How do you clean your washing machine?

[IAmGrootGrootGroot]

I usually run the auto clean setting or occasionally use the dettol washing machine cleaner.

Neither of these seem to be doing the trick. My clothes don't seem to be fresh... so please, give me your pearls of wisdom!

Once you have got rid of the gunk, you need to use powder rather than liquid, as mentioned before, and use vinegar rather than fabric softener. Otherwise, the gunk will just keep coming back.

This thread inspired me to clean out my filter. Have never done it and the machine is over 18 months old so I was expecting big things. I broke a nail and ended up with £1 and a teeny tiny bit of floof along with water all over the floor ☹️

I recently replaced my 11 year old LG washing machine with the same model.

Old one never needed cleaning. New one gets stinky every few weeks and needs a hot wash with bleach in it. I also wipe the seal and glass bit regularly otherwise they get nasty.

Bit weird nothing else has changed in the way we do our washing. I concluded some machines need cleaning more than others.

I use Canesten Hygiene Laundry rinse in the fabric softener compartment with every wash. It's antibacterial and antifungal. Everything comes out smelling fresh. Even when I have forgotten a load and left it overnight it will still smell fresh (I still run it through a quick wash before hanging it out). I also occasionally run an empty hot wash with bicarbonate of soda in detergent compartment and vinegar in softener compartment to ensure there is no soap residue built up. Good luck OP

My very very expensive Miele (I won it in a competition) insists I run a very hot auto-clean every few weeks. The guy who installed it told me peoples machines get stinky as we run so many cool washes (40 degrees and below) and a hot wash every few weeks is essential. So far it seems to work as everything that comes out of it smells lovely so far. The tumble drier is bossy too, always telling me to clean the filters. The amount of fluff that comes out of each wash is horrific though, I blame the cat.

I definitely get more problems with liquid detergent and low degree washes, I read on a previous thread that bio powders and powders generally are better as they do think up the machine. Also read that powders, more likely bio if I remember rightly contain bleach which liquid detergent doesn’t contain. There was a really good ask me anything about laundry detergents thread.

I use a liquid but always put it directly in the drum rather than the drawer, so the drawer doesn't get gunky.

I live in a really hard water area so I do a 90 degree wash with vinegar every month or two.

I've heard about putting the drawer in the dishwasher for a good clean - has anyone done this?

So I've just pulled out the filter on my Miele. It was encrusted with what a thought was limescale but actually I think it was mostly soap powder. When I say encrusted I mean absolutely solid with it so that I thought it was a solid cylinder (it isn't). So much for the vinegar service wash!

Another one who has never cleaned a washing machine, ever.
There's no slime in mine. I use powder.
Usually wash at 40, 30 or less.
Brand is Euromaid.

Mines kept in a cupboard and I can't get the drawer open so the wash powder goes straight into the drum with the clothes.

One thing is afterwards I never close the door so between washes it dries out and keeps fresh.

Washing machine cleaner from Aldi. Use a little to wipe the door and seal. Scrub the drawer. Then chuck the rest in and put it on a 90 long wash. I only use powder for clothes and always leave the door open after using despite having a tiny kitchen.

fuckitbuckit : I have removed a bent and melted credit card, a bra wire, 17 5p pieces and oodles of nameless glop.

my washing machine only goes upto 60 degrees is tht why it don't clean properly when I use washing machine cleaner 🤷‍♀️

Dishwasher tablets on 90 degree cycle

Eurgh I noticed the 3 little holes on the rubber that attaches to the drum had scummy residue, on further prodding with a cocktail stirrer I could feel bumps so pulled about 5 inches of the rubber off..... OMG it was full of scum (And short dog hair) .

I have made a mental note to clean that when I do the drawer.

@mrsoutnumbered I put the drawer in the dishwasher once. Got very clean but unfortunately faded the printing on the drawer. Something to watch out for.

I clean out the drawer once in a blue moon and chuck a de-limescale tablet in with the wash once a week but have never cleaned the machine. My washing seems to come out perfectly clean!

I've owned my washing machine for almost 12 years and never cleaned it
A washing machine that old won't need cleaning, as it cleans itself when it washes clothes. New washing machines that only do 30 degree washes breed bacteria, and clothes coming out of them smell unless you tumble dry them for an hour. So much for environmentally friendly

WASHING MACHINE CLEAN:

First up: unscrew and check your sink drain pipe for any food bits, as that can get sucked in your washing machine pipes. Then empty the filter - usually the bottom right if your machine behind a panel. It will unscrew and leak about a pint of water, so put a towel down. Pull it out and remove any debris and replace.

Pull out your washing machine drawer, and clean it in your sink preferably with white vinegar. Use a toothbrush to clean any black mould etc from nooks and crannies. When it’s clean, put it back in the machine with a cup of white vinegar in one of the sections.

Open the door, and pour a cup of soda crystals directly into the barrel. Wipe the inside of the door with white vinegar to clean it. Put your machine on the hottest wash possible, preferably 90° if you can. When it’s done, make sure you leave the door open, and also the drawer a little bit. I do this once a week. Obviously you can wipe and polish the outside however you’d like.

Are you washing too many clothes at once.

If you over-fill it the large ball of clothes turn together in one lump. If you wash less items each time then each item can turn individually. So each item cleans better.

I have a Miele too, I run an empty very hot wash cycle, highest temperature possible every 3/4 weeks with a load of biological washing powder. If I don't do it the machine flashes up a sign to tell me it needs to be done! I leave the door open after a wash to allow moisture to evaporate. I wipe over the inside and outside of the door, and the outside of the machine regularly with a basic, non-abrasive cleaner. I take out the drawer and wipe around and underneath and remove any stuck bits of washing power using cotton wool buds. I also clean out the filter every few weeks...Also water gets stuck in the rubber seal between the machine and the opening, so I put in a cloth to soak it up, as otherwise it can get stagnant - poor design - and that's it...

Help ! I have just looked at mine and l have black mould in the rubber at the bottom of the door.... what should l put in to clean it ? I will have to go at it by hand first, this thread made me look and l do not like what l have seen.

I miss having a washing machine where you know the wash temperature. With ours (a North American model LG) you can have hot, warm, semi-warm, cold or "tap cold"... I don't even know whether it heats up the hot water if you choose a hot wash cycle but the hot water isn't running hot? I know that our previous machine just either took from only the hot pipe, only the cold pipe, or from both, and temperature of a warm wash was determined by how much of the cold water feed was allowed to flow, vs the hot feed, via taps on two hoses round the back of the machine. Absolutely archaic!!

I've just noticed that I moaned and rambled, but forgot to answer your question, OP

I use goo.gl/images/FEhZfE and it does a great job, but I don't recall seeing it in the UK or ever cleaning my washing machine before we emigrated.