Ten Cleaning Tips for the Laundry Room

It seems that the neglected room in our homes is the laundry room. It’s time to give the laundry room a good cleaning with these 10 tips.

It’s the one area of the home that we immediately shut the door so no one can see into. Am I right?

Do you remember the last time you cleaned your washer or the dryer? I mean really give it a good cleaning. Well I got you friend! Here are ten cleaning tips for the laundry Room.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. The opinions here are my own.

Ten Cleaning Tips for the Laundry Room

1. Vacuum the room including behind and between the appliances

The room will need a good vacuuming because with the dryer, dust will accumulate. Add an attachment to your hose to get to those hard to reach places. I use my Bissell CleanView Allergen Pet Lift Off Vacuum. I will lift of the canister to use to get into the touch places.

You want to make sure socks or other small items have not fallen behind or under the appliances. Don’t forget in between the appliances where the dust bunnies love to hide. Also, vacuum around the baseboard where the dust will build up especially behind the washer and dryer.

2. Vacuum the dryer Lint Trap

This is so important. Did you know house fires are started by lint in the dryer or vent? Have you seen one of these gadgets before? It’s a game changer for me. It’s the BoxLegend Dryer Vent Cleaner Kit to remove the lint and dust inside of the dryer below the lint vent.

You can find it here. I was amazed at how much lint it got out of my dryer. Some of the clumps were stuck to the tip of the hose and I hand removed. If I had this much in just the dryer, I can imagine how much is in my vent hose leading outside.

3. Wipe Down the exterior of your appliances

I found that dust will stick to the sides of the appliances especially if there are any laundry soap drips. I like to wipe the outside of my appliances with Mrs. Meyers All-Purpose Cleaner. Not only does it smell wonderful, it gives the appliances a nice shine. My Favorite is the lavender scent. It makes everything smell so clean.

My favorite cleaning cloth to use are these microfiber cloths. I must have washed these Buff Micofiber Cleaning Cloths a hundred times. They are great to use for cleaning throughout the home and in your cars too. I purchased them here. You can get them in various colors.

4. Clean the INSIDE OF THE Washer

Now let’s move to the inside of the that washer.

Here is a great tip to do every few months. In a utility bucket, mix 1 cup of warm water with 1 cup of white vinegar. With a clean lint free rag, wipe down the inside of the washer drum and a long the edge. You can use the same bucket of mixture wipe the inside of the dryer.

Before – Bleach Tray had dirt and build up.

Even the lid lock on the washer was filled with dirt and debris.

AFTER – Looks so much better now that it is clean.

If you have rust color stain build from hard water from a well, I use Bar Keepers Friend to get rid of the stain in my detergent tray.

Here you can see the before photo is so gross from the hard water build up.

This is after cleaning with Bar Keepers Friend. I had to use an old toothbrush for cleaning in all the crevices. It did the trick! Then I use the white and vinegar mixture to get out any extra residue.

Is that cleaner amazing or what? I tell you Bar Keepers Friend is great cleaner to have on hand. It looks so much better.

Finally to finish up cleaning the washer, add two cups of white vinegar into the washer. Now run one full cycle in you washer with hot water.

5. Clean the INSIDE OF the Dryer

Using the same mixture as the washer wipe down the inside of the dryer. If you have an ink or other stains, you can try to remove them using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I have found it will remove ink without any issues.

6. Wash any Hamper Liners and Ironing Board Cover

Wash any liners to the hampers and the ironing board cover. There could be lurking germs from dirty clothes and towels. If your hamper does not have a liner, wipe down with all-purpose or anti-bacteria cleaner. You may have a large canvas hamper. Just vacuum it out clean. Any dirt marks can be clean with water and detergent mixture and allow to completely dry. I like to spray my hampers after they are cleaned with Lysol Disinfect Spray.

7. Clean the Laundry Baskets

Wipe down the laundry baskets with disinfectant wipe or all-purpose cleaner. You want to keep your basket free from dirt and dust that could transfer to clean clothing or linens.

8. Wipe Down cabinets, shelves and counters

Now it’s time to give those cabinets, shelves and counters a good thorough cleaning. It’s also a good time to go through your cabinet to discard empty laundry detergent containers. You may be able to combine to make a fuller container.

These 32 ounce jars are perfect to consolidate and put your detergent pods in. You can even put powder detergent or Oxi Clean in the jar. I found them here.

Wipe down the surfaces with disinfectant wipe or all-purpose cleaner. The front of wood cabinets can be washed with Murphy Soap Oil and water. Follow the instructions on the bottle.

9. CLEAN DRYER HOSE AND VENT

My laundry room is located upstairs in the center of the house. I can replace my dryer hose. However, to clean the vent I will need someone to professional clean it. There are services around that will clean it at a reasonable cost. If you don’t have an outside vent that you can reach to clean, consider having it professional done. It may prevent a house fire.

10. Mop The Floor

Final step is to mop and clean your floor. I absolutely love this O Cedar Spin Mop and Bucket System. It’s perfect for my wood, tile and no wax floors. It is amazing and cleans without soaking the floors.

The entire month of January, I was busy getting the house organized. The laundry room was neglected room on my list. Now that it had a good cleaning, I can start a small refresh project. I am planning to remove the wire shelf and build lower open shelves. A few other ideas for this room refresh coming later this month.

My resources for items that I use in my home can always be found on Shop My Favorites Page.

Hope you have a great day!