenser, take it out and give it a good scrub. Or, for a more thorough clean, put it in your next dishwasher load. Make sure you wipe the cavity with a tea tree or eucalyptus oil solution.
Top loaders
Two cups of vinegar and a hot load and then a generous cup of bicarb or two on another hot load. Once again – a couple of capfuls of tea tree or eucalyptus oil won’t go astray.
Wipe all surfaces with a tea tree oil or eucalyptus solution and similarly clean any seals.
The detergent and fabric softener dispenser is where you’ll find the most mould or dirt. If possible, remove and scrub them. At the very least, give them a good scrub with an old toothbrush or small scrubbing brush while it is in place. Then wipe down with tea tree oil or eucalyptus oil.
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General tips
It’s also a good idea to occasionally put a wash through your front or top loader with an anti-bacterial/anti-fungal laundry liquid sanitiser.
You can run a cycle by itself or with a full load. It works well on particularly filthy loads but also gives your machine a light clean.
Mould loves poorly ventilated, moist environments, so to prevent future build-up, leave the door open as much as possible. If you have a window in the laundry, also keep that open – weather permitting – when you can.
If your machine has a lint filter – not all do – make sure to clean it every other week.
And don’t be tempted to put extra detergent in a particularly dirty wash. It will leave soapy residue on your clothes and add to build up in your machine. If you think the load needs more cleaning, put it through again rather than dump more detergent in.
What’s your favourite cleaning tip? We’d love to hear about it in the comments section below.
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