The powder tray of an automatic washing machine is a place where dirt, scale and detergent residues accumulate. But few owners pay attention to its condition, thereby rendering the car inoperable. There are often cases when the tray is clogged with detergents to such an extent that they block the access of water. Upset owners call a technician, who upon arrival simply rinses the container and issues a bill for a substantial amount.
Why do you need to clean the tray?
Detergents, especially powdered ones, are not completely washed out of the powder container. The lower their quality, the worse they are washed off. Liquid products are washed off more completely due to their liquid consistency, but some of them still remain on the walls. With low water pressure, the accumulation of detergent residues in the container accelerates.
Air conditioners contain a significant amount of surfactants that create a film both on the items being washed and on the walls of the tray. This happens because the conditioner is poured into the compartment intended for it before the wash begins, and is washed into the drum with the laundry at the final stage. If you use the air conditioner frequently, the walls of the compartment will become sticky and slippery.
To wash some items, certain conditions must be met. For example, the use of bleach for washing is prohibited. But if it was used before, its particles will certainly end up on the fabric and ruin the appearance of the clothes.
It should be remembered that dirt accumulating in the container can end up in the drum and render the laundry unusable.
Physical cleaning method
An inexperienced owner of an automatic washing machine may have difficulty removing the container due to ignorance of the design features. In the vast majority of machines, machines are equipped with a rectangular powder container with a locking tab, which is located in the rinse aid compartment. After pressing the tab, the tray can be easily removed.
There are automatic machines with non-standard tray designs, but they all have push-up clamps. Some automatic machines with vertical loading of laundry do not have a design for removing the tray, so you will have to clean it at the installation site. To clean hard-to-reach places, you need to use a brush.
After removing the tray, you can begin basic scraping and wiping off all the excess that has accumulated on the inner walls in the following sequence:
- If the presence of dirt is insignificant, just wash it off with a stream of hot water from the tap;
- Remaining dirt is cleaned with a not very hard brush and then rinse the container again;
- After this, wipe the container clean with a cloth and rinse it;
- Place the container in place.
Chemical cleaning method
If it is not possible to completely remove limescale and fossilized residues of detergents by physical means, you must resort to the help of special chemicals:
- Dr. Heater is used to clean the entire machine, from the container to the drain. Helps with minor contamination of the container.
- Frisch Activ is used to completely clean the machine and removes all types of dirt. Cleans the container from small dirt.
- Sandokkaebi perfectly cleans the container, pipes and hoses.
Using chemicals, you won’t be able to clean one tray—you’ll have to clean the entire water path through the washing machine. Therefore, it is good for regular cleaning of the machine, especially with top loading, as a preventive measure, carried out in the following sequence:
- You need to use any available dispenser to measure the volume of product according to the instructions. The use of a dispenser is necessary so that an excess of product does not cause damage to the internal parts of the machine.
- Open the container and empty the contents of the dispenser into the compartment used in the main wash cycle.
- When the drum is empty, run the wash cycle at maximum temperature.
- After completing the washing program, start the rinse mode - cleaning is completed.
The disadvantage of this method is that they will not be able to clean an overly dirty container, since this will prevent water from entering the compartments. In this case, you will have to resort to a more radical cleaning method.
Mixed method
If the tray is so dirty that water, and therefore the cleaning solution, does not pass into it, you must use both of the above methods for cleaning. Since with the mixed method the washing solution is not poured into the bowels of the washing machine, more aggressive agents can be used:
- Comet perfectly removes even many years of dirt;
- Silit is in no way inferior to the previous product;
- Domestos is a powerful product that can remove any type of contaminant;
- The toilet duck copes with any dirt on plastic.
After choosing a detergent you need:
- remove the container and place it in a container with heated water;
- measure the required volume of product using a dispenser;
- pour the contents of the dispenser into the container where the tray is located;
- Stir the resulting solution well;
- leave the container to soak for several hours (overnight is possible);
- take out the container and clean it with a brush and wipe with a rag;
- Rinse the tray with warm water and put it back in place.
Traditional methods
The powder tray can be quite successfully cleaned with home remedies, without the use of store-bought, rather toxic, chemicals. Housewives have long used the following methods to clean the tray:
- The baking soda solution, obtained by mixing equal parts of baking soda and water, is poured into the tray. After some time, the dissolved contaminants are removed with a kitchen sponge, using its hard side.
- Citric acid will not only get rid of difficult-to-remove contaminants, but will also thoroughly rinse the pipes through which the laundry detergent is supplied to the drum. The cleaning process is simple: citric acid is poured into the powder compartment and a washing program with a temperature of 60 degrees is started when the drum is empty. In addition to keeping the car clean, this method will create a pleasant smell inside it.
- Ordinary table vinegar will successfully cope with complex stains. The tray must be removed from the machine and placed in a basin of a suitable size. Pour 1 glass of vinegar into a basin and add 1 liter of hot water. After a few hours, remove the dirt with a kitchen sponge.
- A mixture of soda and vinegar.Pour baking soda into the tray and pour vinegar over it. As a result of the violent reaction between them, the dirt falls off the walls and is removed with a sponge. If the dirt is not completely removed, the procedure can be repeated.
Preventive measures
Prevention is always cheaper than repairs, so you should not neglect it. To protect your automatic washing machine from breakdowns, you should:
- supply water to the machine through a water softener;
- clean the powder tray every 2-3 washes;
- do not close the door immediately after washing to ensure good drying of the insides;
- use only high-quality detergents;
- after using concentrates for washing, perform an additional rinse cycle without laundry.
When working with aggressive detergents, including vinegar, be sure to use rubber gloves and lubricate your hands with nourishing cream after cleaning. I like
