Having a laundry room to call your very own is definitely a plus in any apartment, but keeping that space clean is always a hassle. Even if you're routinely emptying the lint trap and wiping down the washer, there are probably a few places you're forgetting to clean around your laundry appliances.
The next time you finish running a load, take a look around your laundry room to see if any of these easy-to-forget spaces have been cleaned recently:
Inside the washer. There's probably leftover residue inside your washing machine from washing your clothes, as well as chemicals left over from your detergent or other cleaning solutions. Give it a good rinse by running an empty cycle with hot water and either a cup of lemon juice (for rust), white vinegar (for odors or if you have hard water) or bleach (for stains), then keep the lid open overnight to air-dry.
The seal on your dryer or frontload washer. That rubber seal is what keeps dirt and water inside and away from your floor, so it's a common place for dirt and mold to accumulate. After running an empty load of hot water, like in the tip above, spray the seal with a mixture of water and bleach and wipe down the seal, making sure to clean between the rubber folds.
Underneath the washer and dryer. Unlike the armchair in your living room, these heavy appliances don't get moved around much, if ever. There's probably a growing dust bunny making itself at home underneath your dryer right now. If you can't move your washer and dryer periodically to clean underneath, improvise with a long-handled duster or a swiffer pad rigged onto a broom handle.
Your dryer vent. Lint clogging up your dryer vents will quickly kill its efficiency, and create a fire hazard in the process. To clear out the clog, according to Wikihow, just unplug the dryer, remove the hose from the back of your machine and use a handheld vacuum to clear away any buildup from the dryer and the end of the hose. Do this deep-clean once a year and you'll be in good shape.
Your clothes iron. Mineral deposits and product buildup (from spray-starch or any other chemicals you're using) can accumulate on your iron, and probably almost never get cleaned off. Real Simple suggests applying a paste of baking soda and water to a cloth and wiping down the face of your iron with it. Then clear out the holes on the soleplate with cotton swabs.
MORE CLEANING TIPS FROM APARTMENT THERAPY:
• 5 Places You Might Forget to Clean
• 10 More Places You Might Forget to Clean
• 5 Things We Never Think to Clean in the Kitchen
(Images: Shutterstock, Wikihow)
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I just recently had a bad experience with my rarely used iron. Water that I had left in the reservoir turned kind of rust colored over time. I didn't notice this until it spewed red rust colored spots all over my new white drapes when I tried to steam the wrinkles out.
BAD NEWS which resulted in a frenzy of spot cleaning and praying. I will remember to drain the reservoir next time i use it so that this wont happen again.
Never even thought to clean these places! Will definitely do the next time I'm in a cleaning frenzy.
believe it or not but my washer and dryer are in my carport.
I live in S florida so it's common.
yes the lint from the dryer is very important to remove.
other than lint removal never done any of these things
Careful to NEVER mix vinegar and bleach, it causes deadly fumes.
I would stick with vinegar :)
We had the worst smelling laundry for a couple of weeks...wiped down the rubber seal and you wouldn't believe how gross it was in there! Now we always prop the door open after each load to help things dry out.
I have a front loading washer. You can buy special cleaners for them, but I find that just leaving it open when not in use so air can circulate and dry it out seems to be enough to not n eed much other cleaning.
Our repairman advised us to stop using dryer sheets. He showed us that a film of waxy material had built up over time on the moisture sensors in our front-loading dryer. These sensors are small bars sitting just under the door. If they cannot perform properly they keep the dryer running too long or cut it off before the load is dry. He said that the waxy stuff also causes lint to adhere to the inside walls of the vent, which reduces energy efficiency. He cleaned the bars with plain rubbing alcohol on a white rag. We were able to SEE the residue he removed. We now use tennis balls in the dryer and that seems to do just fine.