How to Clean a Front Loading Washing Machine Gasket

Co-authored by Regina DeCorte and Jessica Gibson

Last Updated: August 31, 2022 References

You might love your front-loading washing machine because it uses less energy and water to get your clothes really clean. Unfortunately, front-loading machines are well known for growing mold and mildew on the inner gasket, but you can easily clean these away with a simple bleach or vinegar solution. To locate the gasket, look for a circular rubber ring that sits right in front of the washing machine drum. Since the gasket is constantly exposed to water, it's also important to do regular maintenance and keep it as dry as possible.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Removing Mold and Mildew

1
Put on gloves and mix ³⁄₄ cup (180 ml) of bleach with 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water. Wear gloves when you work with bleach to prevent it from irritating your skin. Take all of the clothes out of the machine and ensure that it's not on. Then, pour ³⁄₄ cup (180 ml) of bleach into a bucket and add 1 gallon (3.8 L) of warm water.^{[1]
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- Try to deep clean the gasket once a month to prevent mold and mildew from growing.
- Bleach is really effective at removing mildew and mold, but it can irritate your skin and eyes. Open a window or run a fan for ventilation and consider wearing goggles to protect your eyes.
2
Dip a cloth in the bleach solution and rub it onto the gasket. Use an old cloth or towel that you don't mind getting bleached. Soak it in the bleach and squeeze most of the moisture out of it. Then, rub it over the surface of the gasket before you pull the gasket away and wipe the crevice.^{[2]
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Research source} Another solution for removing mold from gaskets is sodium percarbonate (oxygenated bleach). This powerful ingredient can be found in OxyClean.
- Soak the cloth in the bleach solution whenever the rag looks dirty or feels dry.
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3
Set a timer for 5 minutes so the bleach solution rests on the gasket. This gives the bleach time to kill the bacteria that are making the odor-causing mold and mildew. If the gasket is covered in mold or mildew, let the bleach sit for up to 10 minutes.^{[3]
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4
Wipe the gasket with a damp cloth to remove the bleach solution. Take a clean rag and soak it with water. Wring out some of the moisture and wipe the surface and crevice of the gasket to get rid of the bleach. Then, take another clean cloth and wipe the gasket completely dry.^{[4]
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- Leave the door open or ajar so moisture doesn't get trapped near the gasket.
5
Rub baking soda and vinegar on the gasket if you don't want to use bleach. For a natural alternative, sprinkle baking soda in the gasket's crevice. Then, fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and spray the surface of the gasket along with the crevice. Scrub the gasket with a scrubbing sponge to get rid of the mold.^{[5]
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- You can wipe the gasket with a clean damp cloth or close the door and run an empty washing cycle to rinse away the baking soda and vinegar. Then, wipe the gasket dry with a clean cloth.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Maintaining the Gasket

1
Check the gasket for things that have gotten trapped and remove them. Take a few minutes every week to look for tiny items that fall out of your clothes and get trapped in the gasket. Gently pull the gasket away and pull out things that are stuck like:^{[6]
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- Bobby pins
- Coins
- Paper clips
- Hair
2
Remove wet clothes from the machine as soon as the cycle ends. It's easy to forget when laundry finishes, but set your machine to beep when the load is done. If you leave wet clothes in the machine, they'll begin to smell like mildew, and the trapped moisture encourages bacteria to grow near the gasket.^{[7]
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- If you've left clothes in the machine and they smell like mildew, leave them in the machine and add 1 cup (240 ml) of vinegar or 1/2 cup (110 g) of baking soda. Then, run the hottest cycle the clothes can handle and immediately transfer the clean clothes to the dryer.
3
Wipe the gasket dry with a cloth after every cycle. Once you take a load of clothes out of the washing machine, take a soft, clean cloth and use it to dry the gasket. Carefully pull the gasket back so you can get moisture out of the crevice.^{[8]
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- Use a clean cloth so you don't transfer bacteria or moisture from dirty fabric to the gasket.
4
Keep the door open or ajar in between cycles. If you close the door after taking wet clothes out of the machine, you'll trap moisture near the gasket. Leave the machine door completely open to help the gasket dry out. If you can't do this, open it at least a crack so some moisture can evaporate.^{[9]
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- If you have small children at home, don't leave the door open even a crack if the kids can access the machine. For extra-security, keep the door to the laundry room locked so small kids can't get into the machine.
5
Deep-clean the machine once a month to prevent bacteria from growing. If your machine has a self-clean feature, run it at least 1 time every month to kill bacteria that's growing in the gasket and drum. If your machine doesn't have a self-cleaning option, select a hot water cycle and run it with just 1 cup (240 ml) of bleach and no clothes.^{[10]
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- Run a hot-water cycle without any clothes in the machine to rinse it after you use bleach. This prevents lingering bleach from damaging the next load of clothes you wash.

Warnings

Use caution when you handle bleach. Open a window or run a fan for ventilation and don't let it come into contact with your eyes or bare skin. If it does, flush your eyes or skin with cold water.

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Never mix vinegar with bleach because it releases toxic chlorine gas.

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