Washing Machine

In 2001 my mom gave all of us girls for our birthdays this book by Linda Cobb titled: Talking Dirty Laundry with the Queen of Clean. She is on many of the Arizona morning shows and home shows. A little about Linda Cobb: she was a newspaper columnist in Michigan where she owned a cleaning and disaster restoration business dealing with the aftermath of fires and floods. So her books are full of tips for cleaning just about everything. She has another book called Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean that is about other household cleaning.

But right now I am following her lead and cleaning my washing machine. I should probably do it more often, according to her, but I do do it twice a year--January and June. I am going to quote her because she says it best and you can get a feel for how the book is written:

"How difficult can it be? You add water and detergent, drop in the clothes, select the cycle and walk away. When you come back the clothes are clean. Okay...but have you ever considered how clean your washing machine is after all that hard water and all those dirty clothes?
"Your washer needs some TLC from time to time, especially if you have hard water in your area. So if the clothes seem dull and gray, maybe you don't need that new and improved detergent. Maybe all you need to do is clean the washing machine. Here's the easiest way I know. "Fill the washer with hot water. Add 1 quart of chlorine bleach (no detergent, please). Run the washer through the longest wash cycle. When the washer is still wet--this should be immediately after the bleach cycle--add 1 quart of white vinegar and run the washer through the same hot cycle again. This will clean out soap scum and mineral deposits from the spin basket and also from the hoses. If you live in an area with hard water you really need to do this every 3 months--otherwise every six months will do. You'll be amazed at the difference it will make."

Wah-lah! Pretty nice, huh? I usually run it through a warm rinse after, but that is my own addition to the cleaning process. Sometimes you might need to take a rag/sponge and get some of the harder/stubborn places (if you occasionally get a ring around the top), but do this while the washer is filled with the vinegar cycle so the bleach doesn't stain any of your clothes.

Don't forget to clean the fabric softener dispenser and the bleach dispenser. Did you know that you should clean the fabric softener dispenser every 4-6 weeks? This keeps it working well and prevents it from leaving softener stains on clothes. ("Liquid softener can leave blue spots on clothes; marks from dryer sheets can look lik small grease patches.)

TO DO:

Warm 1 cup of white vinegar in the microwave and pour it into the dispenser just like you would for the softener. "Make sure you use warm vinegar and make sure you do this when the washer is empty. Large pieces of sticky fabric softener will occasionally be flushed out during cleaning, and they could adhere to clothes. Not a pretty sight."

I'm telling you--this really does work!
It takes about an hour total. Fill and go, set your timer for when the cycle should finish, and start the next step. It'll be done before you know it.