How To Clean Your Front Loading Washing Machine…and Get Rid of the Musty Smell

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Rewards Style influencer and Jane Influencer, we earn from qualifying purchases and any sales made through such links will reward us a small commission – at no extra cost for you.

Hey there…do you have a front-loading, high-efficiency washing machine? Me too!

Lately my Honey Bee and I haven’t been too thrilled with our washed laundry. After our clothes, towels and bed linens have been washed, they haven’t smelled very fresh. Now, if Honey Bee notices that they don’t “smell clean” you know that this was a red-alert problem in our household 🙂 Our laundry had a very musty odor to it. I even tried switching detergents and there was no improvement. So, when all else failed – I resulted to reading our owners manual.

Were you aware that your washing machine needed to be washed??!!! I thought this was the craziest thing that I had ever heard of. I mean, its’ job is to clean. Why would I want to clean it even more?

Apparently water gets trapped in the drum at the end of each wash cycle. So much water is spun out of your just laundered load and it gets trapped in the drum. If you are like me – after washing laundry, I slam the washing machine door shut and never give the machine another thought. Now, this is what I should have been doing…

This is how much moisture was trapped in my machine. I had done laundry 48 hours prior to this photo…

…laundry helper 🙂

No, I’m not highlighting my manicure 🙂 I’m pulling back the rubber seal to the drum…

To show you this mold and gunk that is breeding under the seal. Yuck! I had no idea…

I also figured it was a good time to give the machine an overall good cleaning and wipe down.

I removed the detergent tray and cleaned it very well…

Eww…to reveal more grime underneath that needed to be cleaned.

On a side note, I have just switched from a laundry detergent that I have used for decades to Mrs.Meyers. I am super happy that I did!  More on that later.

I poured two cups of bleach into the dispenser.

I know newer machines have a “clean” cycle. My machine is a bit older and doesn’t have this option, so I used the “sanitize” cycle – as this is the hottest water.

I repeated the above method using two cups of vinegar.Let your washing machine air dry with the door open…

After doing a load of laundry, I now leave the door ajar until all of the moisture has dried. This eliminates the chance for mold to grow and no more pesky odors.

I hope you found this information helpful…what are your best cleaning tips? If you need me…I’ll be in the laundry room 🙂