Ya’ll, I have been shocked over the years to see some of the washers being used to “clean” clothes, and they almost always have one thing in common…..they are front-loading washers. And when I say shocked, I mean I would rather just wear dirty clothes. Okay, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but the smell and mold on the door gasket was horrifying.
I do not mean this as judgmental in the least. I have heard many people’s disappointment in their front loader for this very reason. This doesn’t have to happen! I am going to give you the knowledge of how to maintain and care for their front-loader to avoid those nasty, moldy gaskets.
After all what appliance company is going to advertise, “this is how you keep your appliance from growing mold and mildew” – talk about a sales turn-off. So you have people like you and me standing there with dirty laundry, wondering how in the heck we got to this point.
Now I love a front-loading washer….in fact I own one. My biggest reason for owning one? You can wash all your comforters, duvets, etc. without harming the filling and causing it to lump. I have two dogs, and the hair is real, y’all. In my house, we affectionately refer to them as fibers of joy.
Keep that sucker open
My number one tip is to leave your washer door open after running a load of clothes. Ok, yes, I know it looks better closed, but would you rather your laundry room look good or have a clean, mold and mildew free washer that actually cleans your clothes instead of depositing mildew spores on them?? And pleease, please excuse my dirty base boards…..*adds clean baseboards to the to-do list”.
Guys, that’s it. Wait, Amanda, there must be more than just leaving the door open? Nope that is the key. I mean, look at this spotless beauty. *Proud sigh
Ok, so there is one other thing you should be doing, but leaving the door open is vital and the most important. However, just like anything else in your home, you should do routine cleaning on your washer. Just mix up a cleaning mixture of either bleach and hot water or white vinegar and hot water. (Follow dilution instructions for the bleach. I just eyeball the vinegar, but I probably am close to 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 hot water.)
Wearing gloves, just soak a rag or sponge in the solution and thoroughly wipe down the washer gasket, making sure you get in all the crevices and beneath the gasket. After wiping down, I like to run a white load (if bleach was used) to ensure no residue gets on your colors and ruins them. Even if you have a cleaning function on your washer, I still recommend manually wiping down the gasket (do it before your run the clean cycle). I suggest doing this wipe down monthly.
Make sure to clean underneath gasket
Do your wipe downs, but for laundry’s sake, keep that door open!
So how are you liking our maintenance blog series so far? Drop a comment below and let us know what you think. And because I know you don’t want to miss anything, you can sign up here so you receive these posts straight to your inbox!
Xoxo,
Amanda
***Steel Toed Stilettos, LLC and its sole owner, Amanda Miller cannot be held responsible for your safety, your use of power tools, or outcome of any home improvement/DIY projects you choose to undertake and/or complete. Amanda Miller is not a licensed engineer and therefore all designs are what she has found to work for her personal use and neither she nor Steel Toed Stilettos LLC will be held responsible for any injury, illness, or other claims associated with her designs, plans, or projects.***
