Apparently you really do have to clean the machine…that cleans your clothes! Interesting.

Somewhere along the way, I failed to pick up on the fact that cleaning your washing machine should be done with some regularity—not, like, never. I figured that the soap in the detergents kept it squeaky clean, and why wouldn’t anyone? Oops.

The thing is, soap residue and minerals in commonly used detergents are apt to build up in the washing machine, and over time, you might notice that your clothes just don’t seem to get as clean as they used to. My washer had just started to feel icky. And here I was just thinking that maybe I had been cramming too many garments in the same load and not letting the rinse cycle perform as efficiently.