We’ve all been there…you need a new washer (for whatever reason – you’ve moved, yours kicked the bucket, etc.), but you don’t really want to pay $500-$2,500 (yes, there are seriously washers for $2,500) for a brand new one. Enter Craigslist – our favorite place to find gently used things from totally normal people {sarcasm}. But sometimes, you luck out – like I did last weekend – when I found a gently used, still perfectly good washer and dryer for 100 bucks. Needless to say, I scooped them up quickly.
Washer, dryer...and curious pup.
When I brought them home, the first thing I noticed was the remnants of clothing articles past. Fuzz balls and lint, random tiny miscellaneous items had all lost their homes and ended up in the little detergent dispenser. There was also some buildup from detergent and softener that I wanted to clear out.
This is a photo of my detergent dispenser before.
And here it is now!
The best part is I was able to do this without using any chemical cleansers! I used only natural ingredients. It only took about 10 minutes of scrubbing for my washer to look and smell brand new. This is also a great way to refresh and revive your washer.
Here’s what you’ll need:
White vinegar
Baking soda
Scrub brush
Small bucket or bin
Here’s what to do:
- Set your washer to the biggest load size and on the hottest water temperature
- While the washer is filling, pour 3-4 cups of white vinegar and about ¼ cup of baking soda into the drum
- Keep the lid open so that the drum can soak for about an hour
- While you’re waiting on your hour to be up, grab your little scrub brush (a toothbrush would work also) and your bucket or bin
- Fill the bucket or bin with about 1:3 ratio of vinegar to warm water, then add in a sprinkling of baking soda
- Your softener dispenser should come off easily (mine just pulled straight up and off), as should the cover of your laundry dispenser (photos)
- Toss the pieces into your bucket and let them soak for a few minutes
- While they are soaking, scrub around the top of your washer, the inside and any other parts you can access that look like they need some TLC
- Now that your pieces have soaked, you should be able to scrub the remaining detergent remnants off pretty easily
- Reattach removed pieces and close lid
- Let your washer finish its cycle – the spinning will help clean it even more
- Set your washer to do an extra rinse cycle (on hot) to clear out any remaining vinegar
- Enjoy your new(ish) washer!