Even though your washing machine is used to wash your clothing, it can still get dirty. This can happen when you wash something dirty, from hard water build up, or even from mold and mildew growing inside the machine. Here are the steps for how to clean the inside of a washing machine, to keep it clean and fresh for washing your clothes. front load washer door prop

Clean your washing machine routinely, about once a month. The best thing you can do to clean your machine is to do it on a routine basis, so that it never gets too dirty. The advantages for you, for doing it frequently, is that it will then not get a bad washing machine smell from bacteria and fungus growing in it, your clothes will come out cleaner and fresher each time, and each time you clean it will not be very difficult.

Wipe out the inside of the machine with a damp cloth, and also clean out the lint filter. Wiping out the inside of the machine will remove any lint and visible grime from inside the machine. In addition, the lint filter should also be cleaned regularly so that excess lint does not accumulate and cause problems for the machine.

Clean the detergent drawer with a bleach solution and a toothbrush. Any parts of your machine, such as your detergent drawer, or fabric softener or bleach dispenser, which regularly get damp can become places where mold grows. If you can remove these drawers take them out and wash them in a sink filled with hot water and a couple tablespoons of chlorine bleach. If the parts cannot be removed spray them with a bleach solution made of one teaspoon of bleach for every quart of water used. Use an old toothbrush to scrub away any dirt, mold or mildew.

Run your empty washing machine for a full cycle using hot water and bleach. To wash the inside of the machine fill it with hot water and let it run a full cycle. Add 3/4 cup of bleach for each gallon of water inside the machine, which will help disinfect and clean it. You may also want to take this step after you wash any really dirty or germy clothing, such as after you wash clothing that has been vomited on, or where there has been a potty training accident.

Clean the seals of the washing machine door to remove mold and mildew build up. Many times the seals on a washing machine door, if it is a front loader, will begin to harbor mold and mildew which can contribute to a smelly washing machine. To clean this up wipe down the seals with a toothbrush and the bleach solution mentioned above.

Remove hard water build up with a vinegar rinse. After you have removed all the mold and mildew, and disinfected the machine the only thing left to do is to get rid of any hard water build up and soap scum which may still be inside the machine. To do this run your machine again, this time adding 1 cup of distilled white vinegar in place of the bleach. Caution: do not try to combine the steps of running the machine with chlorine bleach and running the machine with vinegar, but do them separately, because you should not add both chlorine bleach and vinegar together.

If you take these steps routinely, about once a month, your washing machine will stay clean and smelling fresh, and as a byproduct your clothing will also get cleaner and not take on the smell of mold or mildew from your machine.