I love my high-efficiency (HE) washer and dryer. I honestly can’t remember life without them. Well that’s a lie, my fifth floor walkup in New York City with no laundry was a bit unforgettable, but lugging a bag of laundry up and down the steps and spending a couple hours at the Laundromat was part of the weekly routine in the city. Now that I have a home of my own, laundry is still part of the routine, but much less of a commitment. Just throw a load in and forget about it until the buzzer goes off. That is until you notice your clothes starting to smell a bit when they should be coming out smelling like roses, or country fresh or whatever other scent tickles your fancy.

In order to operate on less energy and water, HE machines are sealed tighter and need to be regularly maintained in order to keep them running efficiently and properly. Although your drum may look sparkling clean, it’s the areas you don’t see that can become the problem. The back of the drum, is an ideal spot for dirt and grime to build up, and in a dark damp environment things can start to get, well, not so fresh. The rubber seal is another spot where all sorts of things get trapped.

I recently had a chance to try out the affresh washer cleaning kit by Whirlpool. Each kit contains three Power Puck tablets and six Grit Grabber cloths. Just pop a Power Puck in and run a normal hot wash cycle. The Power Puck breaks down residue in places you cant reach with its bubbling oxygenated action. The Grit Grabbers clean the rubble seal and grab any lingering debris. It’s a once a month cleaning that will keep your HE washer running at its best and your clothes smelling like they just came out of the washer and not the basement.

Affresh also has cleaner that takes care of your dishwasher and garbage disposal. One tablet goes in the detergent tray, one in the bottom of the dishwasher and all you have to do is run it and let it go to work. The disposal is just as easy! Turn the hot water on a low flow, pop in a tablet, turn on the disposal for 15 seconds and then rinse in a half an hour. Say goodbye to that funky smell from last night’s dinner that didn’t quite make its way down the drain.

Affresh is available at retailers nationwide or can be purchased online at www.affresh.com where you can set up a subscription to make maintenance a snap.

Disclosure: I was sent the Affresh products for review.