Your washing machine can clean the toughest dirt marks and stains out of your clothes. However, you can call it one of the dirtiest sections of your house. Washing so many elements in one big drum may ease up your job. But without proper maintenance, it will fail to deliver results. A front-loading washing machine is something that you will find both in commercial as well as household spaces. It will let you wash heaps of clothes at one go. Moreover, it will lead to clean and spotless results.
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How to know when to clean your machine?
Sometimes you might get a musty and stale smell coming out from your washer or clothes, it’s a hint that you have to clean this. The odour can totally eliminate the main purpose of washing that is to wash the clothes and make them feel fresh. But it is not only about odour. The residues of laundry detergent, the softener for your fabric and also soil deposits can lead to such smelly situations. Moreover, these deposits can be in and around the washtub area, dispenser and also other inner areas. You may also notice mold and mildew around the rubber door gasket that even leads to unexpected results. So, cleaning these areas are important for a fresh result every time you wash.
Steps to Clean the Washing Machine
1) Firstly, run the wash cycle
Empty your washer fully to get started with the cleaning process. The new models already come with preset times so that the user does not have to work hard in finding the right settings. You just need to pick the washer cleaning cycle from the settings and before turning it on, add bleach. The bleach certainly helps in dealing with hard water mineral, greasy build-ups, hidden dirt and so on. This will certainly break these down and eradicate them easily without leaving behind anything.
However, if you do not have any preset option, you have another solution that you can try. Start with adding ½ cup of liquid chlorine bleach to the dispenser. Also, you can just fill it up till the max line if you aren’t sure. You just have to run a normal cycle but with the addition of hot water. The bleach solution will even kill bacteria and other harmful foreign elements for safe use.
2) Extra Rinse and Spine
You might be thinking that one cycle is enough to clean the washer. As a matter of fact, with an extra spin, any signs of bleach will be washed off. If there is bleaching residue left behind in the washer and you throw in new clothes for washings, then your clothes may end up fading or getting all the colours mixed up. As a result, always be careful.
3) Cleaning
Yes, you have already deep cleaned the machine but that isn’t enough. You have to pop out the dispenser, wash them in hot water and it will be good for your next use. For cleaning the hard-to-reach places, use a soft toothbrush that will dislodge any stuck element. Apart from making it dry, wipe any leftover deposits, reassemble it and get done by reinserting it. Also, the rubber gasket needs to be cleaned as mildew and molds are built around that area. Take proper care of the drum lid as well. Now, leave it open so that air can pass and make the entire interior dry.
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How to deodorize it?
- Do not store the clothes inside after the washing is done. Take the clothes out immediately. Keeping washed clothes unattended for a long time can lead to smelly situations. You must dry the clothes in order to prevent the smell from settling in your clothes as well. So put the clothes out for freshness.
- If you have any pets in your house, you may find pet hair stuck in the clothes. Well, pet hairs can cause logging of the washing machine. Plus, dogs do smell. With the accumulation of dog hair inside the washer, it can become very smelly. So, whenever you spot any debris or pet hair, clean it immediately.
- Try and check the gasket regularly in order to ensure that nothing is left behind. Sometimes, items such as handkerchiefs or baby socks may be stuck in the gasket. This may further lead to mold creation. Therefore, chances of smell build-up are high.
- We focus so much on cleaning the inside of the washer that we tend to forget about the inside. You might spot drips of detergents on the doorknob or the door. We choose to leave it without cleaning. So, it is recommendable that we clean the exterior part as well for the best results.
Tip for cleaning: Use the detergent tray to pour two cups of vinegar. Now, turn the wash and rinse cycle for dealing with any sort of odour. You can also buy the washing machine cleaner available in the market to save some more time. These may consist of chemicals but that will be harmless.
Conclusion
Cleaning the washing machine isn’t a hard task. You just need to know the proper method of cleaning it and you are done. No professional help is needed and one certainly does not have to spend a lot for maintenance. So, clean every part of the machine and get a fresh set of clothes without any odour or strong smell. Your hygiene will be well maintained!
