Cleaning your washing machine is not the first thing that you think of in relation to what can cause smells in the home. But believe it or not, if you don't look after your machine it will stink! And it's not a particularly nice smell either.

There are many way to clean out your machine, there are expensive products out there, that will do the job, but will effect the environment AND your wallet.

A really simple and extremely effective way of cleaning your machine is with vinegar and baking soda. Here is what you will need to do (promise it's not rocket science).

1. Pour about a litre (2 pints, or a quarter of a gallon) of vinegar into your machine, making sure you get into every part of your machine.

2. Put about 5-6 tablespoons of baking soda in with the vinegar.

3. You should start to see the two react together, making a bubbly paste, try and get this paste all over the inside drum of your machine.

4. Leave this to sit and do it's work for about 10-15 minutes.

5. Put your machine on a boil wash program.

6. When you open your machine again, the smells should be gone.

7. Don't forget that maintenance each time you do a wash is also a key factor to eliminating smell from your machine. Remember to wipe dry the rubber sections of your machine, as water tends to build up, get statnent and stink!

8. Vinegar and baking soda are also extremely useful if you life in a hard water are. Boil vinegar in your kettle, put it in your coffee machine. It will help you to get rid of scale without having to use chemicals. Which you don't want to have to do on equipment you make food/beverages in.

Hope you find this a good tip. For more tips and advice on websites please visit my blog Tried and Tested