Washing machine Maintenance

fender

What should you do to generally maintain a washing machine?

I have heard you should sometimes put it on with no clothes in. Any other advice?

Thanks.

tawnyowls

My first piece of advice would be - don't use the dispenser drawer! I'm sure people are fed up of me banging on about this, but seriously, it's the semi-dissolved detergent in this and working its way down through the pipes that seems to cause problems. Use a washing ball within the drum instead.

Secondly, there's this thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=307643, which discusses the cleaning tips recommended by Kim & Aggie to clean a WM. It did seem a bit OTT to do two separate washes, though, and I would have thought you could stick the soda and the vinegar in at the same time, although you probably wouldn't want them mixing in an undiluted form, so might need to put the soda in the dispenser drawer (yes, I know, completely contradicting the above) and the vinegar in the drum.

It does really need a hot wash every so often, even if you don't use the vinegar/soda. Also need to clean the rubber seal and behind the dispenser drawer even if you don't use it.

Pink.

Hi fender,

Some of these older threads might help too:

Make your washing machine last longer & cheaper

Cleaning your washing machine

Stinky washing machine!

Smelly Washing Machine!!!

Calgon, Limescale and Landfill

DON'T use Calgon!

Pink

DilbertJones

tawnyowls wrote:

My first piece of advice would be - don't use the dispenser drawer! I'm sure people are fed up of me banging on about this, but seriously, it's the semi-dissolved detergent in this and working its way down through the pipes that seems to cause problems. Use a washing ball within the drum instead.

Secondly, there's this thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=307643, which discusses the cleaning tips recommended by Kim & Aggie to clean a WM, and I would have thought you could stick the soda and the vinegar in at the same time

Where do i get a washing ball from? and do you just put powder straight into it?

Also where do I get soda & vinegar from? what sort is it?

Penny_Watcher

Our washing machines have really taken some hammer over the years. DD1 had health problems and the sheets had to be changed every day for years. OH used to wear 3 changes of clothes per day - work clothes, gym clothes and relaxing clothes, nevermind the mess the two littlies made when they were small.

Although we have always had the machines insured for repair I've become a dab hand at washing machine maintenance. Waiting a week for an engineer to take a piece of broken underwire from the pump was the last straw. I now know how to clear blockages from the pump.

We live in a soft water area so we don't get limescale on anything. I don't use the draw at all. It used to get caked up with powder which never properly dissolved. I always use liquid in a dosing ball (free with some bottles of liquid). I used to get white streak on the clean washing. The repair man said I was either using too much powder or the water wasn't hot enough to dissolve it.

One problem we do get is the pressure valve at the back of the machine filling with 'gunk'. This means it won't spin. To stop this I put it on a 900 wash with a cup full of white vinegar once a week to give the pipework a good blast.

One time there was a huge bang from the kitchen when the washing machine motor came loose from it's moorings and exploded into the drum. The poor dogs nearly pooped themselves *I wasn't far behind:o *

I don't touch anything to do with the electrics. I always get the engineer in for that.

tawnyowls

robodan wrote:

Where do i get a washing ball from? and do you just put powder straight into it?

Also where do I get soda & vinegar from? what sort is it?

Try the manufacturers' websites - if they don't have anything on there, try ringing them up;they'll usually send you a free one. Lidl's own brand (Adritt) seem to come with a washing ball on every bottle. Yes, just bung the powder/liquid straight into it - I don't even worry about whether the ball was originally for liquid or powder. You should find you're able to cut the amount of product by at least a third, if not more.

Soda is washing soda (not bicarb) - Wikinson's, some of the supermarkets; usually either on the very bottom or very top shelf! White vinegar usually recommended (but malt is cheaper). Look on the bottom shelves for 5 litre plastic bottles.