How to launch a washing with citric acid

Cleaning washing machine with citric acid

It is convenient to clean the washing machine with citric acid if you need to dissolve solid deposits on metal details. The product is good, but caution should be observed when cleaning.

The stores present many professional tools helping to clean the machine from scale. But cheap domestic substances are still very popular. The most famous of them is citric acid, or lemon. an aggressive chemical in composition, which quickly destroys hard salt deposits.

To take care of the washing machine, the substance is very good. He has several advantages, namely:

• low price, for a bag of substance do not need to be overpayed, as for specialized means;
• good solubility, powder when interacting with hot water almost leaves no sediment and is fully washed out of the internal details of the device;
• economical consumption-to clean the car, you need only 100-200 g of powder for one procedure;
• simplicity of use, the product does not need to be prepared first for use;
• High efficiency, substance copes with any hard deposits and helps to dissolve even a very old scale.

Disinfectant properties help not only to clean the washing machine, but also to eliminate all bacteria on the internal parts of the unit.

How often should be cleaned the washing machine?

It is recommended to clean the washing room at home at least 1 time per quarter, and with frequent washing it is better to do this once a month. The same applies to the owners of fluffy pets. the presence of wool on the things leads to rapidly clogging the plum filter. Wipe the door seal and rinse the powder dispenser after each wash.

Cleaning external elements. the case outside and the door. usually does not represent. difficult with internal components of a machine, access to which is difficult.

Rules for use

The lemon is relatively safe for the washing machine, but still it is not worth pouring it thoughtlessly. At best, cleaning will be ineffective, in the worst. will lead to breakdown.

To remove the scale and not spoil the details of the device, you should follow simple rules:

• Clean only an empty washing machine, without things in the drum.
• Use the exact amount of lemon (calculated individually). Maximum permissible weight. 200 g.
• Put citric acid into the powder department.
• Clean at a temperature of 60 or 90 degrees. If the second option is selected, limit the procedure time up to 1 hour.
• Remove the squeeze and add additional rinsing (water drain should be carried out at least 3 times).
• Control the process of purification and not move away from the washing machine far.
• At the end of cleaning, check the filter and drain for the stuck particles of the scale. Wipe all the available parts of the machine with a soft rag.

What temperature to set?

The higher the temperature, the stronger the chemical reaction and the more effective the cleaning of the washing machine from the scale. But at the same time. the risk of damage to vulnerable details is greater. Therefore, choosing between 60 and 90 degrees, it should be borne from the degree of pollution of the heater.

The need for washing at high temperature is when:

• The washing machine is used often, from 4 to 7 times a week;
• The program with a high temperature is mainly used. 60 degrees and above;
• Water water is hard and contains a large amount of salts (you can understand by scale in the kettle);
• For washing, phosphate powder is used (phosphates reduce water hardness);
• Ten did not clean 6 months and longer.

How much to pour lemons?

In theory for removing 100 g of scale, it is necessary to take 125 g of citric acid. But the problem is that it is impossible to weigh lime plaque in a washing machine. Therefore, the calculation is practically made taking into account the statute of limitations of cleaning the heater, as well as the volume of the drum.

• In an ordinary machine, an automatic machine containing 3-4 kg of linen is poured from 50 to 100 g of crystalline powder.
• In a washing machine with a volume of 4-6 kg-60-120 g.
• With a volume of 7-8 kg-80-140 g.
• At 10 kg-100-200 g.

The lower border of the dosage is suitable for refreshing the machine during regular cleaning, and the upper. for the effective removal of an old scale.

Washing time

On average, cleaning the washing machine with citric acid lasts about 1-2 hours. The speed of a chemical reaction depends on the exhibited washing temperature and plaque layer:

To carefully cleanse the heater from the scale, you can set a temperature of 40 degrees and after heating the water, put the washing on a pause lasting 4 hours. During this time, the lime plaque will completely dissolve, and all that remains is to rinse the car 3-4 times (put on rinsing).

The frequency of application

You need to clean the washing machine from scale about 1 time in 3-6 months. But again, the duration of the pause between events depends on the frequency of washing and other factors listed above. If there are all the prerequisites for the rapid formation of lime plaque, prevention can be carried out monthly.

How to clean the washing machine with citric acid

Gradually, scale in washing machines is formed even if you have very clean tap water. Also, under the influence of high temperatures when washing on the heating element, insoluble particles of powder, small fibers of tissues settled. and this also contributes to the growth of the “crust”. To remove the scale, it is not necessary to use expensive professional tools, only citric acid is enough.

Citric acid is a popular “folk” remedy for getting rid of lime plaque. Its cost is small, especially in comparison with specialized means to eliminate lime deposits. And, unlike other “home acids” (such, for example, vinegar), it does not have a pronounced smell. In addition, when processing with citric acid, traces of the cleaning substance are completely “washed out” from the washing machine when it goes into a rinse mode (which is especially important if the family has small children or people suffering from allergies). At the same time, citric acid effectively reacts with carbonate deposits accumulated on heating elements and other parts of the washing machine. and successfully dissolves them.

Before the start of cleaning, check whether small items have “fled” under the rubber elements of the washing machine. handkerchiefs, socks, linen elements and so on. The drum should be without linen, because it can be cleaned with citric acid only in idle mode.

Pour into the main compartment for powder or put directly in the drum 60-100 grams of citric acid. As a rule, it is sold packaged in packages of 20 or 25 grams. The volume of the “portion” depends on the capacity of the machine: if it is designed for 3-4 kilograms of linen, the contents of three bags will be quite enough for high-quality cleaning; For models with a large drum, the dose must be increased to 4-5 bags. It is not worth exceeding the concentration of the cleaning agent: at high water temperatures, the reaction with lime deposits will already be quite active. And an unnecessarily acidic environment can have a detrimental effect on the metal and plastic parts of the washing machine.

Put the machine switch to the longest washing mode (as a rule, it is designed to wash heavily contaminated cotton fabrics). If the cleaning from the plaque is carried out enough regularly, in the “preventive” mode. you can choose a temperature of 60 degrees, this will be enough to get rid of the deposits that arose in several months. If the washing machine has not been cleaned for a long time, or the water in the apartment is very hard-choose the maximum temperature (90-95 degrees). The pressing mode can be turned off, but if the settings of the machine allow you to program an additional rinse cycle. be sure to use this method to “rinse” the equipment after cleaning. Press the “Start” button.

Watch the machine during washing. After all, if a fat “crust” of scale managed to grow on the heating element, it will not only dissolve, but also fall off with rather large pieces. As a result, insoluble fragments of deposits can fall into the drain of the machine when rinsing. If this happens, then during the drain of water you will hear a characteristic buzzing or rattling sound. In this case, the machine must be put on a pause or disconnected. and manually clean the drain.

In order to clean the filter of the drain of the washing machine, remove the cover of the panel behind which it is located (it is located at the bottom of the facade) and drain the water from the drain hose into a deep bowl or basin. Put a rag under the corner of the machine, which will absorb moisture spray. After that, pull out the filter and remove the pieces of scale from it, as well as all other dirt accumulated there. After that, return the filter to its place, close the panel, turn on the machine again and let it complete the program.

Wait until the washing program is completed, open the drum and bend the rubber elements. under them can be scattered in the form of small pieces. Wipe under the elastic with a soft cloth. Process the surface of the drum itself. there may also be small fragments of deposits, rather resembling dirt. By the way, a thin layer of lime plaque is usually formed on the drum. and after cleaning with citric acid, you will see that the metal sparkled again.

Then open the drain at the machine and see if there are any pieces of scale left there. If any, remove them and throw them away. Small fragments of deposits can be removed with a sponge, impressive pieces. right with your hands (it is better to do it in rubber gloves).

If desired, you can additionally “rinse” the machine from small particles of scale, which remained after cleaning, turning on the “idle” rinse mode or short washing mode. This time there is no longer need at high temperatures, for “flushing” you can choose programs with a temperature of 30-40 degrees.

Wipe the drum and rubber seals with a dry rag again. After that, leave the machine with a ajar door to let it dry. Now she is ready to work again.

The layer of scale, formed on the heating element, not only increases the risk of a washing machine, but also worsens the quality of washing and leads to an increase in energy consumption. To avoid this, clean it with citric acid regularly, once every 3-4 months. If the water is hard-“prevention” can be carried out even more often, 5-6 times a year.

In order to prevent the appearance of scale, use laundry products with softening additives (usually information about this is contained on the packaging of detergents) and do not abuse with washing at high temperatures. the scale deposits begin to form at water temperature from 75 degrees. And the hot water, the more intense this process goes. Washing at 50-60 degrees leave the heating elements clean, and linen in this case will last much longer.

How to clean the washing machine using citric acid

Household chemical stores have a huge selection of means that professionally cope with the removal of scale, but not everyone can afford to buy them because of a considerable price. It turns out that there is an available tool for each, the cost of which is minimal is citric acid that can be bought in most grocery stores.

What is required to clean the washing machine with citric acid:

• Citric acid is an effective and popular means of cleaning a washing machine from lime plaque. Its price is low, especially if you conduct a comparative analysis of professional household chemicals. Citric acid differs from other acids, which we often use at home (for example, vinegar) in that it does not have such a sharp and pronounced smell. In addition, when used for cleaning the washing machine of citric acid, the remnants of the cleaning agent are fully removed from the heating device at the moment when the unit goes into a rinse mode. This moment is very important when the family has allergies and children of a small age. In addition, citric acid actively reacts with carbonate deposits that have accumulated during the heating elements and other parts of the washing machine. And this causes their successful dissolution.
• Before you start cleaning, make sure if you have hidden under the rubber parts of a small.sized washing machine. socks, handicrafts, linen details and so on. The drum should be free from linen, since it is necessary to clean the washing heap with lemon acid only in idle mode.
• Pour 60–100 grams of citric acid into the main compartment for the powder. It can also be poured straight into the drum. In most cases, citric acid is sold in a store packaged in bags of 20–25 grams. To calculate the necessary portion of citric acid, you need to know what the capacity of your washing machine in kilograms. If this indicator is 3-4 kilograms, then three bags of citric acid will be enough for an effective procedure. If the drum can load from 4 to 5 kilograms of linen, the dose will be 4-5 bags. It is not recommended to increase the acid concentration at its discretion, since with an increase in the water temperature, the cleaning agent will actively react with the lime coating on the heating elements. A large amount of citric acid can lead to an undesirable effect. to damage the part of the washing machine consisting of plastic and metal.
• Put the machine switch to the longest washing mode. Most often, this mode is designed for washing cotton fabrics with strong contamination. If you clean the washing machine with enviable regularity, then for prevention, you should put a temperature of 60 degrees, and this is enough to get rid of the raid accumulated in a few months. If the washing machine has never been subjected to such processing, or in water pipes the water is very hard, you will have to choose the maximum temperature regime-90-95 degrees. Except mode can be turned off. If the setting of the machine makes it possible to program another rinse cycle, then this must be used in order to effectively “rinse” the unit after cleaning the washing machine with citric acid. Now it remains to press the Start button.
• During the washing after the machine, you need to monitor that if the hets have already worked for a long time, then there will be an impressive “crust” of scale, and when cleaning it will not only dissolve, but also fall off in large pieces. Note fragments that did not have time to dissolve can be in the drain of the washing machine when rinsing. If this happens, then this will not go unnoticed. When the water merges, you will hear a characteristic thundering or buzzing sound. If such a moment has come, you need to put a washing machine on a pause or turn off at all. The plum filter can be cleaned by hand.
• If you need to clean the drain, then open the cover of the panel behind which it is located and substitute a large basin or deep bowl. The cover is located in the lower front of the unit. Lay a rag under the corner of the machine so as not to wet the floor during the procedure. Now gently drain the water into the container. Now carefully pull the filter and remove the accumulated dirt from it, as well as the pieces. After cleaning, return the filter to the original place, close the lid, turn on the machine again and let it finish the program.
• We are waiting for the end of the program, after which we open the drum, bend the rubber elements and, if there are residues of the scale, they should be cleaned. After cleaning under the rubber element, you should go through a soft rag. The surface of the drum itself also needs to be processed, since it may have insignificant fragments of deposits, in appearance resembling dirt. On the drum, as a rule, a thin layer of lime plaque is formed during operation, and when the process of cleaning with citric acid of the washing machine will be passed, you will be perfectly surprised that the metal will shine like a newcomer.
• Now you need to open a machine drain and check if there are scrap fragments in it. If necessary, clean and remove the excess. Small pieces of scale is easy to remove using the sponge, but if the fragments are significant, then you can remove them manually, not forgetting to put on rubber gloves before the procedure.
• After the cleaning procedure, you can additionally “rinse” the unit from small scale elements that remains after the procedure and for this you need to turn on the “idle” short wash mode or the rinse mode. There is no need to choose a program with a high temperature regime, so limit yourself to washing woolen or synthetic laundry with heating water up to 30–40 degrees.
• Wipe the rubber seals and a drum for a drum for a second time, and leave the unit with an open door for drying. Now the washing machine is ready for operation again.
• You must understand: when a scale is formed during the operation of the washing machine on the hets, it increases the risk of failure to fail. In addition, the quality of washing linen worsens, and electricity consumption increases. For this reason, it is recommended to clean the machine with citric acid once every few months, but if the water in the pipeline is hard, then the cleaning should be done about 5-6 times a year.
• In order to prevent the formation of scale, it should be used for washing products, which include mitigating additives. This information is usually indicated on the packaging of detergents. It is also not recommended to often use the washing programs at high temperatures (85–95ºС), since the lime deposits begin to form on heating elements at a temperature of 75 degrees. This process occurs much faster if the water temperature often exceeds the specified mark. Washing at a temperature of 50-60ºС will save the heating elements clean and without scale, and linen will last much longer to you.

Cleaning procedure

In order to understand how to clean the car from scale, you need to imagine a complex device of an erasing unit in the form of a kettle with a drum. This means that you can clean the washer in the same way as the kettle. Only in this case, a different proportion of ingredients is used.

Citric acid into the washing machine should be loaded without linen and detergents. Otherwise, all cleaning will be reduced to the fact that your linen will acquire a lemon aroma. You can wash things with this acid, and this will positively affect the condition of the drum and heating element. However, this should be done only in a situation where the water used is highly mineralized. So it will be possible to precipitate immediately during the washing process. Good washing after washing helps to remove salts, and not their accumulation inside the machine.

However, if there is a need to delete an already accumulated precipitate, you need to clean the washer at idle, that is, without linen. In this case, nothing will interfere with acid interaction with salts and accumulated dirt.

For cleaning it is necessary to carry out actions in the next algorithm:

• Instead of washing powder, you need to pour acid in the amount described above;
• Then it is necessary to drive the car in washing with hot water (the temperature should be at least 90 degrees);
• The lease time should last at least 40 minutes;
• drain water with acid and rinse the machine with clean water.

These recommendations are designed for the average conditions. However, the machine does not tolerate idle washing, so put a few rags in the container. From a small amount of acid, they will not do anything.

The effectiveness of actions can be evaluated by the turbidity of water, as well as the state of the heating element and drum.

If the effect has not satisfied you, then you need to repeat the procedure after the machine is completely washed from the previous treatment with acid. Those surfaces that are not part of the internal mechanisms should be washed. This is especially true for plastic and rubber parts, which most suffer from exposure to aggressive media.

How to clean the scale with soda

Soda will be in the house with any housewife. This is one of the simplest and cheapest products for removing dirt, bacterial plaque, mold. Soda also tends to eliminate an unpleasant odor. However, to remove the scale and plaque in the washing machine, we will use not ordinary food, but more alkaline soda soda. It can always be bought at a household chemical store.

Calcinated soda (sodium carbonate). sodium salt of coal acid, is a small.color grastal powder, soluble in water. In a concentrated form, it can cause a burn, and is also a strong dehydration and fat dissolving, so it is better to work with it in rubber gloves.

Calcinated soda can be added to the powder compartment in the size of 3-5 tablespoons for each wash. Thus you will soften the water and do not harm the environment.

To conduct preventive cleaning, you can use both food and calcified soda, with the calculation that a larger amount of baking soda is needed.

100 g of calcified soda or 200 g of baking soda

Pour the required amount of soda into the powder compartment. If part of the soda is not included in the compartment, put the remains into the drum. Select a short washing cycle (for 30-40 minutes) with a temperature of 40-60 ° C and run the machine to work idle (without linen). After about 20 minutes of washing, stop the machine and let it stand with soda dissolved in water for about 2-3 hours. Then complete the washing cycle. The degree of dirty water in the drum indicates the amount of accumulated pollution. Such cleaning will allow not only to wash the scale, but also remove the dirt that has been eaten into the drum, pile particles, wool and other garbage.

It is advisable to regularly carry out such cleaning. Also, with the help of calcified soda, you can treat from dirt, mold, microbes all the rubber parts of the machine and the drain filter.

Advantages: cheap, simple, environmentally friendly, does not only launder, but also removes the fungus, the smell, the rolled dirt.

Disadvantages: does not cope with the chipped posts of scale

How often to clean a washing machine from scale

How often to process the household appliance depends on the stiffness of water and the intensity of using the washing machine. If the unit is included in the work only 1-2 times in a week, then you can carry out preventive cleaning no more than 2 times a year.

If the unit is used intensively, then it is possible to understand that it is time to cleanse it from scale, by the following signs:

• the poor smell emanating from the drum, in intensive washing mode in hot water, it usually intensifies;
• the appearance of a strong whitish plaque on the walls of the drum inside;
• a decrease in the quality of washing, if the internal elements overgrown with a scope, the machine begins to process things worse, sometimes after washing additional spots appear on them.

Attention! It will be less often cleaned if, with each laundry washing, add agents to the tray that soften the composition of the water, for example, Calgon or ordinary baking soda.

Prevention

Of course, if you take care of household appliances in a timely manner, they will serve you a good service for more than a dozen years. But it is worth noting that even with acid, no matter how universal it is, you should not overdo it. over, the dosage lies not only in the amount of powder, but also in the frequency of its use.

After all, trying to use a lot to be spoiled forever, especially if washing occurs once a week and not at high temperatures at which scale as such does not form.

It is also worth considering that the frequency of using this cleaning method depends on the hardness indicators of water in your region of residence. If there are many natural carbonate salts in water, then prevention should be carried out once a quarter.

If the water is soft, it is enough to clean the treatment procedures once, a maximum of twice a year. But remember that the temperature of the preventive actions should be no more than 60 ° C. Then, as the first cleaning should take place at high temperatures at least 90 ° C.