Candy / Hoover "Care + Protect" Descaler / Degreaser

undecisive

Had an engineer come out to fix the dial on our washing machine (under warranty). Looks like they are in-home salespeople!

Well, why not.

They're selling "Care and Protect" - a descaler and degreaser for hard water areas, a year's supply for £15.98. Now, I don't normally go for this kind of thing, but he seemed a nice enough chap and when a washing machine engineer says this stuff is good, you tend to believe him. So for research purposes I relieved him of a box.

Problem is, I tried googling it and came up with squat. Nada. Not a proverbial sausage. Nothing on the box indicating a website, nothing on the Candy or Hoover websites indicating this product exists.

So what is this stuff? Who produces it? Why is there no website? Is it a scam? Is it a good deal?

kwatt

Its' known as an "added revenue stream".

Indesit are doing it as well and I'm told others are due to start.

Basically, you can't find anything as they use branded stuff so you can't price compare or see if what you got was good value or, in many cases even needed.

It isn't unusual for some engineers to flog the likes of limescale additives to people in massively soft water areas, completely not needed. But then, their bonuses often depend on it and I have heard tell of potential disciplinary action if they don't achieve targets, how true that is I don't know but I do know these guys get tremendous grief to sell these things in-home.

K.

Myser

Handful of Soda Crystals inside the drum and a 90° wash now and then will do the trick.

It'll clean the drum, remove soap scum from pipes and kill any bacteria!

You can buy Soda Crystals from supermarkets and hardware stores such as Robert Dyas etc.

You should also clean the soap dispenser drawer periodically.

ormus

youve been conned. best way to make serious money is to buy low and sell high.
they have sold you about a quids worth of cleaning material for 15 quid.

kwatt

Myser wrote: »

Handful of Soda Crystals inside the drum and a 90° wash now and then will do the trick.

But won't kill bacteria. Which is the point of a maintenance wash, which you can do with normal powder without buying soda crystals and, it works.

Instructions here

K.

Myser

kwatt wrote: »

But won't kill bacteria.

A 90° cycle will kill bacteria. The same wash may be known as a maintenance wash on modern machines!

kwatt

Not all it won't.

You'd need a sanitisation wash for that which you won't get on a domestic machine.

60˚C will kill off most mites etc. Actual bacteria, a whole other thing and even at 90˚C running with bleach you still won't kill them all but you will keep it at bay. Go look it up, even slapping raw bleach on a bacteria colony you won't kill them all, it's pretty much a scientific fact.

What sort of annoys me is people saying they get a good wash at less than 40˚C as, you don't. You also create a build up of bacteria, especially where you don't use a bleach containing detergent. I could horrify you with examples.

Sorry, I'm pedantic, I had to study this stuff and verify information using one of the universities so for a change I actually know a bit on the topic.

K.

Myser

kwatt wrote: »

even slapping raw bleach on a bacteria colony you won't kill them all, it's pretty much a scientific fact.

Hmm...Domestos, which contains bleach is supposed to kill 'All known germs'!?

Lots of information on the web about bleach killing bacteria too?

kwatt

I will bow out to your obvious superior knowledge then based on advertising claims.

Personally, I'll stick with the scientific research.

I will leave you with a thought though that scared the devil out of us...

Customer calls in asking about an 1607 machine, how fast can it do a quick wash was the basic question.

During the ensuing conversation it turns out that this was a B&B that the machine was going into, no issue there, commercial warranty and all that.

But and, this is the scary part of it...

The quick wash was for bedding used in the guest rooms.

The owner stating that (may be paraphrased), "It's okay they've only slept in the bed overnight, the sheets only need a quick wash, there's no need to clean them properly." He was quite adamant and insistent despite receiving proper advice and instruction as, he'd read all about it on the internet.

How happy would you be to know that you were sleeping in last night's guest's bacteria and mites? Or, the twenty, thirty, one hundred guests before that?

This is the problem with letting bad advice, plain wrong instruction and old wife's tales from donkey's years ago pervade. It becomes the norm and is considered to be acceptable even where you don't want it to be and you should quite rightly expect a higher standard. Those standards begin (IMO) at home, with your own expectation.

So, I personally won't let it go.

Do it right will remain my stance and I apologise if that may challenge your beliefs or whatever. But it won't change facts.

If you're happy with that you do though, who am I to argue the point. I give you the information and advice, it's entirely up to you if you want to listen, take heed or just completely ignore me. Carry on and do what you will basically.

We let the B&B guy buy a Miele, he's Miele's problem to deal with.

K.

Myser

kwatt wrote: »

I will bow out to your obvious superior knowledge then based on advertising claims.

No, I was actually posing a question! You've obvously taken it the wrong way and I can see you are clearly passionate about bacteria

Nowhere did I suggest that a lower temperature/quick wash would be suitable for cleaning bedding!

kwatt

My apologies then, I got the wrong impression.

Kills 99% of all known germs. Well known advertising phrase.

Doesn't mention bacteria. Doesn't say how much of the 99% isn't any issue. Just like many percentages, seemingly random.

Doesn't say it kills everything, because it can't. Marketers are usually clever enough not to allow themselves to be left open to a legal challenge.

Bacteria colonies are almost impossible to wipe out completely. Almost everything we see, feel or smell has some sort of bacteria in it or on it. Most of it is completely harmless, don't go for the oxygen tent just yet.

But, when these people punt out stuff like that they make it sound as if this "wonderful product" will make it all okay. Doesn't work like that.

Bacteria will always survive or, a portion of the colony will. That portion will regroup and start to grow again.

That's why, when you get the likes of mildew, bleach it, scrub it and whatnot to make it go, it always comes back if the conditions allow it.

In a washing machine or a dishwasher, conditions are perfect or as close as you can get, to culture bacteria. It's warm (relative) and damp, a perfect breeding ground basically and, as they are often sited in a kitchen it's warmer at times (cooking etc.) than most other places in the home which just accelerates the process.

Think on them like big Petrie dishes filled with swarms of bacteria and you're pretty close to the mark.

With food waste, faeces, urine, body grease, skin flakes, whatever you carry in on your clothing or leave in your bed and goodness knows what else in the dishes and laundry a cleaning regime for these things isn't an option, it's essential.

My apologies for dumbing it down a lot, hopefully I've nailed the crux of it for you.

Then you get people that don't understand all (or any) of this giving out advice and selling what is, essentially completely cr4p products at ludicrous prices.

Much of that "supposed knowledge" based on antique technologies from a bygone age. Washing machines, dishwashers and all the technologies in both have moved on hugely in a few years let alone decades. Yet often people persist with old remedies that often have no basis in facts.

It is desperately frustrating and extremely annoying to those of us that actually have a clue.

K.