Bad News: You Have to Clean Your Washing Machine. Good News: These Tablets Make it Cheap and Easy

There are so many perks to living where I do now, but one of the absolute best ones is having my own washer and dryer. I am persnickety and obsessive about laundry, as mentioned here, here, here, and most recently here, and having my very own machines that I don’t have to share - and don’t have to schlep across my building and down to a basement to reach - is heaven. I don’t have to wonder if the machines are free. I don’t have to worry that someone used bleach and is now going to ruin my clothes. If I want to leave stuff in the dryer for three days because I don’t feel like folding socks and underwear? It’s fine! I love my washer and dryer, and becasue I love them, I take care of them. One of (many) cruel ironies of life is that you have to clean the things that get things clean. BUT, if you are consistent, it’s actually incredibly easy to keep your washing machine running like it’s brand new.

I have a high efficiency front load washer, which nowadays is pretty standard. I take care of my washer in daily practice: I use a proper amount of detergent for each load (Hint: It’s not a lot!), and you will never catch me using fabric softener (it ruins your stuff). I also wipe down and dry the gasket around the door once all my washing is done, and I leave the door to the washer open-ish (my machines are in a closet, so I can’t leave the doors wide open AND the closet doors closed). And even though I do all this, I STILL run a washer clean cycle at least once a month.

I have tried many different washing machine cleaners - I typically just get what’s cheapest - but most washing machine cleaners that you can pick up at Target or wherever just give you four or five sachets of cleaner, and cost around $10. It’s a small price to pay for a functioning washing machine, but I always felt like I ran out by surprise, and then was resentful of what a new box of cleaner cost. Then I did a little search and found a pack of twenty four cleaner tablets for just $15.

This is, in my opinion, the perfect amount and price for this product. Active advertises 24 as being a year’s worth of cleaner, but I tend to run a washer clean cycle every… whenever I remember. Let’s say 3-5 weeks. I also tend to run a clean cycle after anything majorly bleh has gone through my machine, i.e. washing every dog bed and blanket in the house. But no matter how many tablets I use in the next year, I won’t have to think about restocking for a good long while.

The tablets are all individually wrapped, so you don’t have to worry about getting one drop of water on them and destroying months worth of cleaner. I’d only ever used the sachets full of powder cleaner before, and now that I’ve used a tablet I’m never going back. You just toss the tab into the drum of your washer, select a machine clean cycle, and wait. Once the clean cycle has ended (they’re long, so be prepared to wait awhile), I just take a dry cloth and wipe down the inside of the machine and the door gasket.

The is the door gasket after a tub clean cycle. No amount of “leave the door open” is going to make this go away. Dry it yourself, it takes 30 seconds!

Using a washing machine cleaner is so, so easy, and it keeps your machine running as intended, your clothes getting the best wash they can, and you not having to call an appliance repair tech to fix a preventable problem!