I had been working on my daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning checklists when it occurred to me that there are several of things that don't ever make it on my checklists or any others I've seen. Yep, I admit it. I am a checklist, to do list, really any kind of list person. I love them!
So, I have decided to do a series called "The Lost Chores" in honor of all those forgotten, neglected areas of our homes.
These are going to be posts that showcase different cleaning tasks that we tend to ignore overlook. I hate to admit it, but this applies to a lot of things in my home.
The first thing I thought of was my washer. It's pretty gross.
First of all, I didn't get my washer new. My dad gave it to me after he had used it, and he got it from a friend, used. So, I have no idea when the last time it was thoroughly cleaned if ever.
I did kind of wipe it down when I first got it, but I didn't do what I'm about to show you. It is disgusting! I'm a little embarrassed to tell the truth.
I am going to go through cleaning my washer step-by-step. I have a top-loading washer, so the process would be different for a front-loading machine. The same principle applies, though.
"Scrub away the gunk!"
I used an all natural cleaning method using vinegar and baking soda as I'm not a huge fan of poisonous fumes in my home. Plus, there is absolutely no worry of either of those things messing up my next load of laundry if they didn't rinse away completely.
Vinegar helps cut through soap scum, it deodorizes, and it has antibacterial properties.
Baking Soda is abrasive enough to help scrub away tough grime without damaging the surface of whatever your cleaning and it also deodorizes.
Here are some pictures before I started cleaning. Yuck! We don't use bleach in our home (like I said, poisonous fumes), so the little bleach bowl/reservoir generally goes untouched. It just sits there collecting dust and getting grimy.
Cleaning Supplies
- 3-4 cups of vinegar
- About 1/2 cup of baking soda
- You can definitely use more if you want.
- Toothbrush
- Towel/washcloth
- Rubber gloves
1. Set your washer on the biggest load and hottest water setting.
2. Turn on the cycle to fill your washer with water, then shut it off.
3. Pour the vinegar and baking soda into the washer.
4. Turn on the washer and allow the machine to agitate the water for a minute to mix in the vinegar and baking soda.
5. Shut off the washer.
6. Remove the center, spinny piece. Super technical terms here! It should easily pull straight off the base. Just set it in the water to soak while you scrub other washer bits. * If it doesn't easily come out, please do not force it. Your washer may just not come apart like mine. Just clean around it.
That base was nasty! You can kind of see it in the picture. The inside had black gunk and there was a black ring of yuck on the outside.
7. Scrub, scrub, scrub. I started with the washcloth, but found it was much easier to get rid of the gunk with the toothbrush.
8. Keep scrubbing. Dip the toothbrush in the hot water and scrub away the gunk in all the nooks and crannies. Use the washcloth to wipe the barrel, lid, and outside of the washer. I also scrubbed the washer knobs with the toothbrush because mine have little ridges around the edge.
Eeeek! Do you see that?!?! I can't believe I've been washing my clothes with that!
On to the center, spinny piece!
Mine has a bowl in the center for fabric softener, which wasn't as gunky as it could have been. We don't use fabric softener, but that's another story for another time.
As I started cleaning it, I discovered that this too comes apart. It did so very easily, so as I said earlier please don't force it as yours' may not be meant to be taken apart. Mine just popped off and snapped back on just as easily.
I am so glad it came apart, because look at that gunk I wouldn't have been able to get get rid of if it hadn't.
The inside of the center, spinny piece was really nasty. It required the most scrubbing, and I ended up pouring more baking soda directly into it to help scrub away the gunk.
9. Put everything back together and back in place.
10. Close the lid and turn the washer back on so that it can complete the cycle.
You and I have sparkly clean washers now!
Before and After
I can't believe I didn't do this sooner. I will definitely be deep cleaning my washer at least once or twice a year from now on. I can't imagine letting it get this bad again and still washing clothes in it.
*Tip: If your washer ever gets a mildewy smell, try leaving the lid open after every wash so that the washer can dry completely.
Now that your washer is clean, it's time to tackle your laundry and get it under control!
