How to Clean a Washing Machine

Cleaning a washing machine starts with just two items*:

  • 1 quart of bleach 
  • 1 quart of white vinegar

*Some of you might be thinking: But wait, isn’t it dangerous to mix bleach and vinegar? The answer is yes, but we will not be mixing the two here. Read on…

  1. Fill the empty washer with hot water, as if you’re doing a large load of laundry.
  2. Add the quart of bleach, and let the full machine run for one minute to mix up the bleach with the water.
  3. Open the top of the machine and let it sit, all bleach-y and full, for an hour.
  4. At the end of the hour, shut the cover and let the machine run a complete cycle. (The water will drain out all the bleach, so it won’t have a chance to mix with the vinegar.)
  5. When it’s done, start again. This time, when you fill the washer with hot water, add the quart of white vinegar to the water and down the bleach channel.
  6. Let the machine run for a minute to agitate the water and vinegar.
  7. After that minute, open the top of the machine and, again, let the hot water sit in the basin for an hour before you let the cycle complete.
  8. After cleaning the basin, spray the gaskets, dispensers, and exterior of the machine with a solution of equal parts vinegar and water. Wipe everything down with a clean cloth.

Source: HGTV