Your washing machine cleans clothes, right? So it won’t need cleaning itself, because it’s totally clean, right? Wrong!

Here at Housekeep, we know how important it is to keep things clean; that includes your cleaning materials too. Whether it’s putting your cloths in the wash after every clean, or freshening-up your dishwasher to get your plates extra shiny!

Around once a month you should give you washing machine some TLC, it’s boring yes, but it will give your machine a new lease of life and hopefully make it last longer. Plus, if you live with friends like many Londoners, and the washing machine is nearly always whirring, it’ll be more likely to get dirty!

And as part of our ‘Essential Home Maintenance Series’, this week we’re taking a look at your washing machine.

One of the most frequent complaints about washing machines is a musty smell - this is usually caused by a build-up of detergent and softener in the machine.

So to tackle the pesky build up and to give your washer a new lease of life, simply follow these steps:

1. Add 500g of soda crystals, found in most supermarkets, to the detergent dispenser and run an empty cycle on the hottest setting
2. Once the cycle has finished, give all the seals a good wipe with a damp cloth
3. If possible, remove the detergent dispenser from the washing machine give it a wash in hot soapy water
4. Add 500ml of white vinegar to the drum of the washing machine and run another hot wash

It might seem odd to add vinegar to your washing machine, but we promise all residue will be removed. Plus, vinegar will protect against limescale.

Of course, check with the manufacturer’s instructions before you run a maintenance wash like this!

We’d love to hear what your secret ingredients for cleaning are so get in touch! 

The Housekeep Team