Are you worried you may have discovered mold in your machine? If you’re smelling mildew on your freshly washed clothes, seeing black spots on your seal or drum, or noticing a sludgy build-up in your machine, then it’s definitely time to learn how to clean mold out of a washing machine.
Let us take you through our simple steps to remove mold from even the best washing machines, including tips from our cleaning expert, Shandel Small, on which products to use to get your machine fresh and clean.
How to clean mold out of a washing machine
Follow these steps to get rid of any mold your washing machine may be harboring. It’s important to follow them all as mold spreads quickly in warm environments with limited airflow, like washing machines, and it will quickly spread from one part of the machine to the other:
Shandel Small tells us how she tackles mold in a washing machine drum: “When cleaning out a washing machine drum, you can use any disinfectant cleaner such as Lysol”
1. Clean the drum
Take a damp cleaning cloth and pour a little cleaning detergent onto it. Cleaning expert Shandel uses Lysol, but white vinegar or any other disinfectant is also an option. Use this to wipe out the inside of the washing machine drum. If mold and mildew are incubating around the perforations in the holes of the drum, this should be taken care of.
2. Focus on the seal
This next step is how to clean mold out of a washing machine seal. Rub around the rubber seal of the washer with a damp cloth and white vinegar. This should remove any black mold spots that have formed. You may need to repeat this step several times.
3. Clean the washing machine drawer
Pour a cap full of bleach or Lysol into your washing machine drawer. Most washing machines have a specific antibacterial wash to wash out the drum. Check your machine's manufacturer’s manual for details on how to find this. If your machine doesn’t have one, select a setting for a hot wash of at least half an hour.
4. Wipe out the detergent drawer
Use a cloth to wipe the detergent drawer with a disinfectant spray and warm water. Air dry and replace. This is an important step in how to clean mold out of a washing machine to avoid any mold spores making their way back down into the drum.
5. Turn to the filter
Clean out the filter. This is usually located at the bottom right of the machine. The filter will need to be emptied and then cleaned with warm water and disinfectant before replacing.
