How to Clean a Washing Machine: The Complete Guide

If your washing machine smells musty, or your “clean” towels come out smelling faintly of mildew, the machine itself is the problem. Detergent residue, fabric softener build-up, and trapped moisture turn the drum, seal, and detergent drawer into a breeding ground for mould and bacteria. A washing machine that cleans your clothes still needs cleaning of its own — ideally once a month.

This guide covers exactly how to clean a washing machine, whether you own a front loader or a top loader, plus the habits that stop grime from building up in the first place.

How Often Should You Clean a Washing Machine?

Run a dedicated cleaning cycle every four weeks. If you mostly wash on cold cycles (common in Australia to save on power bills), do it every two to three weeks instead — cold water doesn’t dissolve detergent and softener residue as effectively as hot water, so build-up happens faster. Households with hard water, or anyone who’s noticed a smell, should also lean toward the more frequent end.

Cleaning a Front Loader

Front loaders need more attention than top loaders because the rubber door seal holds water after every cycle, and that trapped moisture is exactly what mould needs to grow.

Step 1: Clean the Door Seal First

Pull back the rubber gasket around the door and check inside the fold — this is where lint, hair, coins, and grey sludge collect, and it’s the single biggest source of washing machine odour. Wipe it out with a cloth dampened in a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and warm water, or a dedicated washing machine cleaner. Get right into the fold with an old toothbrush if it’s badly built up.

Step 2: Run a Hot Maintenance Wash

Set the machine to its hottest cycle (usually 60°C or 90°C, sometimes labelled “drum clean” or “tub clean”) with nothing in the drum. Add either:

• A washing machine cleaner tablet or powder (Woolworths and Coles both stock dedicated washing machine cleaner products), or
• 1 cup of white vinegar in the drum plus ½ cup of bicarbonate of soda in the detergent drawer

Let the cycle run to completion. This dissolves detergent scum and softener film built up on the drum, heating element, and internal hoses — areas you can’t reach by hand.

Step 3: Clean the Detergent Drawer

Slide out the detergent drawer (most have a release catch or button) and soak it in hot soapy water. Use an old toothbrush on the compartments where softener collects, since this is often thick with mould. Check the cavity the drawer sits in too — wipe it out with a vinegar-dampened cloth before sliding the drawer back in.

Step 4: Wipe the Rubber Seal and Glass Door

Once the hot cycle finishes, wipe down the seal and the inside of the glass door while everything is still warm and loosened. Leave both the door and detergent drawer open to air-dry completely.

Cleaning a Top Loader

Top loaders are generally lower maintenance since they don’t have a sealed door gasket trapping moisture, but the tub and agitator or impeller still accumulate residue.

1. Fill the drum with hot water on the largest setting (or run “deep fill” if available).
2. Add 4 cups of white vinegar and let it sit for an hour before running a full cycle.
3. Follow with a second hot cycle using ½ cup of bicarbonate of soda to neutralise any remaining vinegar smell and lift residual grime.
4. Wipe down the rim of the tub, the lid, and around the agitator or impeller base — this is where lint and soap scum most commonly collect on top loaders.

What to Use — and What to Avoid

Good options: white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, dedicated washing machine cleaner tablets, and citric acid (effective against hard water limescale, which is common in Australian homes with harder water supplies).

Avoid: bleach mixed with vinegar (this creates toxic chlorine gas — never combine them), and excessive amounts of any cleaner, which can leave its own residue.

Cleaning the Exterior and Filter

The drum isn’t the only part that needs attention:

• Exterior: Wipe down the control panel and casing with a damp microfibre cloth. Avoid abrasive cleaners on the display panel.
• Drain filter: Most front loaders have a small access panel near the bottom front of the machine hiding a drain filter. Open it (over a shallow tray — some water will drain out) and clear out coins, buttons, and lint every few months. A blocked filter is one of the most common causes of drainage problems and bad smells.
• Inlet filters: The mesh filters where your water hoses connect to the machine can clog with sediment over years of use, reducing water pressure into the machine. These are worth checking annually.

Preventing Build-Up Between Cleans

A few habits will dramatically extend the time between deep cleans:

• Don’t overdose on detergent — more isn’t more effective, and unused detergent just becomes residue. Follow the dosage line for your water hardness and load size.
• Switch to a liquid or powder appropriate for your machine type (HE or “high efficiency” detergent for front loaders) to avoid excess suds and residue.
• Remove wet washing promptly instead of leaving it in the drum, which encourages mould growth on both the clothes and the machine.
• Leave the door (front loaders) or lid (top loaders) open between washes.

Keeping on top of these small habits, combined with a monthly hot maintenance wash, means your washing machine cleaner routine takes fifteen minutes and prevents the kind of build-up that eventually needs a technician — or a new machine — to fix.