03/25/2026
How to deep clean your washing machine... and why it needs it more than you think
What is actually growing in there
The warm, damp interior of a washing machine is one of the most hospitable environments for mould, mildew, and bacteria that exists in your home. Detergent residue builds up in the drum, the drawer, and the rubber seal with every single wash. Fabric softener which never fully rinses away coats the inside of the drum and becomes a feeding ground for bacteria. The grey slime on the rubber door seal. The black spots in the detergent drawer. The smell that comes off your towels even straight out of the machine. All of it is the same problem. Your washing machine is dirty and it is making your laundry dirty with it.
Start with the detergent drawer
Pull the drawer all the way out. Most drawers have a release tab at the back that allows full removal. What you find will tell you everything about how long this has been building. Rinse under hot running water. Use an old toothbrush to scrub every compartment the softener section in particular accumulates a thick, waxy residue that does not shift with rinsing alone. Bicarbonate of soda on the toothbrush cuts through it. Rinse until the water runs completely clear. Clean the drawer housing inside the machine with the same toothbrush before replacing it. Most people never remove the drawer. That is why it looks the way it does.
Clean the rubber door seal
Pull back the rubber seal around the door and look inside the fold. If your machine has not been cleaned recently what you find there will be the most compelling argument for doing this monthly. Black mould, grey slime, hair, lint, and residue from months or years of washing. Spray white vinegar directly into the fold. Leave it for five minutes. Wipe firmly with a cloth, working all the way around the seal and getting into every part of the fold. For established black mould, a paste of bicarbonate of soda and a small amount of washing up liquid scrubbed in with a toothbrush and left for ten minutes before wiping will clear what vinegar alone cannot.
Run a hot empty cycle with white vinegar
Pour two cups of white vinegar directly into the drum not the drawer, the drum itself. Set the machine to its hottest cycle and its longest setting. On most machines this is a 90 degree cotton cycle. Start it and let it run completely. The vinegar works through the drum, the pipes, and the internal workings of the machine, breaking down detergent residue, dissolving mineral deposits from hard water, and killing the bacteria and mould that have been building up with every wash. The water that drains out of a machine on its first cleaning cycle is frequently brown. That is what has been in your machine. That is what your clothes have been washed in.
Run a second cycle with bicarbonate of soda
Once the vinegar cycle has finished, add half a cup of bicarbonate of soda directly to the drum. Run another hot cycle a shorter one this time. The bicarbonate lifts any remaining residue that the vinegar loosened and neutralises the acidic smell that vinegar can leave behind. It also gently scours the interior of the drum without scratching it. When this cycle finishes, wipe the inside of the drum with a clean dry cloth. Leave the door open for at least an hour. A machine that cannot dry out between uses is a machine that grows mould between uses. The door stays open from now on.
Clean the filter
At the bottom front of your machine, behind a small panel or flap, is a filter. It catches lint, hair, coins, and debris from every wash. Most people have never opened it. Some machines have been running for years with a filter so blocked it is affecting the drain speed and the quality of every wash. Place a towel on the floor beneath it and have a bowl ready water will come out when you open it. Unscrew the filter slowly. Clean it under running water with a toothbrush. Wipe out the housing. Replace it firmly. Do this every three months. It takes four minutes and it extends the life of your machine more than any other single maintenance task.
Once a month. Vinegar in the drum. Bicarbonate in the drawer. Door open after every wash. Four changes. A machine that actually cleans.
