Washing machines don't live longer with Calgon

G_M

Children, CHILDREN! Please! Enough already!

Just forget the Calgon. And the Magnaclean. And the electrolytes.

You need some VI NE GAR.

:T

keystone

T_T wrote: »

There comes a point where the only way to win an argument is to accept that it was lost the minute I realised there was nothing to win and that by taking part in the first place made me the loser.

T_T - I like your style. :beer:

All the best buddy,

and to you.

enjoy the spoils. :rotfl:

None to enjoy as it happens though this little exchange has been fun!

Cheers

sunshinetours

A regular mainteneace wash should help keep your machine nice and sparkly inside. Hot wash with bio poweder and NO clothes inside is what is required

Additives and special powders etc are there for those who can;t be bothered to look aftere things properly, to supposedly minimise the damage they cause.
Some good article on the ukwhitegoods website that explain it all quite well

Running your machine on non bio liquid at 30 degree quick washes all the time is going to shortebn the life regardless of what c**p you add to it

Ben84

I've always been unconvinced about calgon as a product. Major point is that the detergents we use in washing machines already contain ingredients to bind to the minerals that form limescale to prevent their being deposited on the washing and the machine. These polycarboxylates are the exact same ingredient in calgon. If you dose correctly for the water hardness, all should be fine.

I have also never had a machine fail from limescale despite living so far in two of the hardest water areas in the UK. They usually fail from motor brushes wearing out or the mechanical programmer failing - but then after repair continue working fine for many more years with their eventual end being nothing to do with limescale, just a repair on a worn down mechanical part being more costly than the machine is worth. Usually bearings in the motor/drum at that point, a part that never encounters limescale.

Calgon is also very expensive. Polycarboxylate is the major % by weight filler/water softener in nearly all washing powders, including the cheapest store brand. Check out the ingredients in Sainsbury's basics powder, it will be a majority polycarboxylate. Even ignoring it being a costly way to buy an otherwise cheap chemical and assuming the claims that it stops damage are reasonable, when you add up the cost over a few years it's easily more than a low end washing machine is worth anyway.

SpikyHedgehog

sunshinetours wrote: »

A regular mainteneace wash should help keep your machine nice and sparkly inside. Hot wash with bio poweder and NO clothes inside is what is required

Additives and special powders etc are there for those who can;t be bothered to look aftere things properly, to supposedly minimise the damage they cause.
Some good article on the ukwhitegoods website that explain it all quite well

Running your machine on non bio liquid at 30 degree quick washes all the time is going to shortebn the life regardless of what c**p you add to it

Well, I do use non-bio liquid, because I've found it least irritant for my son's horrible eczema skin. What I do is put the machine on a boil wash with a little bleach* in it every so often. Would bio powder be better?

*Because if you put too much bleach in it, the machine foams all over your kitchen floor & you have to mop the bleachy water all up before your baby wakes from his nap...

sunshinetours

SpikyHedgehog wrote: »

Well, I do use non-bio liquid, because I've found it least irritant for my son's horrible eczema skin. What I do is put the machine on a boil wash with a little bleach* in it every so often. Would bio powder be better?

*Because if you put too much bleach in it, the machine foams all over your kitchen floor & you have to mop the bleachy water all up before your baby wakes from his nap...

We use Surcare, as our daughter also has eczema, which is non bio so that per se isn't the issue its people who use the quick wash function with liquids ro liquitabs and never use the higher temperature washes who can get more problems with "gunk" inside the pipes and machine. All bedding and towels is washed at 60 degrees or more to remove dust mites etc and its only usually my own or widfe's washing that may get an occassioanl quick wash at 30 degrees

Personally I avoid using bleach as such anywhere due to skin flare ups but find a cheap basics range of bio powder does the job as far as maintenance washes is concerend

As a separate issue have you checked our or joined the Eczema Society - lots of good info on there

SpikyHedgehog

sunshinetours wrote: »

We use Surcare, as our daughter also has eczema, which is non bio so that per se isn't the issue its people who use the quick wash function with liquids ro liquitabs and never use the higher temperature washes who can get more problems with "gunk" inside the pipes and machine. All bedding and towels is washed at 60 degrees or more to remove dust mites etc and its only usually my own or widfe's washing that may get an occassioanl quick wash at 30 degrees

Personally I avoid using bleach as such anywhere due to skin flare ups but find a cheap basics range of bio powder does the job as far as maintenance washes is concerend

As a separate issue have you checked our or joined the Eczema Society - lots of good info on there

Thank you sunshinetours, as you do, I wash all the towels & bedding at 60°, so I should be ok there. I haven't joined the Eczema Society but have checked out the site - some very useful stuff there. Oddly, my son seems to cope better with bleach in the washing machine than when I was using bio powder to wash my husband's work stuff, even with an extra rinse of both the bio load & the next load!