Greasy residue builds up inside every washing machine, and on a front loader it collects where you cannot see it: behind the drum, under the door seal and in the pump filter. The result is grey marks on light-coloured washing and a smell that survives the next few loads. Three months suits most households, and a machine used every day wants it closer to monthly. Bosch machines with a Drum Clean program prompt for it, which is the more reliable schedule.
Bosch machines make the job straightforward because most of them carry a dedicated Drum Clean program, which is a full 90°C cycle with no pre-wash. There are four separate jobs here, and the cycle only does the first.
1. Clean the drum
Put a washing machine cleaner straight into the empty drum rather than the dispenser drawer, close the door and run Drum Clean. If your model has no Drum Clean program, a cottons cycle at 90°C with pre-wash switched off does the same thing.
Bosch sell their own cleaner, tested against their machines, and it is the safe default if you would rather not think about it.
Rated 4.5 across more than 5,000 ratings, and the buy box shows it shipping from Amazon. A supermarket washing machine cleaner does the same job for a third of the price and will not hurt the machine; Bosch's own product mainly buys you the certainty that it has been tested on their seals.
When the cycle finishes, wipe the drum dry and check for anything the water left behind.
2. Clean the door seal
Wipe the rubber with a cloth and warm water, and get into the fold at the bottom where water and lint collect. No cleaning product is needed, and this is the part of the machine where product does damage: the seal is rubber, and detergents, bleach and acids all attack it.
That includes vinegar. It gets recommended constantly for descaling, and it is an acid held against rubber seals for the length of a cycle.
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3. Clean the detergent drawer
Every couple of months, press the lock in the middle of the drawer and pull it right out. Soak it in a basin, brush the compartments, and use a washing machine cleaner on any limescale that will not shift. Wipe out the housing the drawer slides into while it is off the machine, then dry it and refit it.
Bosch drawers are designed to rinse themselves during a wash, which is why this is a two-monthly job rather than a weekly one. A drawer nobody has ever cleaned is one of the more common reasons a machine smells.
4. Clean the pump filter
Unplug the machine, open the service flap at the bottom front, and let the small drain hose empty into a shallow dish before you unscrew the filter cover. Put a towel underneath, because there is always more water than the hose gave up.
Check the filter and the housing for coins, hair clips and the underwire that escapes from bras, then screw the cover back on firmly. A blocked pump filter is also the first thing to check when a Bosch machine stops draining or throws a drainage fault.
Descaling, if your water is hard
Limescale is a separate problem from grease and needs a different product. Put a washing machine descaler into the main compartment of the detergent drawer, run a 60°C program with pre-wash off, then run the same program again empty so the rinse carries the residue away.
Most Australian capitals do not need it. The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines define elevated hardness as 200mg of calcium and magnesium salts per litre, and Sydney Water puts its supply at about 50mg/L, which is soft. Hard water here is mostly a groundwater problem rather than a city one: Water Corporation notes that country customers are the ones most likely to have it, and that the Perth metropolitan supply meets the national guidelines. On tank or bore water, descale every three to six months.
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Habits that keep it clean
Dose the detergent properly. Too little leaves soil in the machine; too much leaves detergent in the drawer to go stagnant. The dose on the pack assumes a full load and average soiling, and both of those are worth adjusting for.
Leave the door and the drawer ajar. A drum that dries out between washes does not grow anything. Keep children and pets away from an open machine.
Run something hot now and then. A household that only ever washes cold never gets the machine above the temperature at which the oily film breaks down.
Vacuum behind it. Dust and lint gather around the motor and the vents, which is a heat problem rather than a hygiene one.
FAQ
What is Drum Clean on a Bosch washing machine?
A full 90°C program intended to be run empty with a machine cleaner in the drum. It is not a wash cycle and nothing should be in it. Models without it can use cottons at 90°C with pre-wash turned off.
How do I descale a Bosch front loader?
Descaler in the main dispenser compartment, 60°C program, pre-wash off, machine empty. Run it again without descaler afterwards so nothing is left in the system.
Can I use vinegar or bleach?
Neither belongs in a Bosch machine. Both attack the rubber door seal and the hoses, and neither is in Bosch's instructions. A machine cleaner is formulated to lift the same residue without the collateral damage.
How often should I clean it?
About every three months for the drum, two months for the drawer, and three to six months for descaling if you are on bore or tank water. Daily use, a family's worth of washing, or a machine that already smells all argue for monthly.
