In this video, I show you a quick and easy way to clean a front-load washer. This method uses only things that you are most likely to have in your home right now. Many people complain about mildew and odors after using a front-load washing machine for a while. There are a few things you can do to clean your washer and prevent the mildew and odor from returning. This is the process I show you in the video above.
The process is pretty easy and will have you loving your high-efficiency washer again. No more mildew or stinky odors permeating your clothes.
The first step is to gather your cleaning supplies. You will need the following: 2 cups of white distilled vinegar and 1 cup of baking soda. This is where I differ from most of the instructions you’ll find floating around out there on the internet. I suggest that you NEVER mix vinegar and baking soda as a cleaning solution! You can read why in this article.
I know what all those other sites say. I’m here to tell you there is a simple reason why you DO NOT do it. As you might recall from your high school chemistry class, mixing baking soda and vinegar releases CO2 gas in the reaction. What you are left with is water and sodium acetate. Basically, all you have now is a weak salt solution that doesn’t clean anything at all. The other thing you may remember from chemistry class is that an alkaline solution (or base), and
So I don’t care what those other sites say about the amazing bubbling action of mixing baking soda and vinegar as a cleaner, the science behind it proves it just doesn’t work. They simply neutralize each other and kill the cleaning power of both products.
Here is the procedure I use to clean a front-load washer.
Pour two cups of white vinegar as in the video. Set the washer to a long hot water cycle. The hot water and the weak acid solution of the vinegar (vinegar is acetic acid after all) will kill and remove any mildew that has taken up residence in the tub of the washer.
After the long hot water cycle finishes, you then add 1 cup of baking soda into the drum and run a short hot water cycle to clean and remove odors. The baking soda will neutralize odors in the drum from the mildew that was lurking there before you cleaned it with the vinegar.
After the cycle with the baking soda finishes, you will want to open the door and prop it open to let the moisture in the drum evaporate.
To prevent mildew and odors in the future it’s always a good idea to prop the door open to let the moisture evaporate after you finish washing for the day. This is a simple but effective tactic that helps prevent mold and mildew from forming in the first place.
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