Buying guide
How to Clean a Washing Machine (And Why You Must)
The protective rhythm that stops musty smell and sludge — descaling, drum cleans and the honest seal trap.
Washing machines are the most-used cleaning appliance and one of the least cleaned. The musty smell and grey film they acquire is soap scum and hard-water build-up — and it deposits on your clothes. Cleaning the cleaner is a small, recurring ritual with outsized returns.
The gasket is the trap
Front-loaders build biofilm in the door gasket's folds and the detergent drawer. Wipe the gasket dry after each cycle — the single highest-leverage habit for musty machines.
Run a monthly clean cycle
A wash-machine cleaner (e.g. affresh) or hot empty cycle with the machine's self-clean setting removes soap scum and odour. One tablet or scoop, monthly, is the honest rhythm.
Descale by water hardness
Hard-water homes add calcium scale the soap builds on top of. A descaling clean every quarter complements the monthly cycle.
affresh
affresh Washing Machine CleanerTablet cleaner that removes odour-causing buildup from washers.
Check Current Price on AmazonFrequently asked questions
Why do my towels smell musty?
Nearly always a machine or usage issue (gasket biofilm, overdosing detergent), not the fabric — clean the machine and re-evaluate dose.
Can I use bleach instead of a cleaner?
Bleach handles some biofilm but not scale; a purpose-made cleaner covers both.
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