Get The Inside Of Your Washer Sparkling Clean With A Handy Household Essential

Dr. Charles Gerba, professor of virology at the University of Arizona, has spent his career studying household pathogens. In a laundry study of 60 four-person families, he found that one-fourth of the families had fecal matter inside their empty machines, and one-fifth had E.coli. Salmonella, hepatitis A, norovirus, and staphylococcus (a bacteria found on the skin), are just some of the germs that can live through an average wash cycle and contaminate future loads. While your detergent may be getting your clothes looking clean and smelling fresh, it is doing nothing to kill the invisible bacteria lurking within. 

Now that your panties are in a twist (which, according to Dr. Gerba, have about a tenth of a gram of feces in the average pair), you're probably wanting to clean your washing machine ASAP. So let's see how to properly clean it with something you already have on your shelf — hydrogen peroxide. 

You may have used hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant for open wounds, or mixed it with lemon juice and water to make an all-purpose cleaning spray. But you can also use it to disinfect and deodorize your washing machine. It not only kills bacteria, but also the mold that often grows in the gasket (the rubber seal around your washer's door or lid), and even serves to get rid of the mildew smell that accompanies it. To top it off, hydrogen peroxide is also a great eco-friendly alternative to bleach — which will certainly kill lingering bacteria, but contains harsh chemicals — so let's examine how to use it to get your moldy, bacteria-laden machine sparkling clean. 

First, start with a completely empty washing machine. Clean the individual parts, including the rubber gasket, agitator, inside of the door, and detergent trays. You can do this with a cloth and 3% hydrogen peroxide, or you can make a cleaning solution with one cup hydrogen peroxide, two cups distilled water, and two tablespoons lemon juice in a solid-colored spray bottle. Pay extra attention to the gasket, and remove any other removable parts to clean thoroughly. 

Next, set your machine to its hottest, longest setting (or the "Sanitize" setting if you have it). Add two cups of hydrogen peroxide to the drum and run the cycle. When the cycle is complete, wipe all areas with a clean cloth and leave the door open to allow the drum to dry completely. In general, a good rule of thumb is to keep the door cracked, or the lid open, between loads: This prevents the growth of bacteria. 

Using hydrogen peroxide to disinfect your washing machine is not just a washing machine hack for when you don't have any washing machine cleaner tablets on hand, but a necessity. If you read the boxes on most washing machine cleaner brands, they are meant to deodorize and remove grime and residue left over from hard water and detergent. However, they do not disinfect, which is the key to bacteria-free laundry. It's a good thing you already have the perfect solution in your medicine cabinet, right?