How to clean a top-load washer, with or without an agitator
How to clean a top-load washer: the clean cycle and cleaner GE, Whirlpool, Maytag, Samsung and LG specify, what to wipe by hand, and when vinegar is allowed.
Maybe you poured in vinegar and let it sit, or ran the clean cycle with the cleaner you had. Both are reasonable guesses; here’s what the makers’ own pages ask for, and a routine built on them.
How to clean a top-load washer, step by step
- Empty the tub and unplug the washer. GE says to unplug “before attempting any maintenance or cleaning.”
- Wipe and brush the parts you clean by hand (why these parts). Use a damp cloth, or warm soapy water rinsed off with plain water.
- Dispenser: if it lifts out, scrub it and its slot with a soft brush (Samsung Canada, LG). If it’s built in, brush it in place (our suggestion).
- Lint filters: on LG top-loaders, brush the filters on each side of the tub every load (LG). Other makes vary.
- Rim and lid underside: wipe with a damp cloth, along with any rubber lid seal (our suggestion; no maker page we found covers lid seals).
- With an agitator, also: lift off any softener cup and toothbrush it and the inside of the agitator (Speed Queen’s steps).
- Run your maker’s clean cycle on the empty tub, with only the cleaner in the table. Add no detergent or other chemicals, and don’t pause it to soak (why not). Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners, or run one straight after the other, so if another cleaner is already in the tub, finish and rinse that cycle first (our suggestion). No clean cycle? See the options.
- Rinse or rerun if your maker says to. After its bleach clean, Samsung says to run Rinse+Spin. If a Whirlpool or Maytag cycle was stopped, run Rinse & Spin. If GE’s Basket Clean was interrupted, run a complete one before your next wash, with the same cleaner (our suggestion).
- Leave the lid open after the cycle and between washes, as Whirlpool advises.
- Repeat about once a month, or on your maker’s load count.
Cleaning a top-loader without an agitator (impeller)
Impeller washers (a low disc at the bottom instead of a center post) get the same routine: steps 1 to 6, minus the softener cup. The makers’ steps we cite treat both types the same, and none of them covers the space under the impeller. Our call is to leave the impeller in place unless your manual shows how to remove it.
What your maker says to put in the clean cycle
From each maker’s top-loader support pages; your manual has the final word. Front-loader? See the front-loader table.
| Maker | Cycle | What to add, and where | Vinegar on its list? | How often |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whirlpool, Maytag | Clean Washer | One affresh tablet at the bottom of the basket, not the dispenser; or 1 cup (236 ml) of liquid chlorine bleach | No | Monthly, or every 30 cycles if sooner |
| GE (Basket Clean models) | Basket Clean | 1 cup (250 ml) of liquid bleach, vinegar or a washer cleaner, in the basket | Yes | Monthly |
| Samsung | Self Clean, Self Clean+ or Pure Cycle | Usually nothing (Samsung Canada). For mildew, liquid chlorine bleach to the max line in the detergent compartment, not the bleach one | Not listed for Self Clean; Sanitize (some models): up to 6 cups of distilled white vinegar, in the tub | About monthly or every 30–40 loads |
| LG | Tub Clean | A tub cleaner per its package; tablets go in the drum | Its top-load odor page allows it but recommends bleach or a commercial cleaner | Monthly |
| Frigidaire | Tub Clean (System Clean or Clean Washer on some) | Not named; see your manual | Not stated | Once a month or every 50 loads, by model |
For bleach, Whirlpool and Maytag name no compartment; use the one your manual lists. Using more than 1 cup, they warn, “could cause washer damage over time.” In Clean Washer they also rule out thickened, easy-pour or no-splash bleach, which can over-suds. They name affresh tablets for the cycle: affresh Washer Cleaner tablets ad .
No clean cycle?
On GE top-loaders without Basket Clean, GE says to use a washer cleaner per its package, or to fill with hot water, pick the longest cycle and add 1 cup of bleach (vinegar or baking soda can be substituted). Samsung’s Canadian page says to check your manual; on some models, that may be a Normal cycle. For other makes, see your manual. Steps 1 to 6 still apply, with this cycle in step 3.
Should you fill it with vinegar and let it sit?
It’s a common tip, but none of the makers’ steps we checked includes a soak. Whirlpool, Maytag and GE say not to interrupt their clean cycles, and in its mildew steps Samsung says to start Self Clean right after adding bleach. Our reading is one cleaner, one uninterrupted cycle.
Whether vinegar is allowed depends on the maker (see the table), and those that allow it list it in place of bleach. For mineral scale versus the slimy film behind the smell, see the cleaner comparison.
Still smells after the routine?
Fresh after the clean, then musty again within weeks? Read why the smell comes back: it’s why the routine is monthly.
Smells right after cleaning? Only a cycle gets to the gap between the drum and the outer tub, and it can’t scrub it clean. What to try next covers a professional clean. Rotten-egg or sewer smell? Check the drain hose.