For a super quick washing machine refresh that will take you less than 30 minutes, add white vinegar to a spray bottle and spritz the inside of the drum. Wipe all around the washer drum with a microfiber cloth, leaving no surface untouched. Next, wipe down the rubber gaskets—also known as the seals around the door.
CLEANING THE WASHTUB
Remove any clothing in the wash drum. Open the dispenser. Add liquid chlorine bleach, powder cleaner or tub cleaner. Don't add any laundry detergent or fabric softener when using TUB CLEAN.
The water temperature for Drum Clean+ is set to 70°C, which cannot be changed. Make sure the drum is empty. Do NOT use any cleaning agents or detergents for cleaning the drum. It can cause damage the drum of the washing machine - this applies to Tub Clean as well.
Empty the Drum: Ensure your washing machine is completely empty. Add Cleaning Ingredients: Pour 2 cups of white vinegar into the drum and add ½ cup of baking soda. Run the Cycle: Select a hot water setting and start the machine, allowing it to fill and agitate for a few minutes before pausing it to soak.
Add Vinegar: Pour 2 cups of white vinegar directly into the drum. Add Baking Soda: Sprinkle about half a cup of baking soda into the drum as well. Run a Hot Cycle: Run an empty wash cycle on the hottest water setting. The vinegar and baking soda will help lift any residue, mineral buildup, and mild rust stains.
Run a hot wash without laundry
Set the temperature to at least 60°C (140°F) to kill bacteria and dissolve detergent residues. For an extra cleaning boost, add two cups of white vinegar or a commercial washing machine cleaner to the drum.
I recommend using non-ammonia based glass cleaners such as Windex, 409 or any similar product. Just make sure it doesn't contain ammonia! Ammonia can fade the coloring in your drums over time making them look flat and dull.
“For removing odors, I would say vinegar.” Some people, however, prefer white vinegar because it's not as harsh as bleach. Unless, of course, your washing machine has been completely neglected, and is now a breeding ground for bacteria and germs, and you want a power cleaner.
Use Dishwashing Liquid
Adding 1/2 cup of baking soda to a load of laundry can help detergents work effectively and help eliminate heavy odors and residue. You can also use baking soda and water as a presoak. Can you wash clothes with just water? Washing clothes with only water may not get them thoroughly clean.
It's generally recommended to clean your washing machine once a month, especially if you want to prevent musty odours from forming inside the drum and keep your clothes smelling great. Sometimes, however, you need to pay your machine a bit more attention, and it may be necessary to thoroughly clean the washer.
Dosing directly into the drum helps you to achieve outstanding results.
Run at the hottest temperature or use the “clean tub” setting on the washer. At the end of the cycle, add vinegar to the liquid dispenser tray or washer tub. Use 2 cups for a front-loading machine or 1 quart for a top-loading machine. Run another hot water wash cycle.
Clean the tub thoroughly and rinse everything. Then dry the bath properly with a soft cloth to prevent limescale formation. Do not use aggressive products such as acid, chlorine, ammonia, bleach and abrasives. The latter create fine scratches, which we obviously want to avoid!
White vinegar is an excellent natural cleaner that can help remove odours and clean your washing machine's drum. Simply add a cup of white vinegar to an empty cycle and run your machine on the hottest setting. This will help to kill any bacteria that may have accumulated in the appliance.
Use a combination of white vinegar and baking soda to naturally clean your washing machine; pour half a cup of baking soda into the drum followed by two cups of vinegar in the detergent dispenser, then run a hot wash cycle. For stubborn grime and odors, consider commercial washing machine cleaners.
"Vinegar softens clothes by breaking down excess detergent that makes clothes feel stiff," says Patric Richardson of The Laundry Evangelist. Never mix vinegar with bleach or chlorine bleach, as the combination is highly toxic.
You can combine bicarbonate or baking soda with a small amount of water to make a thicker paste for cleaning. Use this to wipe around the drum, let it sit for a while, and then run a hot cycle. Always leave the machine door open after a cycle to avoid musty smells.
Though dish soap is great as a stain pretreatment option, it's not meant for direct use in a laundry washing machine. That's because dish soaps are uniquely formulated to break up grease and stuck-on food particles with foamy suds—something you don't want to happen in your washing machine.
The surfactants (or surface active agents) in detergent break up grease, stains, and food residues to disperse them in water. Without a surfactant (your detergent, in this case), your clothing would simply sit in the water and come out close to the same way it went in: dirty.
If you want to do some heavier cleaning, you can use dish soap. Like water, it also has a low risk factor with your drums. Dish soap tends to work a bit better than water when it comes to the stubborn stains on your drums. As mentioned previously, you can also use aluminum foil and Coke.
Drum. To clean the drum, you must have the top cover open and the transfer roll tray removed. Wipe the drum in one direction only (not a back-and-forth motion) to avoid re-contamination of the drum. Use a lint-free cleaning wipe dampened with isopropyl alcohol.