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Monthly Clean Home Challenge: Cycle Clean Appliances

Welcome back to the Monthly Clean Home Challenge daily task!  I am on a quest to maintain a clean and organized home in less time and the goal is simple; four daily tasks, four weekly tasks and one additional quick task each week day. 

In no particular order, here are the individual tasks I am tackling each day this month:

1. Make cleaning supplies
2. Cycle clean appliances
3. Clean out cars
4. Clean out microwave
5. Wipe down cabinets/appliances
6. Wipe down trim/doors
7. Clean out one drawer
8. Clean out fridge
9. Clean out freezer
10. Vacuum under furniture
11. Vacuum mattresses
12. Clean oven
13. Clean out one closet
14. Wash out garbage can/recycle bin
15. Wash windows
16. Scrub grout
17. Clean out one cabinet
18. File paper piles
19. Purge bathroom toiletries
20. Clean out pantry

Today I am chatting about the extra task:  Cycle Clean Appliances

I try to run a cleaning cycle on my dishwasher and washer at least once per month, but it has been a little more than that so this task couldn't be more timely.

I beg you not to judge, but the inside of our dishwasher looked like this....


Pesky hard water!

Cycle cleaning your appliances is a bit of a "hurry up and wait" process, although, it couldn't be easier.

For the dishwasher, I started by placing a bowl of vinegar on the top rack.


You should do this with an empty dishwasher, but I killed two birds with one stone and tossed my shower caddy on the bottom rack for this process as well.

I ran the dishwasher on the hottest cycle, which is our sanitary cycle.  Once it was complete, it was much better already.  However, I wanted to leave it sparkling and fresh so I sprinkled a dusting of baking soda in the bottom and ran another rinse cycle.


What a difference the two cycles made!

Next, I grabbed my vinegar/water combo spray and sprayed the interior and door of the dishwasher.  Using a warm sponge, I wiped it down inside and out.  Getting down into the cracks of the door proved to be more than disgusting removing all sorts of gunk.  Brace yourselves....


I may have gagged...

Once it was wiped down, there were still water marks and it wasn't really as clean as I was hoping.  I really wanted the interior to shine, so I sprinkled another thin layer of baking soda on the door and used the same sponge {after I rinsed it out of course}, to scrub.  I rinsed and repeated until all of the baking soda was gone.  I followed up with a damp microfiber rag to really polish it up.


Almost as shiny as the day we brought it home!  Such a good feeling!


Next up was the washing machine.  We have a front loader and without proper care, it can quickly start smelling like mildew.

To cycle clean the washer, I start with washing soda and vinegar.


I put a small amount of washing soda within the detergent dispenser, and poured vinegar into both the fabric softener dispenser and the bleach dispenser.


I then ran the washer on the hottest cycle, again the sanitary cycle.  Once it was complete, I opened the door and wiped out the inside of the washer along with the interior of the rubber sock catcher.  That is the technical name for it right?


I also wiped down the inside of washer door.


So pretty, fresh smelling and clean!


Once the interior is clean, I proceeded to wipe down the exterior of both the washer and dryer.  Oh, hello there!


To prevent the washer from molding/smelling, we always leave the door cracked in-between uses.  I have also noticed that our washer seems to stay fresh just by using the homemade laundry detergent and vinegar fabric softener.  Last but not least, I recently added a towel right above the washer so that we can wipe down the interior after each load.


The scrubbing and wiping down process probably totaled ten minutes.  Running each cycle was about an hour each, but I had a long list of things to keep me busy while that was happening.

Another day, not too much time invested but a huge sense of accomplishment is definitely present. 




These are all cleaners/products that work for us and our current home finishes.  It is important to research the cleaners prior to using them on your specific counter and flooring selections.