Laundry Room Cleaning 101

When was the last time you really deep-cleaned your laundry room? 

Laundry rooms are usually full of dust bunnies, lint, and mismatched socks. Sure, you can close the door and pretend the mess doesn’t exist, but if we want our laundry rooms to keep working hard for us, we need to return the favor and keep them clean and organized. 

This in-depth guide will help you make your laundry room sparkle. You may even want to keep the door open for your guests to see!

Tide-ey Up 

Deep clean the room before tackling the machines. Our method is always to work in sections around the room, top to bottom and left to right so you don’t miss a thing.

1. Declutter by getting rid of anything you no longer use. Take everything off the shelves and floors so you can clean the surfaces. Safely move what you can to get under and around to clean. 
2. Vacuum shelves, window sills, baseboards, floors and closets. Don’t forget behind and around your machines.
3. Remove register covers and vacuum out dirt and dust from vents.
4. Empty the trash bin.
5. Wipe all surfaces and cupboards with hot water and Tide® (recipe below). 
6. As you return all products to the shelves, wipe down any bottles or containers that may have any sticky drips or accumulated dust.
7. Return all items to your shelves and cupboards. Place the most used items in the front for easy access.

If you need more help with organizing the space, read this article.

Clean Your Washing Machines 

We recommend running a bleach cycle in your washing machine every month and deep cleaning it every 3 months. If your machine stinks, see here.

Always refer to your user manual for cleaning and maintenance instructions.

Wear clothes that can get bleached because we’re going to be using a lot of it.

Front loader

Step 1: Clean the Seal

If your machine smells like a swamp, this is likely the problem area.

• Open the door and pull open the seal. Pull out as much gunk as possible with a paper towel.  
• Pour ½ cup of bleach into the seal.
• Scrub the entire rubber seal with a scrub brush, then wipe it with a paper towel.

Pro Tip: Leave your front loader door open after every wash to allow the seal to dry and prevent mold from occurring. 

Step 2: Clean the Filter

• Lay down a towel before starting. Trust us, don’t skip this step.
• Locate your filter. Most are found on the lower front of your machine. Check your manual.
• Open the access panel where the filter is. Pull out the hose, remove the cap, and let it drain into a bowl. 
• Twist and pull out the filter. Scrub it with a brush and bleach. Rinse. 
• Twist the filter back into place. Make sure it’s on tight or you could flood your laundry room. 
• Replace the cap on the hose, and check that it’s tight.

Step 3: Clean the rest of the machine 

• Completely remove the detergent dispenser tray (press on the tab).  Scrub it clean with hot water and bleach. Rinse.
• Look inside the drawer compartment, and give it a good scrub with hot water and bleach as there may be mold. Replace the drawer.
• Wipe the inside of the door with water and bleach to remove any detergent buildup.
• Fill the bleach compartment, then run a rinse or sanitize cycle to clean the inside of the machine.
• Wipe down the exterior of the machine with hot water and powdered Tide®. Polish the glass with Windex®.

Top Loader (Sarah’s Favorite)

Step 1: Clean the lid and seal

• Scrub the seal (if yours has one at the top of the drum) using bleach to remove any mold. Wipe with a paper towel to remove the crud.
• Scrub the hinge and any crevices of the door with hot water and bleach. Wipe with a paper towel.

Step 2: Clean the Filter

• Locate your filter (use your manual). Most are under the cover of the agitator, which you would twist off.
• Pull out the filter and scrub it with bleach. Rinse.
• Clean the filter’s compartment with hot water and bleach.
• Place all parts back into the machine. 

Step 3: Clean the rest of the machine

• Remove the detergent dispenser and any other tray dispensers (if you can). Scrub clean with hot water and bleach. Rinse. Clean the dispenser compartments as well.
• Wipe down the exterior of the machine with hot water and powdered Tide®. Polish any glass with Windex®.
• Fill the machine with hot water, fill the bleach dispenser with bleach, and run a cleaning cycle.

Clean Your Dryer 

Grab your vacuum with a horse hair brush attachment. Dust and lint are the main culprits here. Use this article for more detailed instructions for cleaning your dryer.

• Vacuum the dryer door, the lint trap and inside the lint trap compartment.

• Use a wet Magic eraser inside the drum to remove any scuffs.
• Wipe the outside of the machine with hot water and powdered Tide®, polish any glass using Windex®.

Final Laundry Room Check

Now it’s time to put the room back together.

It’s the nature of the beast that dust and dirt settle after you’ve cleaned shelves, cupboards, laundry machines, etc. So give the room a final vacuum, and then mop the floors using our water, bleach and Tide® recipe.  

Now you are ready to tackle your laundry mountain. For more instructions on how we do laundry, care for our machines, or tackle our mountain of folding, check out our Laundry Guide.