How to Clean a Washer

The clean cycle is a high-water, hot-water cycle built to flush the outer tub and the recirculation path that a normal wash never reaches. It is the drum-and-plumbing half of the job, not a substitute for wiping the gasket, the drawer and the filter.

Machines label it differently: some call it Clean Washer, others Tub Clean, Self Clean, Pure Cycle or a similar name. The button or the indicator light is the machine telling you the cycle is due. Expect the drum to sit still for a stretch at the start on some models, and expect the length to vary widely, from roughly an hour on many top-loaders to several hours on some front-loaders with steam. Interrupting the cycle means starting over.

What goes in the drum depends on the machine: nothing at all on some, liquid chlorine bleach or a formulated washer cleaner on others. Check the manual. Run it with no laundry in the drum, because a loaded clean cycle can damage both the machine and the clothes.

Gather the supplies first so the job runs in one pass:

• Liquid chlorine bleach or an oxygen-based washer cleaner, one or the other, as the manual allows
• Distilled white vinegar, only if the manual permits it
• Baking soda for deodorizing
• A soft cloth or sponge and an old toothbrush
• A shallow basin or towels for the filter
• Rubber gloves

Never mix bleach with vinegar or any acid cleaner, because the combination releases chlorine gas. Unplug the machine before you open the filter housing.

Liquid chlorine bleach disinfects but does not cut detergent film. An oxygen-based washer cleaner cuts residue and odor and is gentler on parts. Distilled white vinegar descales mineral deposits but is a weak disinfectant, and repeated use can degrade rubber hoses and gaskets, so some manuals caution against it outright. Baking soda deodorizes and is a mild abrasive, but it does not disinfect. Formulated washer cleaners are built for the job and are the safest default when the manual is silent.

The honest verdict: bleach or a formulated cleaner for disinfecting, vinegar only for light scale and only where the manual allows it, baking soda for smell only. Never combine bleach with vinegar or an acid cleaner.

Two caveats. Thickened or splash-free bleach can over-suds in a clean cycle, and bleach should not be left sitting in the drum. Your manual is the tiebreaker on all of it, because machines genuinely differ in what they permit.

Run the suds check first: an empty cycle with nothing added. If suds appear, there is detergent residue, so keep running empty cycles until they stop.

Then work through the usual causes:

• Too much detergent. Use HE detergent and less than you think.
• Fabric softener leaving a film on the drum and in the dispenser.
• Washing only in cold water.
• Laundry left sitting in the drum after the cycle ends.
• A machine that is not level.
• A drain hose pushed too far into the standpipe, so foul water siphons back in. It should sit only a few inches in.

Visible mold behind the gasket that you cannot reach, or standing water in the drum, is the point to call a technician. A machine with a venting or drum-drying feature dries out faster between loads, which helps, but it does not replace the monthly cycle.

Portable and mini washers usually have no self-clean cycle and a small or no filter. The routine is a hot empty wash with a little bleach or cleaner where the manual allows, a wiped tub and lid, and a drained and dried drum and hose before storage. Never store one with water in it.

All-in-one washer-dryer combos need the same drum routine plus attention to the lint and condenser path the drying half uses, and the door left open between uses.

Leave the door or lid ajar between loads. On a front-loader, wipe and dry the gasket after the last load of the day. Use HE detergent in the right small amount, skip or limit fabric softener, and pull laundry out promptly.

Run a warm or hot wash now and then instead of only cold, clean the dispenser drawer once or twice a month, and keep the machine level. The front-load routine rests on a monthly clean cycle, a wiped gasket, a door left ajar and a cleaned pump filter.