The holiday season is here and is perfect for traveling and seeing family. Traveling means packing and cleaning clothes, but just as important as it is to have clean clothes, it’s important to have a clean washing machine and dryer.

Washing machines and dryers are not cheap appliances. They cost a lot of money, so to keep your washing machine and dryer lasting longer, it’s important to keep it clean and up to date on maintenance. Here are some cleaning tips to keep your washing machine and dryer working properly.

Washer:

Use Affresh tablets – These tablets can be found at Walmart, Amazon, and Home Depot. These tablets are a great way to keep your washing machine clean, and it will help with any odors and left over bacteria. To use these, put a tablet in an empty washing machine and run it through a cycle.
Bleach – Bleach is also a great way to help kill bacteria and odors without damaging your washing machine. Some other options are vinegar and citrus cleaners.
Clean out the Bellow – If you have a front loader, it’s important to clean out the bellow. The bellow is the rubber part in between the door and the drum. When a washing machine is running, water can be trapped inside the bellow which can cause mold. To clean this, use vinegar, bleach, or an all purpose cleaner and a rag and wipe it down.
Too much soap – The biggest cause of smell in a washer is too much soap being used. Using too much soap can leave residue and makes your washer stink. To remove the smell, take a rag and remove any soap residue. Then run bleach or the Affresh tablets through your washer to ensure bacteria and odor are removed.
Do not use CLR – Many washer manufacturers recommend people to stay away from using CLR in your washing machine to clean it out. CLR can ruin the seals in the back of the washer.

Dryer:

Lint – Make sure every time you use your dryer, that the lint trap and holder of lint trap is clear of any lint. Not cleaning that our regularly can cause restrictions in air flow, dryer issues, and can eventually ruin heating elements.
Vacuum – After reading the manufacturers instructions, vacuum the back panel. The back panel can fill with lint, dust, and dirt.
Always check your pockets – Whether it is chap-stick, electronics, gum, etc. anything left in your pockets when put in the dryer can cause problems. Those items in your pockets could get out and get stuck in the dryer drum. Any kind of foreign material stuck in the drum, needs to be removed. Anything in there could melt and ruin clothes because of the temperature of heat being used to dry the clothes.

Every load of laundry is worth about $600 worth of clothes. Keeping your appliances clean and maintained, can help keep your appliances lasting longer, and can help save money on clothes.