Cleaning an automatic washing machine with citric acid

The main reason why an automatic washing machine breaks down is the use of hard water when washing clothes. In order for the machine to serve as long as possible, it is necessary to clean it from time to time. One of the cheapest and most common methods of cleaning a washing machine is to use food-grade citric acid to remove unnecessary limescale on the metal parts of the device.

An indispensable assistant in the fight against scale

Citric acid is a substance that has a crystalline structure similar to granulated sugar, a white color and a sour taste; it has long been familiar to housewives as an excellent means for descaling teapots, irons and other household appliances. Citric acid is also widely used in cleaning washing machines. This is not surprising, because all of the listed household appliances accumulate scale on the heating elements during operation due to the water used during operation.

What to do for cleaning:

take 3 packs of citric acid weighing 20 grams each;
make sure that the washing machine drum is empty, otherwise the laundry in it may be discolored by acid;
pour this acid into the compartment of the washing machine intended for powder;
set the idle washing mode, you can select the so-called quick wash, which lasts 30-40 minutes depending on the model of the device;
start cleaning.
inspect the rubber band of the drum after cleaning; if there are pieces of scale on it, they are removed with a moistened cloth;
The machine drum and gaskets are also wiped with a napkin;
after cleaning, the powder compartment is dried;
Water must be removed from the drain (if any);
the presence of scale pieces in the drum indicates high-quality cleaning of the machine with citric acid.

It should be borne in mind that choosing the gentle mode that was indicated (quick wash) is effective when there is a slight accumulation of scale on the heating elements. If you need a more radical cleaning of the machine, you should choose the idle wash mode with the highest possible temperature. This way, citric acid can act on thicker and older layers of accumulated plaque.

When choosing a mode for cleaning, it is important to set a mode that includes washing, rinsing and spinning. In the washing mode, scale is broken down under the influence of the substance, and in the rinsing mode, citric acid is completely washed out of the drum. This is necessary so that during subsequent washes after cleaning, the acid is not absorbed into the clothes being washed. Although it should be noted here that in small quantities this substance is absolutely harmless to the human body.

For very heavy scale deposits, it is recommended:

start the longest mode of the washing machine;
after 10 minutes of idling the device, it is necessary to stop the selected mode for 10 minutes to allow dissolved citric acid to react with scale deposits;
After 10 minutes, continue washing;
the appearance of a hum in the machine means that the process itself is successful, crushed lime particles are falling into the drain;
After the end of the program, you need to turn on an additional rinse to wash the device.

Referring to expert advice, it is important to clean your automatic washing machine once every five months. If the water in your region of residence is particularly hard, more frequent cleaning is possible.

Advantages

What are the advantages of cleaning a washing machine with citric acid:

Reasonable price for cleanser. Citric acid is sold in stores at prices ranging from 15 to 30 rubles per bag. If you buy special household products, their cost will cost the buyer much more.
Harmlessness of citric acid for humans.
Easy leaching of acid from washed clothes, in case citric acid still remains in the machine drum after cleaning.
Highly effective in the fight against hard, rather outdated limescale.

Limescale

The damage caused by limescale deposits on the metal parts of the washing machine is very serious.

Any water consists of a certain amount of salts, which, when brought to a hot state, begin to form sediment. Over time, scale is created from it.

In the absence of the necessary care of the washing machine, the formation of scale on the heating elements will initially increase energy consumption. Subsequently, the heating element can easily fail.

After all, accumulated scale has poor thermal conductivity.Accordingly, when heated, an uncleaned heating element transfers heat poorly. Heat is transferred to water worse and worse, but the element itself heats up more and more, which ultimately leads to its complete breakdown.

Also, accumulated limescale on the metal parts of the washing machine contributes to the formation of a fungal environment, which is quite difficult to remove.

That is why it is necessary to carry out preventive cleaning of household appliances approximately once every six months in order to protect them from premature breakdown due to unacceptable hard scale that forms during the operation of the device.

Caution

What precautions should be taken when cleaning the machine with citric acid:

When using citric acid to clean the machine, the specified proportions must be strictly observed. If excess amounts of acid are added, it can adversely affect the functioning of some machine components.
The machine's idle washing temperature should not exceed 90°. If the volume of product and temperature conditions are not observed, citric acid can contribute to the corrosion of certain machine elements made of plastic and rubber.
It is not recommended to carry out the procedure too often. And you need to keep in mind that citric acid is a strong agent that fights accumulated scale even before heating. The process of its influence only accelerates when heated. Therefore, it is important to use the optimal volume of acid for cleaning.

Alternative

What alternative ways to descale a washing machine?

As mentioned earlier, scale on the metal parts of the washing machine is formed under the influence of hard water saturated with salts. To prevent the appearance of scale, it is possible to use special products that soften water during washing. They are quite effective to use, but are not cheap. One of the disadvantages of these products is the settling of residual particles after washing in the seams of washed products. This means that special means may not always be harmless to humans.

There are special services whose employees provide descaling services for your machine. Their services also cost much more than the price of three packs of citric acid, which you need to buy every five or six months.

Thus, cleaning an automatic washing machine using food-grade citric acid is the simplest, most effective and affordable method that exists today.