Washer Cleaning Cycle Picker: What Do I Run in My Washer?

Pick your maker, your machine type and the cleaner you have. The picker shows what that maker’s own support pages say: which cycle, how much, where it goes and how often. “Other or not sure” sends you to your manual.

How to read your result

Check your manual means the maker’s page we checked didn’t cover that detail. If it’s your whole result, the page didn’t cover your machine and cleaner at all. Either way, it isn’t permission to use that cleaner.
Caution means the maker warns against the cleaner you picked. Use the choice shown under it instead. Pick bleach for an LG front-loader, for example, and the picker quotes LG’s US front-loader page warning against “chlorine-based or acidic washing machine cleaners.”
Never mix appears with every bleach or vinegar result. Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners. Mixed, they can give off toxic gas (Washington State’s health department explains why).

Every maker side by side: the clean-cycle table.

How much bleach to clean a washing machine

The amount depends on the maker:

Whirlpool and Maytag: 1 cup (236 mL) of liquid chlorine bleach, for Clean Washer. Both say using more “could cause washer damage over time.” Neither names the compartment, so check your manual.
GE front-loaders: 1 cup of bleach, for BasketClean or Self Clean. GE’s page doesn’t say where it goes, so check your manual.
GE top-loaders: 1 cup (GE gives 250 mL) of liquid bleach, poured into the empty basket, then run Basket Clean.
Samsung: liquid chlorine bleach, filled to the max line, in the detergent compartment, not the bleach compartment. Samsung says this is only for a mildew smell or visible mold.
LG front-loaders: LG’s US front-loader page warns against chlorine-based washing machine cleaners and gives no bleach amount. LG recommends an oxygen bleach tub cleaner, at the dose on its label, instead. Check your manual.
LG top-loaders: LG’s US top-load odor page recommends bleach or a commercial cleaner but gives no amount. Or use a commercial washing machine cleaner, at the amount on its package. Check your manual.

Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners. Mixed, they can give off toxic gas. Our advice: don’t run one straight after the other, either. Not sure bleach suits your smell? Compare vinegar vs bleach vs cleaner tablets.

Vinegar or citric acid?

The picker recommends one maker’s vinegar amount (GE’s 1 cup, for top-load Basket Clean) and no citric acid amount for any maker. Some makers allow vinegar, and others warn against acids.

Vinegar. Of the maker pages we checked, these list vinegar:

GE’s top-load pages: 1 cup (GE gives 250 mL) into the basket, for Basket Clean. Without Basket Clean, GE’s odor page lets vinegar stand in for its 1 cup of bleach.
LG’s US top-load odor page: lists vinegar but gives no amount. Check your manual.
LG’s Canadian page: lists vinegar, but it also says to avoid “acidic washing machine cleaners,” as LG’s US front-loader page does. Check your manual.
Samsung’s page: lists vinegar for Sanitize (not Self Clean), on models that have it; the picker gives no amount. Check your manual.

Bosch’s US page goes the other way: “We advise you not to descale your washing machine with household products that contain acid or vinegar. These can attack the rubber parts of the machine.”

None of the vinegar pages above sets a schedule for vinegar itself. The intervals in the picker are for the clean cycle, whatever you put in. If you switch between vinegar and bleach, never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners. For each maker’s method, see whether your maker allows vinegar.

Citric acid. Bosch’s Irish page says: “Citric acid isn’t recommended for cleaning your washing machine.” LG’s US front-loader page warns against acidic cleaners. Check your manual, then see citric acid: how, and when not to.

After the cycle

Let it dry. Whirlpool, Maytag, Samsung and LG say to leave the door or lid open afterward. GE’s top-load odor page says to leave the lid up or open between uses.
On a front-loader, the cycle doesn’t scrub the folds of the rubber door gasket, the roof of the detergent drawer’s slot, or what the drain filter traps. See what the clean cycle can’t reach and the gasket clean, step by step.
On a top-loader, the dispenser, rim and lid need doing by hand: how to clean a top-load washer.
Already musty on an LG? LG’s US tub-cleaning page says to run Tub Clean once a week for 3 weeks in a row. Check your manual.
Smell keeps coming back? Whatever the make, here’s why the smell comes back.

Questions

How often should you clean your washing machine?

It depends on the maker:

Whirlpool and Maytag: at least once a month, or every 30 wash cycles, whichever comes first.
GE front-loaders: once a month.
GE top-loaders: GE recommends “cleaning the washer tub once per month.”
Samsung: about once a month, or every 30–40 loads.
LG front-loaders: after every 30 uses, or whenever the display shows “tcL,” LG’s US front-loader page says.
LG top-loaders: monthly, LG’s US tub-cleaning page says.

Pick your maker above for the cycle and amount.

How much bleach do I put in my washing machine to clean it?

Use your maker’s amount, if its page gives one. Whirlpool, Maytag and GE each give 1 cup. Samsung says to fill to the max line in the detergent compartment, for mildew or mold only (amounts by maker). LG’s US front-loader page warns against chlorine-based cleaners and recommends an oxygen bleach tub cleaner, at the dose on its label, instead; LG’s US top-load odor page gives no bleach amount. Check your manual (details). Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners. Pick your maker above for the details.

Is it better to clean your washer with bleach or vinegar?

Use the one your maker names. Several maker pages allow vinegar, including GE’s top-load pages and LG’s US top-load odor page (the list). But LG’s US front-loader page warns against acidic cleaners, and Bosch advises against descaling with acid or vinegar. Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners.

What is the best thing to run through a washing machine to clean it?

Run the cleaner your maker names for its clean cycle. Several makers’ pages name one, including:

Whirlpool and Maytag: an affresh tablet or liquid chlorine bleach.
GE and Samsung: Tide Washing Machine Cleaner.
LG’s US front-loader page: an oxygen-based washing machine cleaner.
LG’s US top-load odor page: “Bleach and/or a Commercial Cleaning agent”, with no amount (check your manual).

Pick your maker above to see the amount and where it goes. If you use bleach, never mix it with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners. To find which cleaner suits which build-up, see vinegar vs bleach vs cleaner tablets.