Affresh Washing Machine Cleaner, Cleans Front Load and Top Load Washers, Including HE, 6 TabletsU.S. EPA Safer Choice

My bad. That ONE AND ONLY TIME I perused the manual for my top-loading washing machine — 16 years ago, on the day of installation — I might have overlooked the part recommending periodic, internal cleaning. Probably the reason I find myself typing a review for machine cleaners today. (The OUTSIDE is extremely clean and in pristine condition…so please, no judgement.)I’d always attributed the SCRUD deposits left on clothes (in warm and hot washes) to the shoddy plumbing work that was done on our home, built two years prior to the machine’s installation. [Nothing ever drained well, there were weird odors, and a test cap was left on one of the roof vents which went undiscovered for 14 years!]. I would just shake the slimy, brown flecks/chunks off onto the floor, shove clothes into the dryer, clean up the mess and move on.However, last week’s hot, bleachy load of my favorite, fluffiest towels simply sent me over the edge. My freshly-laundered, snowy-white and fairly expensive “after-bath HUGS” were generously sprinkled with the slimy, dark-brown flecks of crud! So very gross!! After shaking every item and cleaning up, yet again, I’d had ENOUGH and decided to learn how to fix this dilemma.With know-it-all Google being one of the best inventions of the 21st Century, I started there...OMG! First of all, SCRUD (soap crud, I imagine) is so aptly-named. Thankfully, I’m not the only person on the planet this is happening to (relief) and there ARE solutions to my suffering (more relief). Said ‘solutions’ are time-consuming and can get pricey but, at some point, desperate for a fix, ya just gotta bite the bullet and hope for the best.One remedy I discovered was these Affresh cakes. Hmmm…let’s start HERE, it seems easy enough. Plop one in, run the hottest, fullest cycle, wipe out the loosened SCRUD, repeat twice more and go on with your life. Even I can handle that — no appliances to move… no screws, panels or drums to REmove, no repair person to call (yet)…sign me up! I immediately placed my Amazon order for a 6-pack. But, just in case these won’t work, let’s keep searching…Further down the rabbit hole that is Google, I hopped over to the YouTube abyss and found two wonderful videos addressing my exact issue. [Handz for Hire and Ben’s Appliances and Junk]. Handz introduced me to the word SCRUD and, clearly, was experiencing the same thing with his own, but newer, machine. He used vinegar and baking soda, disassembled his machine to remove the wash drum AND manually scrubbed it with a Lysol cleaner. Although he did a wonderful job, this seemed like a LOT more than I could handle or even access myself, so I kept searching. Ben showed a half-assembled washer (for instructional purposes) and recommended using Citric Acid powder and OxiClean to take care of a gunked-up machine. Duly noted, Ben. Thank you, both!Back down the rabbit hole I descended, now in search of information on Citric Acid. Lo-and-behold, this stuff claims to clean practically EVERYTHING I’d ever need to clean: Keurig machine, water kettle, toilet tank and bowl ring, washing machine, shower grime, windows, and more. WOW! I immediately ordered a 2-lb bag of THAT too.Orders arrived, as promised…thank you, Amazon.Since I didn’t have the FIVE HOURS my machine would require to run 3 empty wash loads with Affresh cakes and the follow-up rinse cycle, I began using the Citric Acid powder on other things that needed to be cleaned instead.I started with that stubborn, limescale toilet ring. I dumped 3 Tbsp. of powder into the bowl, dissolved it using the toilet brush, and waited 30 minutes. Well, as water in toilets finds its own level (due to gravity, traps, vents, etc.), the cleaning solution remained just UNDER the ring I was intending to remove. How is that going to work if the liquid is not even soaking the area I’m trying to clean? I added more water to the bowl until the level was back above the ring and the water line self-leveled again — to below the targeted area. I placed a bottle of water in the bowl, hoping the displacement would raise the cleaning solution enough — for long enough — to penetrate the stubborn ring and loosen the scale. Yet again, the water leveled-out to just under the ring. I give up! [Not knocking the Citric Acid at all…I’m sure it would do a fantastic job on bowl or tank stains that are UNDER the water line.]Frustrated, I dove back into the hole and began searching for toilet pumice scrubbers — which a relative swears by. Hundreds more reviews later, I abandoned the search deciding that the risk of clogging my trap with a broken pumice chunk or permanently scratching my porcelain bowl — and causing MORE problems — overshadowed the faint limescale demarcation that only I seem to notice or care about. 🫤Moving on…electric water kettle. As I only use fresh, filtered, dispensed refrigerator water in my kettle, I have never cleaned it. Whatever germs are in there are getting boiled and it’s left open to dry thoroughly after use. Plus, due to its electrical contacts, it cannot be submerged in water. Over many years of using it, a white, dotted limescale film has coated the bottom and pour spout. Not a big deal for me but it looks unsightly. I used 1 Tbsp. powder and 4 1/2 C of water in kettle, stirred to dissolve, let it come to a boil and then sit for 30 minutes. The limescale dots were softened and easily wiped off with a bottle brush. Rinsed out the kettle and it looks new inside! Ok…impressed.Shower head and faucet aerators? Descaled all in one bowl and they came out working like new…good flow/pressure. Same recipe as kettle (1 Tbsp acid and 4.5 C of boiling water). Suggested time was 15 minutes. Mine had to go a full 30 and some light scrubbing was necessary . Totally worth the effort, though.UPDATE: [If you’re intrigued…]More about the Milliard citric acid powder (Amazon B00EYFKM32) in my review there 7/21/24.Back to laundry:Finally completed the three Affresh cake cycles and ensuing rinse load. After each Affresh cleaning cycle, the only thing I noticed — as far as SCRUD droppings in the bottom of the washer — was one tiny speck. What?! $7 of cleaning cakes, lots of hot water and wasted electricity for only THREE slimy, gross specks? I find more in the drum washing towels with bleach! Hopefully, all of the dissolution and disposal of the gunk happened behind the scenes and simply made it out to the sewer on its own. 🤞🏻A bonus: although our washer never had any kind of funky odor, it’s GOT to be cleaner than before and the Affresh made the laundry room smell really nice.I gave the machine a day off to rest. I’m now running a test load of white towels and rags that were already clean (hottest temperature, highest water level, bleach, detergent and fabric softener). Making sure that whatever SCRUD flakes might be lurking around, waiting to pounce on something, land on the rags and not the stuff we care about (see paragraph 3).Ok, alarm sounded — that’s done. Let’s take a look…So far, nothing dark and slimy is visible.Taking the first towel out for inspection…No spots on it. Giving it a good shake, just in case. (Floor still clean.)Next one out is a hand towel…Looks good; passed the shake test.The rest…Same results.The bottom of the drum…Nothing.NOT A SPECK OF SCRUD TO BE SEEN AND THE FLOOR IS CLEAN!Going forward, with monthly Affresh cleanings, maybe we’ll get another 16 years out of this washer.Hope this helps at least SOMEone.

So recently when I would be away for the weekend or longer, I would come home and I could smell a musty smell from the washer even though I keep the lid up. My neighbor asked if I use affresh and I said I've never heard of it. Well I bought a box, tried it and the odor went away the first try. I highly recommend it.

I’ve been using Affresh since I first got my washing machine about 4 years ago. No issues so far (knocking on virtual wood). I run one tablet every 30 cycles, as my machine’s app recommends. It keeps things fresh and clean, no weird smells or build-up.Pros:Super easy to use. Just toss it in and run a clean cycleWorks well on my top loaderKeeps my washer smelling cleanOne tablet lasts the whole clean cycleBeen reliable for yearsCons:??? Cant think of oneIf you want your washer to last and stay fresh, this is worth keeping on hand.

I bought Affresh Washing Machine Cleaner because my washer had started to smell a little musty and was leaving my clothes with a weird funk — especially after using a lot of detergent over time. I’d seen great reviews, and now I get why.I tossed one tablet into the drum and ran a cleaning cycle (I have a front-loader), and right away I could tell it was breaking down built-up grime and detergent residue. After the cycle finished, there was a light powdery coating left behind on the drum — nothing major, just some leftover cleaner. I ran a quick extra rinse cycle, and once that was done — wow. The inside of my machine was literally sparkling. It looked brand new!Even better? No more sour smells, and my laundry has smelled fresher and cleaner ever since. I’ve used other cleaners before, but Affresh really made a difference and was super easy to use. Just drop in and go.I’ll definitely be using this monthly from now on. If your washer is getting funky or hasn’t been cleaned in a while, this is 100% worth it. Just don’t forget that extra rinse at the end — totally worth it for a sparkling finish.Highly recommend!

I think I’ve only cleaned my washing machine one time in the last five years, which was probably a big mistake. I quit using fabric softener and liquid detergent about a year ago recently, I did a load of white towels and most of them had big gray spots on them. I determined it was residue for my washing machine, so I took the dispensers all apart and cleaned them and then ran three of the separate cleaning cycles in it made a huge difference. I’ll never go more than 2 months without cleaning my washing machine again.!

It never occured to me that a washing machine would need to be cleaned. I have a front load machine and noriced there was build up of soap scum on the glass door and inner rubber stopper. I purchased these and they do a great job. Using monthly has really made a difference in how clean my washing machine is. Very effective cleaning.

My washing machine is smarter than me and tells me when it's time to clean the machine! These tablets make the cleaning task so simple. Just put one in the washer and turn on the cleaning cycle. Easy! My machine always smells fresh and never musty. Great product.

My husband and I bought speed queen in 2023. I knew the drum needed to be cleaned but couldn’t figure out how to do it safely without avoiding the warranty. This is a great option. You just need to use the high-efficiency setting and the hot hot water. It does have special settings, but clean washer is not one of them