We all have at least one washing machine at home that solves a huge problem, dirty laundry, which otherwise would be impossible to wash by hand because it is a task that requires a lot of time and patience.
Once upon a time, our grandmothers did it without complaining too much and were able to whiten the laundry and overcome any stain with natural products or kitchen products. The only detergent they had available was Marseille soap.
Today not all women are able to achieve the same result, or a similar result, despite having detergents of any kind and adequate appliances available. If we didn’t have a washing machine it would be a tragedy for us because our lives are now hectic, so we don’t have the time to devote to these chores.
What happens if the washing machine has limescale and dirt residues
You are always in a hurry, so in the morning you turn on the dryer, the washing machine, the dishwasher and go out for work or for anything else and here are the problems. Unfortunately, all appliances, including the washing machine, need maintenance and care, otherwise at some point they stop working or work poorly.
Taking special care of the washing machine means performing an empty wash every now and then, which allows you to remove dirt, residues, and encrustations that cause further consumption. Limescale encrustations and therefore an unclean washing machine not only risk breaking it but consume three times as much both in terms of electricity and detergent.
When does the washing machine need maintenance? The best way to understand it
To understand if it is appropriate to wash the washing machine and start an empty wash to clean the drum and all its components, you simply need to smell the freshly washed laundry. If it smells rather than smelling like freshly washed laundry, it is probably because there is limescale, mold and bacteria or excess detergent in the drum and gasket.
In this case, to solve it, simply wash empty at high temperatures, for example at 60 degrees or 90 °, without detergents. But be careful because it doesn’t end there, there are practical ecological methods, absolutely cheap, which allow you to clean the washing machine down to depth, without spending a single penny, among other things using products that we all have at home such as vinegar or baking soda, salt, which come in handy in the kitchen and beyond.
Sanitizing the washing machine, here’s how to do it
To wash the drum up to depth and therefore to sanitize the washing machine well by eliminating limescale and dirt residues in a few seconds, you need 250 ml of white vinegar, a cup therefore, which are poured directly into the drum. Once done, start the washing machine. If you have the program dedicated to cleaning the basket, that’s more than fine.
Alternatively, you can choose an empty cycle, at 60 degrees for an hour. Alternatively, if you don’t have vinegar, you can also use just baking soda. This is put in a cup, you need 250 grams, pour it directly into the basket with the cup and then start washing.
Citric acid could also be useful, exactly 150 ml poured into a liter of water can work wonders. You can do the same thing with 3% hydrogen peroxide, or with coarse salt.
How to remove mold from the detergent drawer in a simple, practical and fast way
Finally, vinegar comes in handy to eliminate the mold that is created inside the detergent drawer. Generally, when you finish each wash, you should be careful to open both the drum and the drawer to make sure that they dry completely.
Unfortunately, however, few do it because we forget. There is nothing more wrong than this because mold forms precisely from these mistakes that may seem trivial but are not at all. Once formed, it is difficult to fight.
If you want to be on the safe side, just do this: pour the vinegar into the drawer, place it inside the well-soaked sponge and leave it on for some time, a few hours for example. Once the time has passed, it is cleaned by rubbing it in all its parts, in this way it returns to being as good as new. Guaranteed results.
