Limescale in washing machine

Ebe_Scrooge

We recently moved from a very hard water area to a very soft water area. First thing I did was to use limescale remover on the kettle, and it's brilliant, has stayed sparkling ever since and not re-furred up in a couple of weeks like it used to.

Now, this got me thinking. The washing machine element is bound to be scaled up as well, despite using Calgon regularly in our old house. Will the buildup of scale gradually disappear as we use the soft water, or is there something I should use to get rid of it to start with ? I wouldn't have thought we could use kettle de-scaler on it ?

dragon47

The softwater won't disolve the existing limescale deposits.

If you get some more calgen and use that for another month or so that should do the trick.

Phil_L_2

Yes it will!

Fire_Fox

You can buy large sachets of washing machine descaler from supermarkets. Basically just citric acid tho - if you can get hold of it from a chemist, it would probably be cheaper. Not freely available as it's used by junkies! :eek:

I think Calgon is basically the same stuff as dishwasher salt, just more expensive, but perhaps someone will confirm.

Wickedkitten

forget calgon because its a waste of money. Get down to Sainsburys and get yourself a few bags of soda crystals (about 60p a bag), and find a place where you can get a big jar of white vinegar. Run your washing machine on its hottest setting with the vinegar in to get rid of the limescale, and then add about half a bag of soda crystals to clear out the old fabric softener and soap deposits.

We live in a hard water area and I add some soda crystals to each load because not only does it mean you can use less washing powder, but it softens the water as well.

Ebe_Scrooge

Thanks for the advice. I'll try the vinegar and soda crystals ( should have thought of vinegar myself, actually, that's the old-fashioned method that was used before chemical descalers were available if I remember correctly ).