There has been a box of Affresh tablets on the top shelf of my laundry room for fifteen years. It started with our old Whirlpool, survived the move to our LG, and still gets opened once a month.
Last spring, a neighbor asked whether those tablets were really enough or just expensive fizz. It is a fair question for anyone figuring out how to clean washing machine with Affresh, and I have a fair answer.
For the drum, a monthly tablet does a good job. For the whole washer, it does not. Here is how to clean washing machine with Affresh properly, and where I still pick up a cloth.
What An Affresh Tablet Actually Is
I trust a cleaner more once I know what is in it, so I went looking. Whirlpool, which makes Affresh, publishes a safety data sheet for Affresh Washing Machine Cleaner, and the version I found is dated November 2017.
Affresh washer tablets are mostly sodium percarbonate, listed at 60 to 70 percent, which is the active ingredient in oxygen bleach. Sodium carbonate, better known as washing soda, makes up another 10 to 20 percent.
An affresh tablet is essentially a measured dose of oxygen bleach with helpers, not chlorine. The same sheet warns that the tablets are harmful if swallowed and cause eye irritation, which is why our box lives on the top shelf.
Anyone learning how to clean washing machine with Affresh should handle the tablets with dry hands and keep them away from small children.
Where The Tablet Actually Goes
The tablet goes in the empty drum. Not the detergent drawer, not the bleach cup, not the softener slot. That is rule number one of how to use an Affresh washing machine cleaner.
Whirlpool’s guide to removing odors from a washer says it plainly, and Affresh’s own directions agree.
My neighbor had been dropping hers in the dispenser for a year. When she pulled the drawer out, the main compartment held a crusty white layer that took two rinses and an old toothbrush to remove. Her drum had never seen most of the cleaner.
Did you know? On Whirlpool steam models, the first 20 minutes of the cleaning cycle are steam only, so the tablet may not fully dissolve at first. The company explains that in its front load cleaning instructions. Part of how to use affresh washing machine cleaner well is not panicking over a few chalky bits.
Which Cycle To Choose On Front And Top Loaders
When people ask me how to clean washing machine with Affresh, the cycle matters almost as much as the tablet. Affresh tells owners to use the washer’s cleaning cycle when it has one, and otherwise to pick a Normal or Heavy cycle on hot water.
Here is how that plays out on the machines I know.
| Washer | Cycle to choose |
| Front loader with a cleaning cycle | Clean Washer, Tub Clean or similar |
| Front loader without one | Normal or Heavy, hot water |
| Top loader with a cleaning cycle | Clean Washer |
| Top loader without one | Normal or Heavy, hot water |
Whirlpool’s guide to cleaning a top load washer confirms the monthly Clean Washer cycle with Affresh. My routine on our old Whirlpool washer works on our LG today too.
How Often I Actually Use Affresh
Affresh recommends one tablet a month or every 30 washes. In my house, that rule works, with two small adjustments based on how we actually do laundry.
- During soccer season, I run a tablet every three weeks, because muddy uniforms and extra towels add loads fast.
- After a vacation or a week of closed-door neglect, I run one right away instead of waiting for the calendar.
For a washer that has never been cleaned, Affresh says up to three cycles in a row may be needed. I did exactly that when we bought a used dryer and washer set for my sister’s first apartment years ago, and the third cycle finally came out clean.
The schedule is the boring part of how to clean washing machine with Affresh, but it is the part that works. A tablet every month beats a heroic cleaning twice a year.
If you use your washer less often, I explain how to adjust that schedule in my guide to how often you should clean your washing machine.
Affresh Versus Bleach Versus Vinegar
I get asked about all three whenever how to clean washing machine with affresh comes up, so here is the short, factual version.
- Affresh is oxygen bleach in a measured tablet, designed for the cleaning cycle and gentle enough for monthly use.
- Chlorine bleach is stronger and better for an existing mold problem, but never use it in the same cycle as an oxygen product. Whirlpool’s notes on using bleach in the dispenser warn against pairing chlorine bleach with color-safe bleach or Oxi.
- Vinegar is the internet favorite, but Bosch advises against it in its washers because it may degrade rubber parts over time.
My opinion is that Affresh is the right monthly tool, and using bleach in a washing machine is the right emergency tool. Vinegar stays in my kitchen. If you are deciding between Affresh and bleach this month, start with the tablet.
What an Affresh Tablet Cannot Reach
A tablet cleans the water it dissolves in, and that water never touches some of the dirtiest spots in a front loader.
For the rubber seal, my guide on how to clean a front load washer gasket covers the hidden folds that washer tablets cannot reach.
The fold at the bottom of the door seal, the inside of the detergent drawer, and the drain pump filter all need a hand, a cloth, and a few minutes. Affresh itself says to wipe the gasket after laundry and to wipe away residue after the cleaning cycle.
On our LG, I pull back the bottom of the seal right before I drop in the tablet, so the cycle rinses away whatever I loosen. The full routine for the parts tablets miss is in my guide to cleaning a front load washer. Knowing how to clean a washing machine with Affresh only gets you halfway there.
When Tablets Are Not Enough
I keep a short list of signs that a tablet will not fix the problem. If any of them show up, I stop buying more tablets and change tactics.
- A musty smell that survives three Affresh cycles in a row
- Black spots of mold on the seal or inside the dispenser
- Water draining slowly or standing in the drum
- Gray film that comes back within a week
If you notice black flakes in your washing machine, the problem may go deeper than the residue an Affresh tablet can remove.
Slow draining usually means a clogged filter, not a dirty drum, and no cleaner fixes a blockage. Returning film usually means too much detergent.
In those cases, cleaning the washing machine with Affresh matters less than what goes into the machine every day. If none of those signs appear, a monthly tablet is still all most washers need.
My Answer To The Neighbor
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So, are affresh tablets enough? For the drum, used monthly, in the right place, on the right cycle, yes. For the seal, the drawer, and the filter, no tablet ever will be.
Knowing how to clean a washing machine with Affresh is mostly knowing its limits.
My routine is one tablet on the first Saturday of the month, a quick wipe of the seal before I start it, and the door left open overnight.