10 Ways to Make Your Washing Machine Work Better

Your washing machine cleans everything you own and gets almost no attention in return. Over time that shows up as clothes that do not smell quite right, a drum that has developed an odor, and a machine that seems to work harder for worse results. The fixes are simple, and most take minutes.

Here are ten ways to make your machine work better, including how to clean clothes washer drums and seals properly, and the everyday habits that prevent most problems in the first place.

1. How to Clean Clothes Washer Drums: Run a Hot Empty Cycle Monthly

If you only learn one thing about how to clean clothes washer interiors, make it this. It is the single most useful maintenance habit, and it is the foundation of how to clean clothes washer drums.

With the machine completely empty, run the hottest and longest cycle it offers. Heat and water circulation shift the film of detergent residue and body soil that builds up on the drum and hoses over time. Doing this monthly stops buildup becoming the kind of problem you can smell.

If your machine has a dedicated drum clean or tub clean cycle, use that. Manufacturers design those cycles specifically for this job, so check your manual for what they recommend adding, if anything.

2. Clean Your Washer Machine Gasket After Laundry Day

Front loaders have a rubber gasket around the door, and it is the single dampest fold in your house. Water pools in the bottom of it after every wash.

Peel the fold back and run a damp cloth all the way around, paying attention to the bottom section where water collects. Ten seconds after your last load of the day is enough to keep it in good condition. This is the part of cleaning your washer machine that people skip most often and regret most reliably.

Top loader owners get to skip this one entirely.

3. How to Wash a Clothes Washer Drawer

Part of learning how to wash a clothes washer properly is the drawer. Most slide out completely, and what has built up behind them is usually a genuine surprise the first time.

Soak the drawer in warm water and scrub it with an old toothbrush, then wipe out the cavity it slides into, including the ceiling of the cavity where drips collect. This matters more if you use liquid detergent or fabric softener, both of which leave a residue that hardens over time.

4. Check the Drain Filter Every Few Months

The drain filter is the deep cut of how to clean clothes washer components and the one almost nobody knows about. It usually sits behind a small hatch at the front bottom of the machine.

Put a towel and a shallow dish underneath because water will come out, then twist the filter free, rinse it clean and twist it back. It collects lint, coins, hair ties and at least one sock you had written off. A clogged filter makes the machine drain slowly and work harder than it needs to.

5. Leave the Door Open Between Loads

This one is free and prevents more problems than anything else on the list.

A closed drum with damp air inside is where odours develop, which undoes the work of any effort to clean your washer machine. Leaving the door and the detergent drawer open lets the interior dry out completely between washes. If you do only one thing from this article, make it this.

6. Use Less Detergent Than You Think

Anyone asking what is the best way to clean a washing machine should start here. Overdosing is the most common cause of the problems people blame on their machine, and correcting it costs nothing.

Excess detergent cannot all rinse away, particularly in HE machines which use very little water. What stays behind coats the drum and the gasket, feeds odour, and leaves clothes feeling stiff. If your laundry is coming out crunchy or your machine smells, the answer is almost always less detergent rather than more.

An ultra concentrated powder makes this easier because the correct dose is small to begin with. Coco Clean Laundry Powder is half a tablespoon for a standard load and one tablespoon for heavily soiled or extra-large loads, which is difficult to over-pour by much.

7. Add the Powder the Way Your Machine Expects

Different machines want detergent added differently, and getting it right helps it dissolve and rinse properly.

For front-loading and HE machines, add the powder directly to the washer tub and then add your laundry. For top-loading washers, add the powder as the machine fills with water, then add the laundry. That small difference helps the powder disperse rather than sitting in a clump under a pile of clothes.

8. Stop Overloading the Drum

Clothes need room to move through the water. A packed drum means fabric rubs against fabric instead of tumbling through the wash, so dirt does not lift and detergent does not rinse out evenly.

A useful rule of thumb is that you should be able to fit a flat hand into the drum above the laundry. Two smaller loads give clothes the room they need to tumble, which one heroic load cannot, and they are easier on the machine's bearings.

9. Deal With Hard Water

When you clean your washer machine regularly and it still shows scale, hard water is the reason. Dissolved calcium and magnesium are working against you on every wash, and they build up inside the machine as well as on your clothes.

Those minerals latch onto the surfactants in your detergent before they reach the fabric, so part of your detergent is taken out of play. They also leave scale and chalky residue behind. A detergent formulated for hard water helps on both fronts. Coco Clean includes three ingredients aimed at this: sodium carbonate raises alkalinity so soils loosen, sodium borate boosts cleaning performance in hard water, and sodium citrate works as a water softener, chelating agent and detergent builder, binding the calcium and magnesium so they stay dissolved and cannot block the detergent or leave chalky buildup behind.

10. Empty Pockets and Sort Properly

The least glamorous item on the list, and the one that prevents the most expensive repairs.

Coins, keys and pens damage drums and block filters, which is a harder problem than any amount of knowing how to wash a clothes washer will solve. Tissues create a mess that takes several cycles to clear. Zips left undone snag other garments. Sorting by color and by fabric weight also helps, because heavy items like towels need different handling from lightweight shirts, and washing them together means neither gets the treatment it needs.

What Is the Best Way to Clean a Washing Machine?

If you want the short answer to what is the best way to clean a washing machine, it is a monthly routine rather than a single deep clean.

Run the hot empty cycle, wipe the gasket, wash the drawer, and check the filter every few months. Then keep the door open between loads and dose your detergent correctly so there is less residue to deal with next time. That combination handles almost every complaint people have about their machines.

The best way to clean clothes washer interiors is honestly prevention. A machine that never accumulates much residue needs very little cleaning.

How Often Should You Do Each Task?

Here is the full schedule for how to clean clothes washer parts. Weekly, wipe the gasket if you have a front loader. Monthly, run the hot empty cycle and wash the detergent drawer. Every few months, check the drain filter. Every load, dose correctly and leave the door open afterwards.

Your nose is the real schedule. If the machine smells between loads, move the hot cycle forward and check whether you are using too much detergent.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I clean clothes washer drums properly?

Run the hottest, longest cycle with the machine completely empty, or use the dedicated drum clean cycle if your machine has one. Check your manual for what the manufacturer recommends adding. Follow up by wiping the gasket and washing the detergent drawer.

What is the best way to clean a washing machine that smells?

Start with a hot empty cycle, then clean the gasket and drawer, since those hold the residue that causes odour. After that, reduce your detergent dose and leave the door open between loads so the drum dries out.

How do you wash a clothes washer without special products?

A hot empty cycle does most of the work on its own, and a damp cloth handles the gasket and drawer. Check your machine manual before adding anything, since manufacturers have specific guidance for their own drum clean cycles.

How often should I clean your washer machine?

Monthly for the hot cycle and drawer, weekly for a quick gasket wipe on a front loader, and every few months for the drain filter. Households running daily loads may want to do the hot cycle every three weeks.

Does using less detergent really help?

Yes, and it is one of the most effective changes you can make. Excess detergent cannot fully rinse away, so it coats the drum and gasket and feeds odour. A concentrated powder dosed at half a tablespoon per standard load leaves very little behind.

The Bottom Line

Making your washing machine work better is mostly a handful of small habits rather than a big project, and the best way to clean clothes washer interiors is to stop them getting dirty. Learn how to clean clothes washer drums with a monthly hot cycle, wipe the gasket, wash the drawer, check the filter occasionally, and leave the door open to dry.

Then dose correctly, load sensibly, and give hard water the attention it deserves. Do that and the machine looks after your clothes far better for far longer.

Coco Clean Laundry Powder is ultra concentrated, fragrance-free and dye-free, with the full ingredient list on the top of the carton.

Look after the machine, and it looks after the laundry. Cleans like a dream.