Ten Things You Forget To Clean In The Laundry Room

Clean the things that clean your things. Find Ten Things You Forget To Clean In The Laundry Room (and tips on how to clean them) here.

For more tips, check out all of our cleaning posts.

The laundry room’s job is to clean. You clean your clothes, bedding, curtains, and more in that room. But do you ever clean the laundry room? Probably not like you should. So this week’s section of our cleaning guide is ten things you forget to clean in the laundry room.

Most laundry rooms are so small that you probably don’t even think there are ten things to clean it there. So you’re probably wondering how there are ten things to forget to clean in the laundry room.

But there are.

Ten Things You Forget To Clean In The Laundry Room

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The new mantra for the laundry room should be: “Clean the things that clean your things.”

I just made that up, so copyright Drugstore Divas 2020 on that one.

1. The washing machine

You wash your clothes in the washing machine, so you just assume that it’s clean. But you know what happens when you assume? You end up with messy clothes.

People assume the same thing about the dishwasher. It washes your dishes, so it doesn’t need to be washed. But you do need to clean your dishwasher and you need to clean your washing machine too.

People don’t clean their washing machines often, if ever. But you should.

The best way to clean the washing machine

Vinegar and baking soda are going to be the combination you need to clean your washing machine. But the process for that is up for debate. Some people will suggest you use both items at once, but I’m going to suggest you run a cycle for each. That’s just what I choose. You can decide what works for you.

My way: Pour a cup of distilled white vinegar into the detergent dispenser. Run the washing machine on the hottest setting. Let the washing machine finish a complete cycle.

Add a half cup of baking soda directly into the drum. Run another cycle on the hottest setting. And again, let the washing machine finish a complete cycle. Wipe the inside down with a damp cloth.

Let me tell you that with a word of caution. Vinegar can ruin plastic parts in your washing machine (or in your dishwasher). I haven’t had any issues with it breaking anything down, but if you do use vinegar in your machines too often, you run that risk.

2. The dryer

Clean clothes go into the dryer and just dry. So it feels like it’s impossible for the dryer to be dirty, right? Right. So people never even think about cleaning it.

But the dryer is so dangerous if you don’t clean it. Your dryer can actually catch on fire (it happened to my aunt and uncle and caused them to be removed from their home for a month), so please heed that situation and clean your dryer.

The best way to clean the dryer

Fill a spray bottle with equal parts distilled white vinegar and water. Spray a dry cloth with the solution, then wipe down the entire inside (aka the drum) of the dryer. Leave the door open and let the dryer air dry.

3. The dryer vent

In the back of your dryer, there’s a silver exhaust hose that comes out of the back of your dryer. Lint, hair, debris, all the socks you’ve lost along the way (I’m kidding about that last one) accumulate in the dryer exhaust hose. And that needs to be cleaned out every so often.

The best way to clean the dryer vent

Call a guy. No seriously, the best way to clean the dryer vent is to call a guy. It’ll set you back a little over $100, but it will save you peace of mind because you’ll know it’s done and done right.

To clean it, you need to remove it, vacuum it, and reattach it correctly. And honestly, I don’t know how to do that and I don’t know how to tell you to do that. So I default to actually calling a specialist for this one.

4. The lint trap

Every time you dry your laundry, you probably remember to empty the lint trap screen. That’s great and actually helps you save on your home’s heating costs. But how often do you actually clean the lint trap? Not often enough, I would guess.

The best way to clean the lint trap

Remove the lint trap screen and empty it. Use a hand vacuum to vacuum any dust left behind. Wash the lint trap screen in your sink with soap and water. Set it aside to dry.

Vacuum down the lint trap itself using a long vacuum. When the lint trap screen is dry, put it back.

5. Wall hangings

I don’t know when decorating your laundry room became popular, but it did. So many people have “wash now, dry later, fold never” signs. And I even did a post for a DIY Loads Of Love Laundry Room Sign. Those wall hangings need to be dusted every so often.

The best way to clean wall hangings

Grab a duster and just dust the front and the top of the wall hangings.

6. The top of the door

I haven’t seen your laundry room, but I’m sure it has at least once door (my parents’ actually has two doors). How often do you clean the top of that door? Probably not often enough. So much dust will accumulate up there, so you’re gonna want to wipe it down.

The best way to clean the top of the door

This is actually a funny tip, considering the room you’re in. But this is actually my tip for cleaning the top of all your doors.

Grab a used dryer sheet and just dust the top of the door. I do this with the sides of the door and the baseboards too.

7. All your laundry products

If you’re like us, you have a shelf filled with extra bottles of laundry detergent, dryer sheets, an iron, etc. The things on that shelf just sit for ages. And since it’s a little bit of a pain to clean up there, you probably don’t. But those products, especially the ones you don’t use on a regular basis, could use a good wiping down.

The best way to clean all your laundry products

Spray a household cleaner on a rag and just wipe the products down.

8. The floor behind the washing machine

You might wipe down the top and front of the washing machine on a regular basis. And now that you know how to clean the insides of the washing machine, you might start to do that on a regular basis too. But how about the floor behind the washing machine? How often do you clean back there?

The best way to clean the floor behind the washing machine

Honestly, this really depends on your laundry room set up. For me, I sit on the washing machine with a broom and sweep, then occasionally use a Swiffer to really clean back there.

9. The floor behind the dryer

This is mostly just to make sure you’re paying attention and not skimming the list. Now that you know you need to clean behind the washing machine, don’t skip the floor behind the dryer too.

The best way to clean the floor behind the dryer

Same as with the washing machine, just get a broom or Swiffer back there. But be careful back there, more careful than you are when you’re cleaning behind the washing machine, because you don’t want to knock the hose behind the dryer out of place.

10. The walls behind the washing machine and dryer

I could split this into two also, but then we’d end up with more than ten. But, there’s a gap between the washing machine and dryer and the wall, mostly for airflow. And that means there’s a gap in your cleaning.

The best way to clean the walls behind the washing machine and dryer

I just grab a used dryer sheet and rub back there, collecting any dust bunnies that have formed.

More Laundry Tips:

Now that you cleaned this room, you want to make sure it stays clean and smells nice. Our How To Keep Your Laundry Room Smelling Fresh post can help with the latter. You want to make sure it’s organized too, so consult our Organizing Your Laundry Room Done Easy post for tips.

Before you throw in your next load, check out our 10 Simple Tips To Save Money On Laundry. And if you have socks in that load, make sure all the ones that go in come out with our 4 Laundry Hacks So You Don’t Lose Your Socks.

Which of these Ten Things You Forget To Clean In The Laundry Room do you forget most often? Be sure to let us know in the comments.