Can you honestly remember the last time you cleaned your washing machine, dryer, or anything in your laundry room? If your answer is no, you’ll be surprised to know you’re not alone. In fact, most people only ever start to pay attention to their laundry room and its appliances when something goes wrong with it, or, unless they’ve been using a quality laundry enhancer, an unpleasant smell. Instead of waiting for the worst to happen, here’s how you can properly and easily clean your laundry room.
Clean and Sanitize Your Appliances
Let’s start with the bulky tasks first. You’ll most certainly have a washing machine and a dryer in your laundry room, alongside some small appliances like an iron or a steamer, but let’s take it one step at a time. Here’s what you’ll do:
1. Start with the Washer
Chances are, as a part of your regular dusting, you often clean your washing machine’s exterior. But that’s different from what you’re about to do here. Here, you’ll deep clean the washing machine by running an empty cycle using hot water and 2 cups of vinegar instead of using the usual detergent. Then, you’ll run another empty cycle using hot water alone. That’s good enough for the interior, and make sure to repeat these cycles biweekly. As for the exterior, an all-purpose cleaning agent is good enough to wipe the machine and collect the dust.
2. Next, Clean the Dryer
Just like the washing machine, there’s more to cleaning a dryer than wiping its exterior. In fact, cleaning the dryer from built-up lint is crucial to prevent it from breaking, or worse, starting a fire hazard. While most people prefer to call a professional to clean their dryer vents, you can do it yourself and save all the costs of maintenance. This DIY project is fairly simple, and you’ll only need a few standard tools to pull it off.
You should clean the lint trap regularly to avoid having to deal with the inevitable build-up all at once. Apart from the lint, you might notice a lot of stains on the dryer’s interior – be it from dye, ink, or other culprits. Each kind of stain will have its way of removal, but it’s better to take care of those stains right away to avoid a bigger hassle down the road.
3. Don’t Forget the Small Appliances
Now that the two big boys are clean, it’s time to target the rest of the crew. Make it a habit to clean the steel and hot surfaces of your irons, steamers, and other appliances with vinegar, salt, or baking soda at least once a month. Follow that with another cleaning cycle by using hot water, and wipe the exteriors whenever necessary with an all-purpose detergent.
Clean Laundry Hampers
It’s kind of weird to find this one on the list, isn’t it? After all, laundry hampers and baskets only serve one purpose: holding dirty laundry items. So why would anyone clean them? You’ll find meaning in doing so if you leave them long enough that they start smelling like dirty laundry. If that’s something you don’t want to experience, then it’s best to wipe down the interiors with an all-purpose cleaner, dry them, and let them soak in the sunlight for a couple of hours before using them again.
Dust, Wipe, and Mop
Finally, you’ll carry out your cleaning routine as you know it throughout your laundry room. Here’s a quick overview of how to dust, wipe, vacuum clean, and mop the room.
1. Dust the Room
It’s normal for the dust to accumulate over the days. Letting this dust be is a sure recipe for sneezing and maybe even allergies, so be sure to dust the room from all its shelves, nooks, and crannies.
2. Wipe Cabinets and Counters
You’ll clean these counters and cabinets twice a week or so, the same way you clean the ones in your kitchen or bathroom: using an all-purpose cleaner. This is crucial to kill any bacteria or microbes before they fester and become a bigger problem.
3. Vacuum Clean and Mop
Next, you’ll use the vacuum cleaner to collect the dust from the crooks you couldn’t reach and from the floor. Finally, you’ll mop the floor to ensure no dust particles or dust bunnies are left in the room.
Everyone knows the few obvious tasks and the routine of cleaning a laundry room, such as wiping the counters and mopping the floor. However, these tasks alone won’t ensure seamless and prolonged operations of each item in your laundry room. That’s why it’s crucial to maintain a regular deep cleaning routine to prolong the life of your washing machine, dryer, small appliances, and the rest of your laundry room.
