While the laundry room is the place we take clothing to get clean, it’s often notorious for being the dirtiest room in the house. Ensuring your laundry room has proper ventilation is step one in removing heat and moisture from this hardworking space. If windows are present in your laundry room, we suggest opening them on nice days to air things out.

Initial consideration for keeping your laundry room clean should come in the form of selecting appropriate materials, like tile, laminate and moisture-resistant paint. Then, regular maintenance is important. Here’s a list of things to do:

• Wash the Washer – every couple of weeks, run a hot cycle with vinegar to help eliminate any odors. If you have a front-loading machine, the folds can collect moisture and develop mold if not wiped out regularly.
• Clean it – it’s easy to throw a load in and walk away, but we suggest you also make it part of your routine to wipe down the exterior of the machines regularly. Detergent spills and drips can build up on surfaces if not regularly cleaned up. Don’t forget the detergent drawer – liquid detergent combined with lint and dust builds up in the corners leaving an unsightly residue.
• Replace Filters – obviously removing lint build up from the dryer is important to avoid fire hazards, plus build up will make your machine work harder. Especially if you wash pet bedding, this chore should be done more often as you’ll find pet hair accumulates a lot! Also, some washing machines also have a filter, so be sure to check your manufacturer’s instructions to determine if your model has a filter and if so how to change it.
• Clean out your vent hose – do this chore at least once a year. According to the National Fire Protection Association, lint build-up in dryer hoses can be a leading risk of home fires.

Finally, don’t let laundry sit for too long. Piles of clothes, especially wet or sweaty ones, can breed bacteria. Yuck!