After longtime use, a washing is prone to accumulating dirt, growing mildew, and developing bad odors. Here are 2 tips on how to clean your washing machine.
Clean it Regularly and Soak it in Hot Water
If you find that your laundry has lint, black stains, or does not smell good, it’s gone too long without cleaning.
Because the washing machines are often in a humid state, coupled with soap scum and clothing dirt, and lint, it easily becomes a breeding ground for bacteria or mold.
The washing machine needs to be cleaned regularly. There are many kinds of stain removers for laundry sinks on the market, as well as citric acid and baking soda, all of which are commonly used to remove stains from laundry sinks.
You can try either a commercially available laundry sink stain remover, or simply use citric acid, because commercially available laundry sink cleaners also contain citric acid.
If you go to a chemical store to buy the materials yourself, between baking soda and citric acid, citric acid is better.
Baking soda is alkaline, but the dirt in the washing machine is also alkaline, so using acidic citric acid will have a better cleaning effect.
What’s the best way to clean the laundry tank? Soak it in hot or warm water. The higher temperature water can enhance the effectiveness of citric acid.
If the washing machine has warm water input, you can use that directly. If not, you can add a pot of hot water when the washing machine is about 60 percent filled with cold water. Let the warm water (about 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit) sit in the washing machine for 30 minutes. Then run the regular wash cycle, but do not put any laundry in. Don’t forget to clean the lint net afterwards.
How often do you need to clean the laundry tank? That depends on how often the washing machine is used. If you don’t do laundry everyday, then once every 2 months is just fine. If you do laundry everyday, you should clean the laundry tank monthly.
Once it’s cleaned thoroughly, you should not be finding any stains on your laundry.
Open the Lid
If you close the lid immediately after taking out your laundry, the moisture is trapped inside, creating a breeding ground for mildew. So, you need to air your washing machine.
If it is a drum type washing machine, there is one more thing to do: use a dry towel to dry the plastic strip groove at the mouth of the washing machine. If not dried, the plastic strips easily become moldy, after which it will be too late to clean it.
Whether it’s an upright or a drum type washing machine, it’s enough to open the lid and let in air for half a day. For example, after washing clothes in the afternoon, keep the lid open until bed time, then cover the exterior of the washing machine with a large towel to avoid dust and dirt.
In addition, after taking out the clothes, if there is residual hair at the bottom of the laundry tank, you should take it out right away. The filter in the washing machine should also be taken out and turned over and rinsed with water each time the laundry is done. If you are really busy, you can clean the filter once every 2-3 days to avoid dirt accumulating.
