- 1). Wear rubber gloves. Spray the inside drum of the washing machine with 100 percent white vinegar in a spritzer bottle. Vinegar kills bacteria, mold and other odor-causing agents. Scrub the inside walls of the drum with a scrubber. Clean the inside of the lid and around the top where dirt and rust accumulate. Rinse with water.
- 2). Fill the washer with hot water. Add 2 cups of laundry bleach to the water. While the washer is filling use a toilet brush to scrub the inside beater bar, the bleach additive cup and the inside lid and its surrounding. Rinse with water. Close the lid and let the machine cycle through its wash cycle.
- 3). Scrub the inside drum of the dryer with vinegar to kill bacteria. Clean out the filter. Pull the dryer away from the wall and disconnect the vent hose. Look inside the hose to see if moisture, lint or odors are accumulating inside the vent. Sometimes the vent hose develops a dip, and moisture from outside accumulates in the low spot. Check the exterior vent to make sure it is in good working order. Sometimes the vent will pull away, break or be open to the weather. Replace the vent outside if it is damaged. Replace the vent hose inside if it smells bad. Connect the new hose so that there is no low spot for moisture to accumulate.
- 4). Fill a sachet bag with 1/2 cup of baking soda. Tie the cords tight. Toss this in with your clothes in the dryer to deodorize the dryer. Replace the baking soda monthly.
- 5). Add 2 tbsp. of washing soda (sodium carbonate) to the laundry detergent. Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the first rinse cycle. The odor of vinegar will rinse out in the second cycle. Wash using hot water for whites and colorfast fabrics.
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