How to clean your washing machine with home remedies?

We clean with folk remedies

Washing machine care is necessary, because it is limescale and salt deposition that in most cases is the cause of breakdown. The main causes of scale formation:

• dirty water of high hardness;
• daily wash;
• aggressive washing powder.

The more factors affect your washing machine, the more often you need to clean it. What happens if you do not repeat the procedure regularly:

• internal parts will be covered with mold and mildew, which will cause an unpleasant odor;
• an increased load on the heating element will lead to an increase in electricity consumption, and then to a breakdown of the mechanism.

To wash your washing machine, you can purchase a special detergent from the supermarket or use traditional techniques. They are no less effective, they will help to cope even with strong pollution.

Lemon acid

The easiest way to descale your washing machine and remove unpleasant odors is to use citric acid. You don't need lemon juice, but a chemical powder known as E 330 supplement (2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid or 3-hydroxy-3-carboxypentanedioic acid).

Citric acid benefits:

• Profitable price. 50 g of powder cost an average of 25 rubles, and if you buy in bulk, then 1 kg will cost about 250 rubles. That is, 1 cleaning will cost only 50 rubles.
• Availability. You can buy citric acid at a large supermarket, your local grocery store, or online.
• Speed. Just one cycle and your washing machine will shine clean.
• Efficiency. Deposits on the heating element and in the drum will dissolve once or twice.
• Harmlessness. Citric acid is even used for food, therefore, neither it nor the substances formed during the dissolution of scale pose a threat to the internal parts of the washing machine.

Advice! Clean your washing machine every 3 months for a long-lasting result and to prevent limescale deposits.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Pour 150 g citric acid into the detergent drawer.
2. Run the longest wash cycle at a high temperature (usually Cotton or Baby).
3. After washing, let the inside of the drum dry by leaving the door open for 8-12 hours.

Important! Cleaning with citric acid is carried out only with an empty drum: otherwise, the clothes will be hopelessly ruined.

Vinegar

Before cleaning the washing machine with vinegar essence, let's take a look at the advantages of the method:

• Profitability. 200 ml of acetic acid 70% costs about 50 rubles, 500 ml of 9% essence - 25 rubles. For one procedure, 200-250 ml of a 9% solution is enough.
• Availability. Vinegar is sold in many grocery stores.
• Efficiency. The active acid not only cleans the washing machine from magnesium and calcium deposits, but also helps to get rid of mustiness, refreshes and disinfects.
• Safety.Do not overdo it with the amount of essence and the vinegar will not negatively affect the functionality of the washing machine.

Important! When working even with diluted essence, protect your hands with rubber gloves.

Step-by-step instructions for cleaning the machine:

1. Remove all things from the drum.
2. Pour 200-250 ml of 9% essence into the powder compartment.
3. Turn on the washing mode for 2-3 hours, preferably with soaking at a high temperature (60-90 degrees).
4. After washing, open the plinth of the machine, remove the drain filter, remove any remaining dirt and limescale.

Advice! If your model does not have a soak mode, stop washing after heating the water and leave it for 60-90 minutes. Then start again.

Is your main problem smell? Then, after all the previous steps, take 2 more steps:

1. Wipe the drum and the sealant with a solution of 9% essence diluted with water in a 1 to 2 ratio.
2. Start a quick wash with warm water (30-40 degrees).

Advice! To get 9% essence from 70%, dilute 5 teaspoons of vinegar in 12 tablespoons of water. That is 3 parts vinegar to 22 parts warm water.

Soda

First of all, we note that soda is different. And each is used for its own purposes:

• Baking soda. Often used for baking, but also has cleaning properties. The weakest of all. Can be purchased at grocery stores.
• Calcified. Usually used for cleaning stubborn stains, ideal for cleaning a washing machine. Search in the household chemicals department.
• Caustic. It is rarely used in everyday life, because is a very concentrated and caustic alkali.

Since we have found that soda ash (sodium carbonate) is the best replacement for cleaning agents, here are some of the benefits:

• Availability. It is not difficult to purchase, it is usually sold in the same place where the detergent is.
• Profitability. 600 grams of powder will cost 30-40 rubles.
• Versatility. Soda softens water, removes grease and plaque, cleans plumbing fixtures, and increases the effectiveness of the detergent.

Important! When working with soda ash, a strong alkaline reaction occurs, therefore, gloves should be worn and the powder should not come into contact with the skin or mucous membranes.

In fact, soda is the closest analogue of purchased cleaning products, because most of them contain sodium carbonate. Soda ash is an excellent water softener and is used to prevent scale. But in the fight against the already formed scale, it is powerless. But with the help of soda, it is easy to remove grease and plaque from the internal parts and the drain hose. Ideally, you should first run the washing machine with vinegar or lemon juice for a long cycle, and then add 100 g of baking soda and turn on the quick wash.

The ideal remedy for any contamination is soda and vinegar. Due to the acid-base reaction, scale and plaque soften and are literally washed off from any surface. This composition is usually used for removable parts: detergent tray or filter. Just cover the desired part with baking soda, and pour 6% or 9% vinegar on top. Leave for 10-15 minutes for exposure, rinse with running water.

Manual cleaning

If you find stains on the outer casing or exposed parts, try wiping them off with a paste of water and baking soda. This mixture is able to remove any stains from the plastic box, metal drum, as well as dirt from the seal.

Dissolve the gruel in a glass, rub in on the drum and gum with a sponge or toothbrush, leave for 30-60 minutes, then rub the strongest stains a little more and start rinsing in fast mode to rinse out the remaining powder.

What is important to know for an automatic machine?

Modern washing machines are quite complex, therefore, for their efficient operation, it is not enough to remove salt deposits from the heating element. The complete cleaning cycle includes:

• washing the outer casing;
• cleaning the powder tray and conditioner;
• wiping the drum and folds of the sealing gum;
• checking and cleaning the filter;
• blowing out the drain hose.

Only after all these steps can the washing machine be considered 100% washed.

Step-by-step instructions for general cleaning

Spring cleaning begins from the outside, moving inward. Be sure to turn off the power before starting.

Body and tray

From the outside, the washing machine is simply wiped with a dry soft cloth or soaked in soapy water. You can use the correct cleaning agent for your coating. Fill the tray with baking soda and vinegar, if stubborn stains remain, remove mechanically - with a brush or a hard sponge.

Drum

The circle itself is rarely contaminated, usually the main problem is at the joints and folds of the seal. Wipe thoroughly with a cloth dampened with baking soda water or vinegar.

Filter

Open the basement play (it is most convenient to pick it up with a flat screwdriver), unscrew the filter. Pump out the liquid, if it remains, clean it from dirt. Wash the drain part itself with soda or quickly wipe it with vinegar, reinstall it. If you do not know the location of the drain filter, read the instructions for your model.

Drain hose

Deposits of fat and dirt form on the inner walls - an idle cycle with 100-150 grams of soda ash will help to remove them.

Heating element

Acid is the best anti-scale, run a long wash with acetic or citric acid as described in the appropriate sections above.

Prevention recommendations

The easiest way to keep your washing machine clean is not to run it. Our tips will help with this:

• Add a little (~ 10 g) soda ash when washing - it perfectly softens water and prevents limescale from forming.
• Check your clothing pockets before loading - oxidized coins can also cause plaque.
• Use hot water as little as possible (above 90C). The ideal temperature for things and the machine is 40C.
• Wipe all parts dry at the end of the cycle to avoid odors.
• Clean the filter every 2-3 months.

We have analyzed the most effective ways to clean up the inside and outside of the washer. Use them and the device will serve for many years without the help of masters!