NWR- Did U know U need to wash your washing machine???

It's easily one of the grossest things I've ever cleaned (without just giving up and throwing it away). So I thought it might be helpful to warn you ladies who maybe moving in together soon, or buying a house and/or appliances soon or have done so recently... Wash the things you wash other things in before it's too late!! You do not want the years to catch up on you.

So gross! By the way, I washed it once, yup still dirty. When FI gets home I'm going to have him take it apart so I can take it outside and scrub it.

Fun! :-/

I learned this last week. apparantly it's good just to run a cycle with vinegar and water every week

Grossss. I had to laugh at the "grossest things I've ever cleaned (without just giving up and throwing it away)" part though because I just did that with a tupperware container -- it had greek yogurt and cut peaches in it and it was waaaay moldy and I just tossed it. Didn't even think twice about it! Blech.

Huh?

I clean the drier because lint accumulates in all sorts of weird places, but washer... I've got to be the most awful temporary housewife ever.

Yes, my FH has it on his calender to clean ours! lol --luckily, there is a cycle for that on the machine.

I read an article the other day that says if you have an odor (and a high efficiency washer) that you may be using too much soap. that stuff is super concentrated. Just a tip!

I have an aunt who washes her washer. I always just thought she was slightly crazy lol. Every time I'd go over her house she'd have her washer running with bleach and no clothes.

I just found this out on Pinterest a few weeks ago as well. I was under the impression that it was only for front loading washers. Is it top loading ones as well?? I do have a front loader so either way I need to clean mine but I was just curious. I did read that sometimes front loaders can start to smell because the water just doesn't have a good place to drain and gets stuck under the rubber that seals the door and it recommended leaving the door open when not in use. I have been leaving mine open and it doesn't smell anymore. I do need to clean it though. We've only had it a few months and I don't want it getting nasty.

Kat--we leave ours open as well. It totally helps! We clean the rubber and I want to say we run the clean cycle once a month.

I have had my washer for for seven years and it runs just as fine as the day I bought. I only use liquid detergent which is added when the water starts. Thanks to still having one little one training to get through the night, I have no choice but to use white vinegar At Least once a week. But my gallon size bottle is right up there next to the detergent. I know my parents NEVER did this, and they were constantly going through machines. Ridiculous. If you don't have little monsters who get smelly laundry, it's a really good idea to add the vinegar to your towel load. It's Good For Your Towels!! Gets all the grime from any soap residue out and helps keep them fluffy, absorbent, and colorful.

I run a "load" without anything in it, with laundry detergent and soap, every week or so. I also run such a load before I wash face towels and kitchen towels.

Without getting too gross, Dr. Oz also recommends washing underwear in hot water to kill fecal germs.

KitCat, vinegar is also good to keep mold away. I have a spray bottle with white vinegar in ti. I spritz my shower every morning with it. Of course, then my shower smells like a salad. LOL!

Lol Kathy. I'm only used to my shower smelling like fruit salad!

You should also wash your dishwasher. They actually have a cleaner available at the store for that one-you just put it in and start the dishwasher with no dishes in it.

I learned something new today!

By the way I literally LOLed by the "I looked at the rag and it was covered in a thick film that looked and smelled like poop!" comment

Yes never washed mine but haven't noticed any odors however we do leave to top open as well when not in use!

Ok, I guess I'm crazy - I've always cleaned my washer and my dishwasher too!

The dryer... I'll admit it, I bought that stupid Lint Lizard as seen on TV but I got it at BBB LOL. I use it all the time

So far I've run 2 empty loads with bleach, 1 with vinegar, and 1 with Oxiclean. Each time I ran a rag up inside the rim and each time I've come out with "the poop" stuff. It's a top loader so I don't think the water really gets up there. I think as the washer fills and spins lint, dirt, hair and gunk gets pushed all the way up inside the rim and it just collects there....

FI wont be home to take the machine apart until Wednesday night and I've got a ton of laundry to do. How irritating. It does smell better but the problem is that I now know "the poop" is in there so I can't call anything that comes out of it clean.

I did however clean the dishwasher with much better results! So there's that at least.

OMG I posted about this a few months ago. Our apartment started to REEK like a dirty diaper. I called the maintenance man and he was zero help. I thought there was something wrong with our hot water heater or something, b/c it's in the same closet as our laundry machines. But, the WW ladies helped me figure it out, and I washed the machine, and now I leave the lid open and it doesn't get so stinky.

Does your washer have a lint trap? Some washers do.

I also was under the impression that a machine meant for cleaning other things would actually stay clean on its own. Duh.

You can tell it's Monday. I had to read the title of this post several times to realize that it did not say "NWR: Did U know U need to wash your wedding machine???"

Other than that, I have nothing to add.