How do I clean my washing machine?

A washing machine that smells is a machine growing a biofilm: a mix of detergent residue, fabric softener, body oils and lint that low-temperature washing never gets hot enough to break down. Modern 30°C and 40°C cycles are excellent for clothes and terrible for the machine. The fix is one hot cycle to strip the drum and hoses, plus manual cleaning of the three places the hot cycle can't reach.

What you'll need

• White vinegar or a washing machine cleaner
• Old cloths
• A shallow tray and towels (for the filter)
• Old toothbrush (optional)

Step by step

1. Empty the machine completely and check the drum for anything left behind.Coins and hairgrips in the drum will end up in the pump.
2. Run the hottest cycle available — 90°C if you have it — empty, with two cups of white vinegar or a dose of machine cleaner.Heat does the work. Below about 60°C you don't break down the greasy residue that holds the smell.
3. While that runs, pull out the detergent drawer completely and wash it in hot water.Most drawers release with a catch inside the recess. Softener compartments are usually the worst — the residue is often black.
4. Scrub the empty drawer recess with a brush and wipe it out.The roof of the recess collects sludge you can't see without a torch.
5. Wipe the rubber door seal, folding it back to reach the underside channel.This is where the smell lives. Expect to find dark slime, hair and the occasional sock.
6. Open the filter hatch at the bottom front, put a tray and towels down, and unscrew the filter slowly.Several litres will come out. Do this slowly and have towels ready — it is always more water than expected.
7. Rinse the filter, clear the housing, and screw it back in firmly.A loose filter leaks. Hand-tight and fully seated.
8. Leave the door and drawer ajar between washes from now on.This single habit prevents most recurrences, because the seal dries instead of staying damp.

Tips

• Do a hot maintenance wash monthly if you mostly wash at 30–40°C. Quarterly is enough if you regularly wash at 60°C.
• Cut back on fabric softener, or stop using it. It's the single largest contributor to drawer and seal residue, and it coats towels in a way that reduces absorbency.
• Clean the filter every three months whether or not there's a problem. A blocked filter shows up as a machine that won't drain, usually at the worst moment.
• If the smell survives all of this, check the drain hose for a sag holding standing water.

Common mistakes

• Running a hot wash and stopping there — The seal and filter hold most of the residue and are untouched by any cycle.
• Using too much detergent — Excess doesn't rinse away — it builds up and feeds the biofilm. Most people use roughly double what's needed for soft water.
• Closing the door immediately after a wash — Traps moisture in the seal, which is exactly the condition the smell needs.
• Unscrewing the filter without a tray — Two to four litres of dirty water across the kitchen floor.

Questions people ask