Cleaning a Front Load Washing Machines

Front load washing machines are notorious for collecting water in the base of the drum, in the rubber gaskets and on the opening of the machines. This water collection can develop mold and a nasty odor so a little maintenance is necessary to keep them looking clean and smelling good.

Front load washing machines do require a little maintenance to keep them looking and smelling new and in this Quick Tips video we are going to give you a rundown of what you should be doing to keep your machine looking and smelling new. Most of these tips can be found in your owners manual but let’s be honest, not to many people keep/read those.

Every Day Tip

The first thing you can do to slow the process down is to keep the washing machine door and dispenser ajar between loads. This will allow the interior to dry out.

Cleaning the Drum Interior

You can run a hot water wash every so often to clean the washing machine tub. Do Not Add Laundry, but consider adding 1 cup of chlorine bleach, if you have a really dirty machine try using up to 8 cups of chlorine. Some front load units come with a tub-cleaning cycle that’s supposed to prevent odors and mildew by removing leftover detergent residue. Read your owners manual on how this work on your unit because not all have a button directly on the machines. For instance, on the Frigidaire washing machine used in this video to run a system clean cycle you need to press and hold the spin speed and option buttons simultaneously for 10 seconds until the display changes to ‘CLn.’

For best results immediately follow up with a rinse and spin cycle. Select fresh rinse on max spin speed with no detergent or bleach to help clear any residual bleach left after the system clean cycle. If after this you still have an odor or see residue it might be more effective to spray a bleach cleaner directly on the area and scrub brush it away.

Cleaning the Dispenser Drawer

Now lets clean the dispenser drawer. First we will want to remove the drawer, did you know you could do that? It’s actually pretty simple, pull the drawer all the way open and in the back left corner press down firmly on the lock tab and then pull the drawer the rest of the way out. Once the drawer is out of the machine, pull the piece of it apart and give it a good cleaning with ¾ cup of liquid chlorine bleach and 1 gallon hot tap water. This will remove traces of accumulated powders and liquids. Make sure to rinse well when done.

To clean the drawer opening use a small brush or rag to clean the recess. Make sure to give the upper and lower sections a good scrub.

Replace the insert by pressing it in place until you hear a slight click.

Follow these tips and your front load washing machine will be cleaner and smell fresher.