How To Clean Your Front Load Washer Naturally

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You use your washing machine for cleaning clothes and, well, washing things. But have you ever actually taken the time to clean your washing machine?

It may surprise you to learn that even washing machines need to be cleaned from time to time. Over time the increased humidity and moisture builds up on the inside of your washing machine and it can lead to mold, mildew, and other gross smells. Yuck!

Cleaning your washer is even more important if you live in places like Florida where mold and mildew are prevalent due to the humidity in the air.

Front load washers, like ours, are also more susceptible to requiring deep cleaning needed because they are more prone to yucky smells. In fact, according to Consumer Reports, 17% of all front load washer owners reported mold and mildew build-up in their machines, compared to only 1-3% of top-load washing machines.

The modern front loading washing machine also requires a different method of cleaning than many older top-load machines.

It’s a good thing that cleaning your washing machine isn’t hard to do! You can make it a regular part of your cleaning routine as a busy working mom with not much effort.

Today we’re going to walk you through the entire process of just how to clean your front-loading washing machine using 3 natural ingredients!

How do you know when it is time to clean your washing machine?

Well, in our case, it was more than obvious! If dirty pictures gross you out – quick, scroll ahead!

Before Pictures of Dirty Washing Machine

Yuck, right? It was clearly time to clean our front loading washing machine.

Here’s some tall tale signs that you need to clean your washer:

• You know when even though you’re using an awesome odor fighting laundry detergent and there’s still a weird smell being left behind in your clothes, it’s time to clean your washing machine out!
• Open the door and take a big whiff – if it smells musty, moldy or just gross, it’s time to learn how to clean your washing machine.
• Peel back the seal of your rubber gasket…if you see mold or any yuckiness, it’s time.

The more we’ve used our washing machine the past several months with a growing family, the dirtier it has become. We’ve been busier than ever, so cleaning our washing machine has really taken a back seat and it’s gotten really bad!

It was in desperate need of deep cleaning, so I thought it would be a perfect chance to teach you how to clean your front load washing machine naturally! I think you’re going to love this tutorial!

How to Clean a Washing Machine in a Few Simple Steps!

Step 1. Make the vinegar cleaning solution.

I mix about half water and half white distilled cleaning vinegar. We use the cleaning vinegar, which is slightly more acidic. Regular white distilled vinegar works just fine too!

It is important to dilute the vinegar with water because vinegar by itself can damage rubber seals and hoses in some washing machines. Diluting the vinegar with water brings the acidity down to a safer level to be used on the rubber parts of the washing machine, like the gasket.

If you don’t like the smell of vinegar, you can mix in some essential oils. I added about 10 drops of lavender.

Safety tip – Never ever mix vinegar with bleach! You’ll notice that I do not use any bleach in our DIY washing machine cleaner solution, but I just wanted to point it out in case you were wondering if maybe adding beach would help…Don’t!

If you decide to use bleach instead, that’s fine. Just don’t add vinegar! For DIY washer cleaner, we used natural ingredients like vinegar and baking soda.

Step 2. Wipe down washing machine using the water and vinegar solution.

Dip a cleaning rag in your vinegar/water solution and start wiping! I usually wipe down the washing machine in this order:

• Entire outside of washer
• Inside of door (this is really where grim builds up)
• The rubber gasket seal (this is where the mold usually is hiding…we’re going to really deep clean this later, so just wipe it down right now)

Vinegar (an acid) is great for cleaning and lifting hard water stains.

Step 3. Clean soap trays and drawer.

Remove your soap trays and wash those in the kitchen sink. Wipe down the entire inside of the drawer with the rag soaked with the vinegar solution.

If you have a lot of built-up grime in the detergent drawer, you can add some baking soda and scrub with an old toothbrush.

The baking soda helps add some scouring power to the mixture (along with the bristles of the toothbrush).

Baking soda (or sodium bicarbonate) is a mild alkaline that acts as a gentle abrasive as a powder. Also, chemically, baking soda helps clean and deodorize odors.

Step 4. Empty and clean the washing machine filter.

Be sure you take out the filter and get all the gunk out. We DEFINITELY were overdue for cleaning ours out.

I can’t believe how much stuff was in there! We also found one of my toddler’s socks, goodness gracious.

Once you toss everything out from inside the filter into the trash, you can give the filter a good rinse in the sink.

If there is any grime or mold growing on the filter, scrub with the baking soda and vinegar solution before putting it back into the washing machine.

Warning – Before you open up your washing machine filter door, be sure to line your floor with towels. A surprising amount of water usually comes out and goes under the machine (could be up to a quart of water).

We always have multiple full-size towels ready. To get it nice and dry, feed a dry towel under the machine and out the corner to dry everything up.

Step 5. Clean the rubber gasket of the washing machine.

Sprinkle rubber seal (aka rubber gasket…aka door boot…whatever you wanna call it) with baking soda.

To really start fighting that mold and mildew, sprinkle the inside of the gasket with baking soda and start scrubbing with your rag dipped in the vinegar. Most of it will wipe right up.

For the tough spots, you can grab a toothbrush and scrub. The combination of baking soda, vinegar, and toothbrush really is the secret sauce when you’re cleaning your washing machine.

I find the bottom part of the seal gets the worst. This is probably because if there’s any water left in the washing machine, this is where it would rest.

For this area, you can sprinkle baking soda all over (on both the inside of the seal and back behind it as well). Then soak your entire rag in the vinegar cleaning solution and tuck it into the rubber gasket and back behind it too. Let that sit for a good ten minutes or so.

Next, grab the soaked rag, wipe everything again.

Step 6. Run the washing machine clean cycle.

Toss the rest of your baking soda into the drum of the washing machine along with any towels or rags you used.

Fill the soap tray with a full cup of the vinegar cleaning solution.

Next, run your washing machine on the “Self Clean” cycle (or just the longest/hottest cycle if you don’t have a cleaning cycle). It may also be called “Sanitize” on your washing machine. Ours goes a full 4 hours!!

This clean cycle has a speed that is strong enough and hot enough to whip the gunk off of the inside of the machine. Adding the baking soda and vinegar solution helps break down the gunk.

After your washing machine is done with the clean cycle, open the door immediately and wipe everything down again to dry.

For best results, here’s some front load washing machine maintenance tips to use going forward:

• To keep the mold at bay, always keep the front load washing machine door open when it’s not in use. This helps BIG TIME to prevent mold from growing. We definitely try to do this in our house, even though our toddler hates it when any doors are opened. (Yes, even my 2 yr old is Type A).
• It also helps to keep the dispenser drawer where you add the detergent open so it has a chance to dry out in between uses.
• Empty filter every 2 months. You can see we weren’t…ahem…doing this. Gross.
• Repeat this tutorial for how to clean washing machine every few months (or when you start noticing the grime building up on the door or in the rubber seal). Most washing machine manufacturers recommend a dep cleaning of this nature at least every 6 months.
• Wipe out the drain of the rubber seal frequently…especially if you have dogs like we do. Hello, dog hair.
• Try clipping a washcloth to the side of your washing machine as a subtle reminder to wipe the rubber gasket, drum and glass door down. Then just toss the washcloth into the machine when done and it will clean with the next load.
• Get in the habit of wiping down the glass on the washer door in addition to the rubber gasket.
• If you’re looking for an alternative way to clean the inside of your washing machine, you could also try to tablets. Although, I’ve never tried them, I’ve heard from several readers that mention they work great. Several recommended Affresh Washing Machine Tablets.

Look at how pretty it is now?!

Cleaning your washing machine is a not-so-fun part of adulting, but if you stay on top of it, it shouldn’t take long to get your front-loading washing machine spic and span again! Armed with the awesome Persil laundry detergent and a super clean washing machine your clothes will finally smelling fresh again!

How often do you clean your front load washing machine?

Let me know in the comments below!