Friday, July 13, 2012

How to Prevent Washing Machine Mildew

Grossed out by the yucky mildew that forms in your shiny, new, front-loading washer?
There is an easy solution. 
First, clean the mildew off with bleach or mildew removing spray.
Some machines allow you to remove the inside of the detergent dispenser for cleaning. Try popping it in the dishwasher or briefly submerging it in hot, bleachy water. Be careful how long you leave in bleach as bleach tends to break down rubber parts. Vinegar might work as well, with some scrubbing, if you are interested in a safer method than bleach (but vinegar wouldn't clean the rubber seal for me.) 
TO PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN....
After the final load of the day, leave your washer door and detergent drawer open.
This was in the manual that came with my Elecrolux machine, and I do this every time I do laundry and my machine has never grown mildew.
You can leave it open until it is dry, or until the next day. If you think about it, you would not leave warm moisture in an air/water tight container and be surprised when it mildewed. You are doing the same thing when you close your washer while it is still damp. 
You can also try adding vinegar to the fabric softener cup. It works as a natural fabric softener too and I promise you won't smell like a pickle.