Kenmore Washer Cleaning and Odor Removal

Quick Answer

To clean your Kenmore washer, run a dedicated Clean Washer cycle or a normal hot cycle with a cup of white vinegar or a specialized cleaner tablet. Always wipe down the rubber door boot and scrub the detergent drawer separately to remove hidden mold.

Honestly, most washer smells and gray-streaked laundry come back to one thing: nobody's cleaning the machine. Ignore it long enough and that biofilm and detergent gunk starts coating the sensors and clogging the pump, and now you've got a real repair bill instead of a $4 Affresh tablet. Monthly cleaning takes about 10 minutes of actual hands-on work. It's worth it.

KenmoreWasherSeverity: low

Time to Fix

60–120 min

Difficulty

beginner

Parts Cost

$0 (no parts needed)

Tools Needed

White vinegar (2 cups) or Affresh washer cleaner tablets, Old toothbrush

Kenmore Washer Cleaning and Odor Removal

Clean your washer once a month, or roughly every 30 cycles. It's not just about smell either. That slimy buildup in the drum and dispenser actually makes your clothes dirtier over time. I've shown up to jobs where people couldn't figure out why their towels smelled worse after washing than before. Nine times out of ten it's a washer that hasn't been cleaned in two years.

Common Causes

Using too much detergent over time, especially HE detergent in non-HE models, which leaves behind a thick layer of residue on the drum walls and outer tub that traps bacteria and eventually smells like a gym bag.
Running mostly cold or warm cycles without ever doing a hot wash, which means soap scum never fully rinses away and builds up slowly inside the pump and hoses.
Leaving the door or lid closed after every wash, trapping moisture and creating the perfect dark, humid environment where mold and mildew thrive.
Neglecting the drain pump filter for 6+ months, letting it pack up with lint, hair, coins, and debris until it's holding stagnant water that stinks up the whole machine.
Hard water deposits coating the drum and heating element, reducing cleaning effectiveness and making the machine work harder than it should to heat the water properly.

Symptoms You May Notice

Your clean laundry smells musty or sour right out of the washer, sometimes worse than before you washed it.
Visible black or dark gray spots on the rubber door gasket folds, especially in the lower section where water pools after every cycle.
Gray or brownish streaks showing up on white towels and light-colored clothes after a normal wash.
A strong mildew smell every time you open the washer door, even when the machine's been sitting empty for a day or two.
Standing water or visible slime buildup in the detergent dispenser drawer, or water that won't drain properly from the tray.

Can you reset a Kenmore washer to clear the CLEANING code?

There's no error code to clear here, but after you finish the full cleaning process, leave the door or lid propped open for at least an hour so the drum and gasket can dry out completely. Some Kenmore models have a 'Clean Washer' reminder light that resets automatically once the dedicated cycle finishes. If yours doesn't have that, just note the date and set a monthly calendar reminder so it doesn't slip to six months again.

Tools Required for Diagnosis

White vinegar (2 cups) or Affresh washer cleaner tabletsOld toothbrushMicrofiber cloths (at least 2, one damp one dry)Dish soapBucket or shallow pan (for filter drainage)Phillips #2 screwdriver (some filter access panels are screwed in)Rubber gloves

Diagnostic Checklist

Follow these steps in order. We start with the easiest external fixes before opening up the machine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use bleach to clean my Kenmore washer?

Yes, bleach works great for killing mold, especially in the gasket area. Use about one cup of liquid chlorine bleach poured directly into the drum or the bleach dispenser if your Kenmore has one, then run the hottest longest cycle available. The one thing you absolutely can't do is mix bleach and vinegar in the same cycle, that creates chlorine gas. Pick one per cleaning session. If your machine's really funky, do a bleach cycle one month and a vinegar cycle the next to handle both mold and mineral scale.

Why does my Kenmore washer smell like rotten eggs?

That sulfur smell is almost always bacteria feeding on soap scum and body oils inside the outer tub or the drain pump area. It's especially common if you wash in cold water a lot, because cold water doesn't rinse that buildup away. The drain filter is usually the biggest offender, so start there. Pull it out, clean it, then run a hot cycle with an Affresh tablet or two cups of white vinegar. If the smell comes back within a week, you probably need two back-to-back cleaning cycles to really break through the biofilm.

How often should I clean the drain filter?

Every 3-4 months for a normal household. If you've got dogs or cats, honestly do it monthly. Pet hair is incredibly good at forming dense clumps in that filter that trap water and start reeking fast. I've pulled filters out that were basically solid plugs of golden retriever fur. Takes about 5 minutes once you know where the access panel is, so it's not a big deal. Just put it on your calendar the same way you'd schedule a furnace filter change.

Do I really need to use washer cleaner tablets?

You don't have to buy the fancy tablets, but they work better than vinegar alone for really bad buildup. Affresh is what I tell people to use because it's cheap, usually around $8 for a 3-pack, and it's formulated to dissolve slowly through the whole cycle instead of getting flushed out in the first few minutes. Vinegar is great for regular monthly maintenance. But if your washer already stinks and hasn't been cleaned in over a year, start with a tablet or two first, then switch to vinegar for monthly upkeep going forward.

Why is there water left in my detergent drawer?

A small amount of clear water is totally normal because of the siphon action when water flows through the dispenser. But if it's full of gunky water or there's standing liquid every single time you check, the siphon holes are clogged. Those are tiny holes in the back wall of each dispenser compartment. Hit them with a toothpick or a thin brush while the drawer's out of the machine. Also check the ceiling of the dispenser housing inside the machine itself, that part gets crusted over and blocks drainage too.

How do I know if my Kenmore has a dedicated Clean Washer cycle?

Most Kenmore models made after about 2010 have it. On machines with a physical dial, look for 'Clean Washer' printed right on the cycle selector, usually near the Normal or Heavy Duty positions. On digital touch control models, it's sometimes labeled 'Tub Clean' instead. Can't find it anywhere? Just set the machine to the hottest water setting with the longest available cycle time and it'll do essentially the same thing. The dedicated cycle adds some extra agitation pauses that help the cleaner work better, but a manual hot cycle is 90% as effective.

Models Known to Experience CLEANING Errors

This repair applies to most Kenmore washers with this error code. Common model numbers include:

Kenmore Elite 41072, Kenmore Elite 41162, Kenmore Elite 31552, Kenmore Elite 41633, Kenmore 28133, Kenmore 22352, Kenmore 26132, Kenmore 20232

Written by

Mike Sullivan

Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 20 years experience

Last verified for technical accuracy on March 17, 2026