Did you know that you are supposed to clean your washing machine? I know, it sounds kind of counter-intuitive. When I first heard “washing” my washing machine I thought it was a little silly. Afterall, I put soap in it to clean my laundry! Then I went to take a look at my washing machine to see if it really needed to be clean…Ewww. I was so grossed out. I even tried to rub it off and realized that is is some waxy build up from who knows when.
And my little bleach spout!? Ick. Ick. I just have no words. I never even realized how gross my washing machine was! After I got over my heeby-geebies I decided it was time for me to clean my washing machine. I found this awesome tutorial over at One Good Thing by Jillee. I tweaked it a little to make it fit my needs. 
{*Note: this is for top loading washing machines.}
Here’s what you need:
- 2 cups bleach
- 2 cups white vinegar
- microfiber cloth
Start by filling your washing machine with hot water. Set the dials to the biggest load and hottest setting and let it fill up. Then pour 2 cups of bleach into the water. Close the lid for about 1 minute and let the water agitate/get all mixed up.
Then let the bleach water sit for about 1 hour. {My washer has a timer built in so it started draining after about 2o minutes. I just reset the dial to the beginning of the cycle so it had another 20 minutes.} After the hour is up, run the washer through a cycle.
After the cycle is complete, fill your washer with hot water again. This time, pour the 2 cups of white vinegar into the water. Again, mix up the water by closing the lid for 1 minute. Let it sit for another hour.
Please note how disgustingly cloudy my water was because my washer was so dirty! Yuck.
I then took a sponge, and dipping it in the vinegar mixture, wiped down the lid, dials, and dispensers. {Vinegar has amazing cleaning powers and helped make everything sparkly clean!}
After an hour of letting the vinegar water sit, run your washer through another cycle.
Then use a microfiber cloth to scrub, wipe, and buff away any grime inside your washer drum. {Trust me… a regular sponge won’t work. I tried. The waxy grime didn’t want to come off with a sponge… but it came off like a dream with a microfiber cloth!}
And now my washing machine sparkles! And I don’t have to worry about all that grimy nasty stuff getting on our clothes.
Most manufacturers say to do this is at least twice a year. Some say that you should do it as regularly as once a month. Hooray for no more stranger’s grimy-ness!
Have you ever cleaned your washing machine? Have you ever thought of cleaning it? Hmm… now I’m wondering if I need to wash my dish washer…
