So, I gotta tell you about what happened with my washing machine the other day. It’s one of those things you don't really think about, you know? It cleans clothes, so it must be clean, right? Wrong. Dead wrong.

For a while, I’d been noticing my clothes weren't coming out smelling super fresh. Kinda like they were clean, but not really clean. I blamed everything else first. New detergent? Maybe. Fabric softener gone bad? Could be. I even thought maybe I was leaving them in the washer too long after the cycle finished.

The Experiment Begins

Then I stumbled across something online about cleaning the actual machine. At first, I was like, "Nah, that's overkill." But the weird smell thing was bugging me. So, I decided to give it a shot. What did I have to lose, right? A bit of time, maybe a few bucks for a cleaner.

I went out and bought one of those washing machine cleaner tablet things. The instructions were pretty simple:

• Make sure the washer is empty.
• Toss one tablet into the drum.
• Run a hot water cycle, or a "clean washer" cycle if your machine has one.

Easy enough. So, I chucked the tablet in, set it to the hottest, longest cycle it had, and let it do its thing. I didn’t really expect much, to be honest. Maybe a slightly fresher smell inside the machine afterwards.

The Gross Reveal

Man, was I in for a shock. When the cycle finished, I opened the door, and the smell was… different. Not bad, but not just "clean" either. I peered inside. At first glance, it looked okay, a bit shinier maybe. But then I decided to wipe the inside of the drum with a paper towel. Oh. My. God.

The paper towel came away covered in this greyish-brown, slimy gunk. There were little black specks in it too. I was horrified. Where did all that CRAP come from?! This is the machine that’s supposed to be cleaning my clothes!

I ran my hand along the inside of the rubber seal around the door – more gunk. I pulled back the seal a bit, and it was caked in there. It was disgusting. Seriously, disgusting.

It turns out all that detergent residue, fabric softener, dirt from clothes, lint, it all builds up over time in places you can't see. It creates this nasty film. And apparently, my machine had a LOT of it.

I ended up running another two rinse cycles with just hot water to try and flush out all the loosened grime. Each time, the water looked a bit murky. I also took a rag and some all-purpose cleaner and scrubbed the heck out of the door seal and the detergent dispenser drawer, which also had some lovely build-up.

Lesson Learned

It took a bit of effort, not gonna lie. But afterward, the machine actually smelled clean. And you know what? The next load of laundry I did came out smelling noticeably fresher. Like, properly clean.

So yeah, that was my adventure in discovering the hidden filth lurking in my washing machine. It was pretty eye-opening. If you haven't cleaned yours in a while, or ever, maybe give it a go. You might be as shocked as I was by what comes out. Seriously, that dirt from the washing machine was something else.