Do you wash your washing machine? & How?

I really would like to give mine a 'wash'. Is it necessary? With all the stinky wee & poop that gets washed through it, I figured it would be once in a while so I'm curious as to whether people do it and how.

I wonder if simply a 'strip wash' with no nappies would work? Ie Simply hot hot water and dishwashing liqid?

Help! :redface:

Vinegar would be better. I just use it in every load as softener.
Maybe just an empty load with vinegar in the powder & softener dispensers?

You can also get someone to clean out the pump. My mum used to get hers done every 3 or so years. She used that same machine for near 20 years!

mine has a self cleaning wash, so i guess you could follow the same principles...

it fills itself up with HOT water and you add detergent - when i start doing the nappies in there i'll add some nappy san too.......

then it soaks for about 3 hours and agitates ever so often.

then the first rinse is HOT water again, second rinse just cold.........

We too have the self cleaning wash option. But vinegar would be the way to go.

Yep, do a wash with just a bottle of cheap white vinegar.

With our old top loader I used to have to give it a good wash every few weeks - DH is a plant mechanic and the filth and grime would build up really quickly.

I just used a bucket of hot soapy water to wash the top part and then run a hot wash with some vinegar or baking soda.

So, with vinegar, do i add the water to low and then add vinegar (to the water, how much?)

Thanks!

Do a hot wash with 1-2 cups of vinegar.
And from now on, put half a cup of vinegar in your washing. Use it insead of softener.

Thanks Jodi.
I don't ever use fabric softener :redface:. I don't like it!
But I gather than means I can use vinegar as a softener with nappies? Or does the absorbency thing still apply?

OMG! You learn something every day!!! I never knew this LOL

Don't be embarrassed about not using fabric softener Cookiemonster! Apparently it is no good for your machine. Vinegar is the way to go :)
FYI I accidently washed some of DH's gearbox oil soaked clothes and it made my machine stink. I filled it up with just hot water and bleach and left it to soak over night. then i emptied it and did an empty hot wash with bi-carb and vinegar and it was 'good as new'.

I have never been too sure about the use of vinegar with the nappies, so I leave it out. Better safe than sorry.

doesnt vinegar make your clothes stink??

No laura it doesn't. I hang all my washing in the sun, so maybe that helps?

ah ok , we dont have the right weather to hang out clothes at the moment so i mite try it when the sun comes out!!

No. My clothes don't smell & I use the line & dryer.
I can smell it in my machine, but not my clothes.
It keeps your machine clean, softens your clothes & whitens your whites.
I swear by it.