How to Clean a Washing Machine Properly (Drum, Seal, Filter and All)

A machine that washes your clothes gets surprisingly dirty itself. Detergent residue, fabric softener, lint and hard-water scale build up in the places you cannot see, and the first signs are usually a musty smell, grey flecks on the washing, or a black slime on the door seal.

Here is how to clean a washing machine properly, in the order a technician would: drum, door seal, drain filter, detergent drawer. It takes about half an hour, most of it hands-off, and doing it every month or two is the single cheapest thing you can do to extend the machine’s life.

One honest note before you start: cleaning fixes residue problems. If your machine smells like burning, rattles, leaks or will not finish a cycle, that is a fault, not dirt, and no amount of vinegar will fix it.

Step 1: Run a hot maintenance wash to clean the drum

The simplest way to clean the drum of a washing machine is a hot empty cycle. Run the hottest, longest cycle your machine has, with no clothes in it. If your machine has a dedicated drum-clean or tub-clean cycle, use that.

For a machine that smells musty, add a cleaner to the empty cycle. Two cups of white vinegar in the drum works well, and using vinegar to clean a washing machine is safe for occasional maintenance washes. A branded washing machine cleaner does the same job. Use one or the other, never mixed with bleach.

The hot water dissolves the soap scum and biofilm that cold cycles leave behind. Modern cold washing is great for your power bill, but it is exactly why machines now grow smells that our grandparents’ machines never did.

Step 2: Clean the door seal, the smelliest spot in the machine

On a front loader, peel back the rubber door seal and look in the fold. That black residue is mould and biofilm sitting in trapped water, and it is the number one source of washing machine smells.

Wipe the whole fold out with a cloth and warm soapy water, or a 50/50 vinegar and water mix for mouldy patches. Get right into the bottom of the fold where the water pools. Check for stray socks and hair ties while you are in there, because they hold moisture against the rubber.

If the seal itself is torn, perished or permanently blackened deep in the rubber, cleaning will not bring it back. A damaged seal also starts to leak, and replacing it is a routine repair job.

Step 3: Empty the drain filter

The drain filter catches coins, lint and debris before they reach the pump, and almost nobody empties it. A clogged filter makes the machine drain slowly, spin poorly and smell stale.

It is usually behind a small hatch at the bottom front of the machine. Lay a towel down, put a shallow tray under the hatch, and open it slowly, because trapped water will come out. Pull the filter, clear it, rinse it, and screw it back in firmly.

Do this every couple of months. If you have read our guide to a washing machine that will not spin, you will recognise this filter: it is the same one that causes half of those call-outs.

Step 4: Pull out and scrub the detergent drawer

The drawer and its housing grow a crust of congealed detergent and softener, and mould loves it. Most drawers release completely, usually with a tab you press while pulling.

Soak the drawer in hot soapy water and scrub it clean, then reach into the housing with a bottle brush or old toothbrush. If your machine has visible mould up in the housing roof, that is often the source of a smell no drum clean ever fixed.

How to clean a front load washing machine vs a top loader

Everything above applies to both, but front loaders need the seal step and benefit most from the door being left ajar between washes so the drum can dry out. Top loaders skip the seal but collect residue under the agitator and around the top rim of the tub, so give those a wipe during the empty cycle.

Either way, use the right amount of detergent. Overdosing is the biggest single cause of residue build-up, and with modern concentrated detergents, most households use far more than the machine needs.

• ✓Leave the door and drawer open between washes
• ✓Wipe the seal dry after heavy-use days
• ✓Run a hot maintenance wash every 4 to 8 weeks
• ✓Empty the drain filter every couple of months
• ✓Measure detergent instead of free-pouring

When the smell or residue is not a cleaning problem

Some symptoms look like dirt but are actually faults. If you notice any of these, cleaning is not the answer and it is time to book it in.

CAI Appliance Services has repaired washing machines across Perth for over 25 years. Our technicians are fully mobile across the metro, and honest about the difference between a machine that needs a clean and a machine that needs a repair. Details on our washing machine repair page.

• ✓A burning or electrical smell, ever — switch it off at the wall
• ✓Sour smells returning within days of a full clean, which can point to a drainage fault
• ✓Water left in the drum after cycles — see our guide to a washing machine that will not spin
• ✓Water on the floor — see our guide to a leaking washing machine
• ✓Grinding, rumbling or a drum that has dropped out of line

Does the machine brand change anything?

The routine is the same across brands. Bosch, Miele and LG publish their own drum-clean cycle instructions in the manual, and Samsung front loaders will actually remind you to run one. If a maintenance cycle keeps triggering warnings or the machine still smells straight after, that is worth a professional look.

Clean your washing machine: the quick version

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