What the washer clean cycle actually cleans, and what it can't reach
Tub Clean, Self Clean, Clean Washer: what each cleans, the three front-loader spots it can't reach, what yours is called and how often to run it.
You ran Tub Clean, Self Clean or Clean Washer, maybe with a tablet or a cup of bleach. The machine smelled fine for a while, then the musty smell came back. You didn’t do it wrong: the cycle’s job is just smaller than the button suggests. Below: what it cleans, what it misses, what your brand calls it and how often to run it.
What does the clean cycle (Tub Clean, Self Clean) actually do?
It runs empty. LG, Samsung and Whirlpool all say so; Samsung warns never to run Self Clean with anything in the tub. Whirlpool says its Clean Washer cycle uses higher water volumes and takes no detergent.
It’s hot on some machines. LG’s front-loader page says Tub Clean holds the water at 60°C. The other makers’ pages give no temperature.
It’s built for the drum. Samsung calls it a cycle “designed to remove residue inside the drum”. That’s its brief: the drum.
What the clean cycle can’t reach
The cycle fills the drum and drains it, but it doesn’t scrub what the water only splashes past. On a front-loader (a front-load HE washer, in US terms), that leaves three spots:
- The folds of the rubber door seal, where water and residue sit under the lip.
- The roof and back of the detergent drawer’s slot. Fill water runs through the drawer, but nothing scrubs the top of the slot. A tablet goes in the drum, as LG and Whirlpool instruct, so its cleaner may never pass through the drawer.
- What the drain filter traps. The cycle drains through the filter behind the little hatch at the bottom, and the filter keeps the lint and sludge the cycle loosens until someone empties it by hand.
LG, Samsung and GE each list the door gasket, the pump filter and the detergent drawer as separate cleaning jobs alongside the clean cycle. Giving them their own line suggests the makers don’t rely on the cycle to do them. Spots like these are where the smell regrows from.
What your washer calls its clean cycle, and how often to run it
Five makers, one idea. Each row comes from the maker’s own support pages, mostly North American ones, and models differ, so your manual has the final word.
| Maker | Cycle name | What to use | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| LG | Tub Clean (Tub Sterilization on some) | A tub cleaner, per its pack; oxygen-based, not chlorine or acidic, says LG’s front-loader page | Monthly; LG’s front-loader page says every 30 uses, or when the display shows tcL |
| Samsung | Self Clean, Self Clean+ or Pure Cycle | Usually nothing, or a washer cleaner if odours persist; liquid chlorine bleach for mildew or mould (mold) | About monthly or every 30–40 loads; a light flashes when due |
| GE (front-load) | BasketClean (Self Clean on some) | 1 cup of bleach or a washer cleaner | Once a month |
| Whirlpool | Clean Washer (with affresh) | One affresh tablet in the drum, or 1 cup (236 ml) of liquid chlorine bleach | At least monthly or every 30 cycles, whichever is sooner; front-loaders show CL after 30 |
| Bosch | Drum clean, where fitted (Bosch Australia) | Bosch Australia names no cleaner. Bosch South Africa: its own drum cleaner (the page doesn’t name a programme) | Australia: recommended if you regularly wash at 40°C or lower; a reminder light flashes after more than 20 such washes. South Africa: about every three months |
How often? Four of the five makers say about monthly.
No clean cycle? GE’s front-load page says to run a large Heavy/Cotton cycle, empty, with the same cleaner; for other makes, check the manual.
Whatever yours is called, on a front-loader it still misses the three spots above, and the by-hand checklist covers them. On a top-loader, see where a top-loader hides the gunk.
Bleach, vinegar or a tablet in the clean cycle?
Follow your own maker. Beyond the table:
- Samsung puts bleach in the detergent compartment, not the bleach one and not the drum.
- Whirlpool warns that more bleach than it recommends “could cause washer damage over time”.
- None of these makers’ pages lists vinegar for a dedicated clean cycle; GE’s top-load page allows it instead of bleach on machines without a clean cycle.
- Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners, or run one straight after the other.
Which cleaner suits which build-up: vinegar vs bleach vs cleaner tablets.
Still smells after the clean cycle (or Self Clean)?
GE’s front-load page points to two more things beyond the cleaning itself: the detergent dose (it says the right amount of HE detergent “can help”), and a drain hose pushed too far into the standpipe. Between washes, Whirlpool says to leave the door or lid open.
If a musty smell is already there, LG says to run Tub Clean once a week for three weeks and contact LG if it continues. More cycles only reach the drum again, so on a front-loader, do the by-hand jobs first and let the weekly runs finish the drum.
Top-loader? Start with where a top-loader hides the gunk. On a front-loader, here’s how to reach each spot by hand, in order.