Have you detected a not so nice smell in your home lately? Can’t quite place where it originates from? Well maybe you should follow your nose to your laundry room. Give your top loading washer a really good smell. If it smells worse than your workout clothes or your families worst funky socks. then its time to give that washer a really good cleaning. CLEAN the very machine that is used to clean your clothes? Well in a word YES! Believe it or not our washing machine get a bit dirty over time.
Cleaning Your Washing Machine | Raleigh Laundromat
Detergents, the soils on our laundry, and those hard water minerals build up in our washing machines over time. They live in the areas of your machine that you cannot see and after a while they develop one more grungy smelling odor. Not only do they live in hiding but I bet if you look closely you will find that mold and mildew are alive and well in the washing machine door and lid and are also causing quite a stink!
So how on earth do you clean and freshen up your top loading washing machine? The following are some really great green-cleaning tips to help you clean and also keep clean your machine. These are eco-friendly tips that use no bleach that may later harm your fabrics.
Begin by setting your washing machine to its hottest water setting. You will also want to set it to the highest water level also. Next you will need to add four cups of white vinegar to the tub. We do not recommend apple cider vinegar simply because of the smell. The smell may linger and make your fabrics smell of it many loads later. Let the initial wash cycle start and then pause the cycle and allow the vinegar and water to sit at least an hour.
While this is sitting use this time to take a microfiber cloth you have wet with some hot vinegar water and wipe down the top of your washer. The door and lid accumulate lots of excess dirt and sometimes mold and mildew that needs cleaned away. An old toothbrush will be the perfect item to clean those fabric softener and bleach dispensers we use each time we launder our clothing. Once you are done you may continue with the wash cycle.
When the washer is totally done you will next want to run a cycle but this time use a cup of baking soda in the water. Once again using the hottest water temperature and highest water levels. At the end of this wash cycle you will want to wipe the lid and around the top of your machine again to remove any grime and scum that accumulates again.
Cleaning Routine | Raleigh Laundromat
This cleaning of your top loader is recommended at least every six months, but once a month is the best option to keep it fresh smelling and to ensure that your laundry will always come out clean! As with a front loading machine it is a good idea to leave the lid open after you are done with your laundry to allow the machine to dry out and thus eliminate any extra mold and mildew from having a chance to grow. You should also take some time to wipe down the outside of your washer when done with cleaning the inside. Next time we will talk about cleaning the dryer!
If you find yourself way behind on your laundry chores and would like some help catching up, stop by our Raleigh laundromat! We offer many different services including a wash, dry, fold! We also offer dry cleaning and much more!
