So recently I’ve been having issues with there being a weird smell in my washer long after the clothes were out. So here I’m left with these wonderfully cleaned clothes that smell amazing and I find myself thinking “How can something so clean come from someplace that smells so bad?” I’ve even went as far as smelling the clothes to make sure it wasn’t them. Upon further investigation, I found out that horrid smell was coming from mildew that accumulated behind the tray of my nice little washing machine.
Instantly I was grossed out! I went to find the biggest spray bottle I could find, filled it with bleach and water, grabbed my mask and I was prepared to spray my little heart out to get rid of it. And then I realized: that’s not going to solve the problem, and if it does, it’ll probably be a temporary fix. Defeated, I put the mask on the top of my head, sat the spray bottle on the counter, and retreated to my room where my computer sat anxiously awaiting my arrival. I went on a Google spree. I Googled and Pintrested all of the home remedies I could as well as searched for how-to videos to try to help solve my issue. One thing I noticed is that there was a general consensus between the do- it- yourselfers as well as those who are in the cleaning business(which I happen to be in). Everyone used baking soda and vinegar as a cleaning remedy. Now, I’m not a person who follows the bandwagon. I don’t do what others do, but this time, I decided to give it a shot. After all, the worse thing that could happen was me ruining the perfectly good washer right?
After gaining the wealth of knowledge from the internet, I set out to clean my washer. My washer is a front load washer. I went to the kitchen grabbed some vinegar, and then went to the cabinets where I kept the baking soda stashed. I poured one cup and a half of baking soda in the drum, and then in the part where I put the laundry detergent, I added vinegar. I hit start, and for the next 25 minutes, silently hoped I didn’t need to go get another washer. After what felt like the longest 25 minutes of my life, the cute little ding went off to let me know the washer was done. I slowly crept to the washer, apprehensive to open it for fear of what I would find. I opened it; looked inside, and Oh my gosh! It smelled amazing! I was so amazed! But my job wasn’t done. I was so happy with the results I decided that this would be a wonderful time to tackle the mildew behind the tray. I widely debated on using bleach as well as using vinegar. I decided to go with a vinegar and water mixture. I believe the bleach would’ve worked but I didn’t want to give it a chance to grow again. Plus I noticed the tray space is relatively small and I didn’t want to chance passing out by inhaling the fumes from the bleach, lol.
I grabbed my trusty towel and wiped down all of the surfaces before continuing to the tray. I wiped down the tray; removed it and wiped that down also. I left the tray out to let it air dry overnight and the following morning, I put it back. A few days later, I did a few loads in the washer and I was so scared of the scent coming back. To be honest, it didn’t! I was so excited. I just learned a new trick on what to do in the future and I am super excited! Hopefully it doesn’t happen again, but if it does, I now know what to do.
Essentially Happy 