Washing machine smells like mildew? How to kill it for good (front load + top load)

If your washing machine smells musty or your clean laundry comes out smelling worse than it went in, mildew is growing somewhere inside the machine. The fix is a 2 hour deep clean plus a small habit change. Front loaders are worse for this than top loaders because of the rubber door gasket, but no machine is immune. Here's exactly what to clean, in order, and what to use. Skip none of these spots, the smell will come back from any one you miss.

What you need

• Distilled white vinegar, about 4 cups
• Baking soda, 1 cup
• Liquid chlorine bleach, 1 cup (only if vinegar doesn't fully clear it)
• Old toothbrush or small scrub brush
• A few clean rags
• Rubber gloves

Don't mix bleach and vinegar in the same cycle, the combination releases chlorine gas. If you're using both, run a clear water rinse cycle in between.

Step 1: Run a hot vinegar cycle

This kills surface bacteria and breaks down detergent residue, which is the actual food source for mildew. Top loader: Set the cycle to the largest load size, hottest water, longest cycle. Once it starts filling, pour 4 cups of white vinegar straight into the drum. Let it agitate for 1 minute, then pause the cycle and let it soak for 1 hour. Resume and let it finish. Front loader: Pour 2 cups of vinegar into the bleach compartment of the dispenser drawer (not the detergent slot). Run the longest hottest cycle. If your machine has a TUB CLEAN, SELF CLEAN, or CLEAN WASHER cycle, use that instead, it runs hotter and longer than a normal wash.

Step 2: Scrub the door gasket (front loaders, the #1 source)

This is where 90% of front loader mildew lives. The rubber boot has folds that trap water, lint, and detergent. Pull the gasket back and look inside, you'll see black or pink slime in the folds. That's the smell. Soak a rag in straight vinegar (or a 1:4 bleach to water mix). Pull the gasket back fold by fold and wipe out every crease. Use the toothbrush for the deeper folds. Have rubber gloves on, the slime is exactly what it looks like. After wiping, leave the door cracked open for an hour to dry the gasket fully.

Step 3: Pull and scrub the dispenser drawer

Front loaders: most dispenser drawers fully come out, look for a release tab inside the empty slot. Wash it under hot water with the toothbrush, focusing on the underside and the back where the siphon caps are. Old detergent crusts up here and feeds mildew. Top loaders: the dispenser is usually fixed in place, but the cap on the bleach and softener wells often pops off. Pull and wash separately. Reinstall everything.

Step 4: Clean the drain pump filter (front loaders)

Almost everyone skips this and it's the second biggest mildew source after the gasket. The filter is behind a small access panel at the bottom front of the machine. Open the panel. Place a shallow pan or several towels under it because residual water will come out. Unscrew the filter cap counterclockwise. The filter is a small plastic insert covered in lint, hair, coins, and slime. Rinse it under hot water and scrub off any film. Screw the cap back tight (hand tight, not over tightened) and close the panel.

Step 5: Run a baking soda rinse cycle

Add 1 cup of baking soda directly to the drum (front or top loader). Run a hot cycle, no detergent. The baking soda neutralizes leftover acidic vinegar smell and any lingering odor. If the machine still smells after this, do step 6.

Step 6: Bleach cycle (if mildew persists)

Only if the vinegar deep clean didn't fully solve it. Don't combine with the vinegar step in the same hour, run a clear water cycle in between. Top loader: 1 cup liquid bleach into the drum, hottest cycle, agitate then soak 30 minutes, resume. Front loader: 1 cup bleach in the bleach compartment, hottest cycle or TUB CLEAN. After the bleach cycle, run an empty rinse cycle to flush any leftover bleach.

Brand specific notes

LG (front load). LG models have a TUB CLEAN cycle that runs at 158 F for 90 minutes, by far the most effective single cycle for mildew. Use this with vinegar instead of a regular cycle. LG also gets bad gasket buildup, scrub thoroughly. Samsung (front load). Look for SELF CLEAN. Samsung dispensers have an extra siphon cap on the softener well that's a known mildew trap, pull it and scrub. Whirlpool, Maytag, Amana (front load). AFFRESH cycle if you have it (yes the brand) is built to run with cleaning tablets. Pump filter is behind the lower kick plate, easy to access. GE (front load). Some GE models have a SANITIZE cycle that runs at 165 F. Even better than TUB CLEAN for killing bacteria. Use it once a month after this deep clean. Speed Queen, Maytag commercial (top load). Old school agitator top loaders rarely smell because they use lots of water and have no gasket. If yours does, it's almost always the dispenser cup or a dirty drum. Skip the gasket and pump steps. HE top loaders (Samsung, LG, Whirlpool with no agitator). Use less water like front loaders, and they can develop similar odor problems. Treat the same way as front loaders, even though there's no door gasket to scrub.

The habit that keeps it gone

After every wash, do these 3 things:

1. Pull the door open at least 6 inches and leave it open for 2-4 hours so the drum dries
2. Wipe the inside of the door gasket dry with a towel (front loaders only, takes 30 seconds)
3. Pull the dispenser drawer out 1-2 inches so it can air out

Do those and you won't deep clean again for 6 months. Skip them and the mildew is back in 3-4 weeks. Also: cut your detergent in half. Most people use 2-3x what HE machines need. Excess detergent doesn't rinse out and becomes mildew food. Less is more, the rule is 1-2 tablespoons for HE machines, not the cap full the bottle suggests.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my washing machine smell like mildew even after cleaning it? You missed one of the spots. The most commonly missed spot on front loaders is the drain pump filter. On top loaders it's the dispenser cap or the small space under the agitator. Will running an empty hot cycle fix the smell? Sometimes for mild cases, no for bad ones. The smell is biofilm stuck to surfaces, you have to physically scrub the gasket and dispenser, water alone won't lift it. Can I use Affresh instead of vinegar? Yes. Affresh and other tablet cleaners (Tide Washing Machine Cleaner, OxiClean Washer) are basically a dose of percarbonate that does the vinegar job without the smell. Drop one tablet in the drum, run hottest cycle. See our Affresh review for thoughts on the brand. How often should I deep clean my washer? Every 2-3 months for front loaders, every 6 months for top loaders. If you do the daily habit (door open after washes), you can stretch this. If you don't, you'll need it sooner. My clothes still smell after I clean the washer, what now? The mildew has transferred to fabric. Rewash the affected clothes with 1 cup vinegar in the drum, hot water, no detergent. Then wash again with normal detergent. Some heavily contaminated towels never fully come back, those are landfill at that point. Does washing in cold water cause the smell? Yes, partly. Cold water doesn't break down detergent or kill bacteria. Run a hot cycle at least once a week (towels, sheets, whites) to keep the inside of the machine warm enough to stay clean. Why is my front loader worse than my old top loader? Front loaders use less water, run cooler, and have a rubber gasket that traps moisture. All three create a habitat for mildew that top loaders don't have. If your dispenser drawer is the source, see how to clean the detergent dispenser for the deeper version of step 3.