Washing machine cleaning

If you don't maintain your washing machine, it could end up with your clothes not getting clean or the machine breaking down.

The life of the washing machine is significantly extended by regular descaling and cleaning.

It's actually relatively easy to do, and here's a quick guide to it:

• Take out the cheesecloth - please place a towel underneath before opening. Clean it with an old toothbrush. Look into the hole and remove lint etc.
• Take out the soap drawer and wash it in warm water, used if necessary. an old toothbrush to scrub it with. Just use ordinary washing-up liquid or mild detergent and warm water. Rinse off with clean water. (On most machines, you have to press down on something before you pull out the soap drawer, maybe look in your user manual so you don't damage anything)
• Scrub the shower tray - it sits above the soap drawer, that's where the water enters. Scrub with a dry and hard brush so that the small holes are cleaned of limescale. If there is a lot of lime in the holes, spray with a mixture of 3 parts water and 1 part stock vinegar and let it work for an hour. Wash off. Repeat if necessary.
• Wash the gasket in the door opening. Wash in ordinary mild detergent. Afterwards, use a mixture of vinegar and water to wash with if you think there are limescale residues. If there is a lot of lime, you can put a cloth (towel or towel) rolled up and put down in the crack and pour the vinegar on the cloth and leave it overnight. Wash off with clean water. You just wash the garment as normal.
• Wipe down the entire machine outside and wash the window well outside and inside.
• Run a descaling process through the machine. You can buy descaling in tablets, liquid or powder. The most important thing is that you use it correctly. Always read the instructions on the product. After the descaling has run through, wash a kitchen sink - preferably with (white kitchenware) clothes in and at the highest temperature, so that the machine is thoroughly cleaned.
• If you want to maintain a lime-free machine (and keep your white cookware white) then you can buy Hexaphosphate in powder. It's a powder you can use together with detergent for white clothes, and it will keep your machine limescale-free - and the clothes white.