How to Deep Clean a Top Load Washer and Stop the Smell

You lift the lid expecting fresh laundry and get a wave of mildew instead. The machine that washes everything you own sits damp and closed for hours between loads, and that funk transfers straight onto clean clothes.

The fix is a routine, not a repair. One hot cycle with bleach sanitizes the drum, a separate hot cycle with vinegar strips the buildup, and a short wipe of the lid, dispensers, and agitator handles the rest.

Here is the full method for a top load washer, plus the habits that stop the smell from coming back.

How Often Should I Clean My Top Load Washer?

Clean a top load washer about once a month, or every 30 wash cycles, whichever comes first. According to Whirlpool, that is the cadence its built-in clean cycle is designed around, roughly every 30 days, and holding to it stops detergent, fabric softener, and hard-water scale from building into odor ⁽¹⁾. Three months is the absolute outside limit, not a target.

Hard water pushes you toward the monthly end. Mineral-heavy water leaves deposits that clog hoses and coat the drum.

High efficiency (HE) machines also need more attention. They use less water, so they do not flush residue away as well as older models. If you own an HE washer, hold to a monthly clean.

Cold-water habits and humidity do the same thing. Cold water never fully dissolves detergent, and a damp laundry room feeds mold, which is why the EPA advises keeping indoor humidity under 60%, and ideally between 30% and 50%. If your laundry room runs muggy, clean the drum monthly rather than quarterly.

How Do You Clean a Top Loading Washing Machine?

Clean a top loading washing machine in two separate hot cycles: bleach first, to kill the bacteria and mold behind the smell, then vinegar, to dissolve soap scum and the mineral deposits bleach leaves behind. Running them apart is what makes the method safe as well as effective.

If your machine has a dedicated Self-Clean or Clean Washer cycle, you can run that with a washing machine cleaner tablet instead. Whirlpool’s own procedure puts the tablet in the bottom of the empty wash basket rather than the detergent dispenser, adds no detergent or other chemicals alongside it, finishes with a Rinse and Spin to flush the cleaner out, and leaves the lid open afterward so the interior dries. The manual steps below work whether or not your washer has that cycle.

Safety Warning: Run the two steps as separate cycles and never combine bleach and vinegar. Mixed together they give off chlorine gas, which irritates the eyes, nose, and throat and can trigger coughing and breathing trouble ⁽²⁾. The same warning covers bleach and ammonia, which react to form chloramine gases.

• Time: 2-4 hours (includes soaking time)
• Difficulty: Beginner

What You’ll Need

Gather these supplies before you start.

• Microfiber cloths
• Liquid chlorine bleach
• Distilled white vinegar
• Dish soap
• Old toothbrush
• Small bucket or bowl
• Measuring cup
• Spray bottle

Step 1: The Bleach Cycle

Bleach is your sanitizer. It reaches into the tiny holes in the drum to kill the bacteria and mold causing the smell. Run it on its own, with no detergent and no other cleaner in the machine.

1. Empty the Washer

Check the drum carefully. Remove any clothes, wet towels, or that one missing sock hiding at the bottom. Check the dispenser drawers and clear out any leftover detergent or softener.

2. Select Your Settings

If your machine has a specific “Self-Clean” cycle, select it now. If not, manually set the washer to the hottest water temperature, the largest load size, and the longest wash duration available. Start the cycle and let the drum fill with water.

3. Add Bleach and Soak

Once the water fills up, but before the agitation starts, pour 4 cups of liquid bleach directly into the water. Close the lid and let the machine agitate for about 1 minute to mix the solution.

Open the lid (or press pause) to stop the cycle. Let the bleach water sit in the drum for 1 hour. This soak is what actually kills the mold. If your machine drains automatically after a few minutes of pausing, you may have to skip the soak, but the clean will be less effective.

4. Finish the Cycle

After the hour is up, close the lid and let the machine run through the rest of the wash, rinse, and spin cycles. This flushes the bleach out of the system. If your washer offers a separate rinse and spin, run one more to be sure nothing is left in the drum or the hoses.

Step 2: The Vinegar Cycle

Now you will deep clean the washing machine with vinegar. This acidic step tackles hard-water deposits and soap scum that bleach leaves behind.

1. Scrub the Dispensers

While the machine is empty, tackle the removable parts. Heat 1 cup of vinegar in the microwave until it is hot but not boiling.

Remove the detergent and fabric softener dispensers. Soak them in a bucket of hot water mixed with the hot vinegar for 15 minutes. If they are not removable, pour the hot vinegar into the dispenser and let it sit.

Use an old toothbrush to scrub away the sticky gunk. Rinse them well and replace them.

2. Start the Hot Cycle

Set your washer again: hottest water, largest load, longest cycle. Let the drum fill with hot water.

3. Add Vinegar

Pour 4 cups of white vinegar into the water. For extra scrubbing power you can add half a cup of baking soda, but do it slowly because it will fizz.

Close the lid and let it agitate for 1 minute. Pause the machine (or open the lid) and let this mixture soak for 1 hour.

4. Rinse It Out

Close the lid and let the cycle finish. The vinegar rinses away and carries the loosened mineral deposits with it.

Step 3: Exterior and Details

The inside is clean, but the nooks and crannies still hold dust and grime.

1. Mix Your Cleaner

Fill a bowl with warm water and add a few drops of dish soap. You do not need harsh chemicals here; mild soap is best for the enamel and plastic parts.

2. Wipe the Exterior

Dip a microfiber cloth into the soapy water. Wipe down the front, sides, and top of the machine. Pay attention to the knobs, buttons, and control panel, since these high-touch areas collect oils from your hands.

3. Clean the Lid and Rim

Open the lid. Dirt often collects in the gap between the metal drum and the plastic top rim. Dip your toothbrush in the soapy water and scrub this crevice. Wipe down the inside of the lid as well.

4. Tackle the Agitator

The agitator cap often traps lint and fabric softener. If your model allows, pop the cap off the top of the agitator. Clean the underside and the inside of the post with your toothbrush. Rinse and replace it.

5. Dry Everything

Use a fresh, dry microfiber cloth to wipe the drum, the rim, and the exterior. A drum left wet is a damp surface, and the EPA gives damp materials a window of 24 to 48 hours before mold starts to grow on them, so drying the machine is part of the clean rather than an optional flourish.

What Habits Keep a Washer Clean Between Deep Cleans?

Four habits do most of the work: leave the lid open, run one hot cycle a month, dose detergent correctly, and clean the lint filter. Each one removes something mold and residue need to get established.

• Air it out: Always leave the lid open after a load. Moisture evaporates instead of sitting in the drum, which is where mold gets started.
• Use hot water occasionally: If you wash mostly in cold water, run one hot cycle a month to melt out the grease and detergent residue that cold water leaves behind.
• Dose correctly: Too much detergent creates excess suds that trap dirt in the machine. Follow the manufacturer’s recommended amount, and use HE detergent in an HE washer.
• Clean the trap: Clean your washing machine’s lint filter regularly. A clogged filter recirculates dirty water back onto your clothes.

Why Does Laundry Still Look or Smell Bad After a Clean?

Two problems outlast an ordinary clean: scrud, the waxy softener and detergent residue that marks clothes grey, and mold that has settled somewhere a drum cycle never reaches. Each one has its own fix.

Grey Sludge on Clothes

Grey or brown greasy marks on fresh laundry are a sign of scrud, a waxy buildup of fabric softener and undissolved detergent. It forms fastest when you wash in cold water and use fabric softener, because cold water never fully dissolves the products and the softener leaves a wax behind, and a periodic hot wash is what clears it ⁽³⁾. Stop the softener for a few weeks, switch to warmer washes, and run the vinegar cycle above to strip out what is already there.

Persistent Mold

If bleach does not kill the mold smell, the mold is probably hiding behind the drum or in the drain pump. You may need to remove the top panel to reach these areas (check your manual first) or call a professional. Bleach kills surface mold, but a deep-rooted colony needs physical scrubbing to fully clear.

FAQs

How to Clean Washing Machine Top Loader

Clean clothes start with a clean machine. A monthly rhythm of a bleach cycle followed by a vinegar cycle strips the grime that detergent and softener leave behind, and a quick pass over the lid, dispensers, and agitator handles what the water misses. Put it on the calendar next to your other monthly chores, leave the lid open between loads, and you will stop bracing yourself every time you open the washer.