Cleaning washing machines

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ajbw

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#161745 18-Jan-2015 14:39

We have an F & P top loader, and thought it might need a clean.
A bit of searching reveals several websites that say something like:
'Add a cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar'.

Both together -> a lot of foam. And from what I know of chemistry, the baking soda
would neutralise the vinegar.

Is there something to this, or is it an urban myth?

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#1216960 18-Jan-2015 14:53

We just used baking soda and vinegar to clear a blockage in a u-bend of our vanity - so I assume there is something to it.

mattbush

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#1216961 18-Jan-2015 14:53

I used to just run a hot wash with no clothes in it.
But adding a bit of vinegar may help.

wsnz

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#1216980 18-Jan-2015 15:31

Bananabob: We just used baking soda and vinegar to clear a blockage in a u-bend of our vanity - so I assume there is something to it.

It was probably the CO2 produced by the acid-base reaction that pushed the (obviously small) blockage out.

timmmay

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#1216986 18-Jan-2015 15:41

You can buy a product designed for this from the supermarket. It suggests you run one, then another a week later. If you use fabric softener it'll end up with all kinds of gunk floating around, so do a warm empty wash after the product then do another cold wash with an old towel or two. CeraClen is the one I use, works fine.

wsnz

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#1216987 18-Jan-2015 15:42

mattbush: I used to just run a hot wash with no clothes in it.
But adding a bit of vinegar may help.

The "clean cycle" is the only offically recommended way of cleaning the washing machine itself, so try that first. I'd avoid using any acid even a very mild one such as dilute acetic acid, as it can cause corrosion not only of the metal parts but also the rubber washers, hosing and couplings. You could use a relatively pH neutral cleaning agent such as dishwasher powder rather than vinegar.

scuwp

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#1216998 18-Jan-2015 16:18

Just do a hot wash every now and again. Shouldn't need anything more.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

sbiddle

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#1217001 18-Jan-2015 16:41

Cleaned mine with baking soda a few weeks ago, clothes now smell a lot better.

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#1217015 18-Jan-2015 17:13

i'd do one then the other. on hot water. but not both! unless you like chemistry!

Goosey

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#1217029 18-Jan-2015 17:36

you could try "shower witch" from Wet and Forget. Works a treat.
Just spray around and leave it overnight then do a few empty washes.

Buckets of water help of you dont want to run it thru empty washes.

Remember to unscrew and pull out the agitator and give that a good scrub on the inside..... thats where all the muck lives. A lot of people dont know you can unscrew that whole thing i.e. take off the top cap (where you put fabric softner) and then reach down and carefully unscrew the plastic nut then pull out the whole agitator.

ajbw

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#1217141 18-Jan-2015 21:09

Thanks for all the advice! We'll be trying some of it out shortly.

k1w1k1d

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#1217143 18-Jan-2015 21:18

We do an empty hot wash with dishwasher powder to clean our f&p top loader.

Hatch

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#1218422 20-Jan-2015 16:43

I took apart our F&P top loader last year, we were getting dark bits of gunk in our clothes.

I was a pretty annoying job but not overly difficult, if you leave the electrics etc alone.

Pulled off the top cover, removed the agitator and then removed the steel "grater". On the back side of the grater was a thin layer of dark gunk over the entire surface. There was also a layer of this in the plastic tub which the "grater" sits in and parts of the agitator especially at its base.

I had made sure to run the machine with the hot washes and even used dish washing powder a number of occasions in the past. Before deciding to open up the machine I probably did this a half dozen times but still there was dark gunk in our clothes.

Perhaps we didn't do enough hot washes over time (we mainly do cold washes) but I don't think any number of hot washes would have avoided build up of the dark gunk in my experience. You also shouldn't use a really caustic cleaner unless you can be sure the machine internals can handle this.

timmmay

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#1218460 20-Jan-2015 17:39

I think the black gunk is caused by fabric softener.

Hatch

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#1219117 21-Jan-2015 14:00

timmmay: I think the black gunk is caused by fabric softener.

Is there any solution to this? Growing up we had a F & P gentle Annie which never had anything like this as far I can remember (my chores were hanging washing). We used fabric softener religiously too.

trig42

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#1219127 21-Jan-2015 14:10

Hatch:
timmmay: I think the black gunk is caused by fabric softener.

Is there any solution to this? Growing up we had a F & P gentle Annie which never had anything like this as far I can remember (my chores were hanging washing). We used fabric softener religiously too.

Hot water.

I did a sales course with F&P last century. They have a name for the black gunk (I can't remember what it is though).

Their gurus at the factory said that if you were using Fabric Softener on cold washes (and cold washes should not be colder than 20 degrees by the way), then you should run a hot empty wash through the machine one in 10-20 washes.

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