Cleaning the washing machine with soda and other improvised means

Try to paint a picture in your mind: you bought a new washing machine, it works great and the clothes after washing always smell pleasantly with the aroma of your favorite powder and rinse aid.

But now, after some time, freshly washed things begin to acquire an unpleasant smell.

In this article we will try to figure out what the problem is and how to deal with it.

Why is there an unpleasant odor?

The whole thing lies in your washing machine: moisture constantly accumulates inside the drum, mold and limescale begin to form.

Such an unpleasant combination leads to the appearance of far from the most pleasant odors.

This problem can only be solved by a good cleaning of the washing machine with:

• vinegar,
• citric acid,
• soda.

Causes of bad odors

At the beginning of the article, let's take a closer look at why a bad smell appears, in the future we will already understand how to clean the washing machine according to recipes for folk remedies. We will also consider other interesting facts on how to quickly and inexpensively remove an unpleasant odor.

limescale

Plaque or, as it is also called, scale appears, as a rule, in the "insides" of the washing device.If you do not regularly clean, then even a simple coating can quite noticeably affect the smell from the washing machine.

Mold

Mold and pathogenic bacteria - this is mostly typical for washing machines with a horizontal type of loading.

Typically, in this type of washing machine, after each wash cycle, the water is not completely drained, and a small amount remains in the lining of the hatch for loading and unloading laundry.

It is for this reason that after the end of the wash, most people consider it the right decision to leave the drum open, “for airing”.

Excess moisture

But moisture will accumulate in a closed drum, and dampness, as we know, is the best assistant for the formation and reproduction of microorganisms.

The pattern is still the same - the unpleasant smell will only intensify.

Some people wash clothes at low temperatures and on a quick rinse cycle.

In general, microbes simply move from one place to another.

Bad Powders

You are using poor quality detergents or detergents that are not intended for washing.

The drain hose is not properly connected to the sewer.

The water is not drained in full, which disrupts the circulation of the oxen and sewer odors rise upstairs to your apartment.

Salt deposits and hard water cause deposits on the inside of the washing machine.

Effective washing machine cleaning methods

How to clean a washing machine?

Dealing with the smell is not easy, but it is still possible. To do this, you should learn from time to time to do a general cleaning of your assistant.

For this you will need:

• Rubber gloves (household, which can be purchased in the department of household goods, or non-sterile medical)
• Soft cloth, sponge and absorbent wipes.
• Cotton buds, old toothbrush.
• Soda ash.
• Table vinegar (9%).
• Lemon acid.

Soda

Soda is a real treasure for housewives, because it is one of the most common cleaning products since the time of our great-grandmothers.

Everyone who has ever tried to clean dirty dishes from grease and scale, as well as other cutlery and household appliances, knows about its unique properties.

Baking soda is also used successfully in cooking (often to create "airiness" in baked goods), as well as to remove stains from clothes, and as a bleach.

Here are some actionable tips on how to clean your washing machine:

1. Take rubber gloves and put them on before cleaning to avoid possible allergic reactions.
2. Mix soda and water so that a homogeneous mass (1: 1) is obtained.
3. Apply the resulting mixture to those places where mold most often appears (cuff folds, drum, laundry detergent tray). In order to clean hard-to-reach places in the washing machine, use an old brush and cotton swabs.
4. Leave the solution on the parts for about 30-35 minutes.
5. Next, use a sponge or soft cloth to carefully wipe the dirt.
6. Turn on the quick wash program. To clean the washing machine, it is better not to throw laundry into the hatch, but to run an empty wash cycle.

Why specifically soda?

As we said above, soda is an indispensable assistant in the life of every person. Most often, soda comes in three types:

1. Food (used in cooking, for baking and other confectionery).
2. Calcined. Contains strong alkalis.
3. Caustic (used in industrial enterprises, has pronounced alkaline properties).

By the way, this explains its brilliant properties as a cleaner. Soda can perfectly clean the bathroom, plumbing, tiles, dishes, tiles, clothes.

It is also used as a water softener. If you wash all the time in hard water, then over time, scale will begin to settle on the internal parts of the washing machine. To avoid this trouble when washing, add a little soda to the powder. In this case, it is worth considering what things you wash.

If silk is washed in your washing machine, then leave these preventive measures for future washing.

Lemon acid

What else can you clean a washing machine with?

An excellent cleaning of your washing machine can be done not only with the use of soda, but also with other folk remedies.

For example, cleaning a washing machine with citric acid.

For such a cleaning of the tank, you will need approximately 200 grams of citric acid.

We pour the required amount into the tank of the washing machine itself (or you can also into the powder tray - it all depends on what exactly you want to clean).

Some people prefer freshly squeezed lemon juice, thinking that this way they can clean their washing machine much more efficiently.

table vinegar

Also one of the most effective compounds of several components for cleaning the internal contents of the washer is table vinegar.

You need to pour it into the powder tray and run the longest wash at the highest temperature.

After an hour, stop the process, wait an hour and continue washing again. After the cycle is completed, clean individual dirty parts with a brush or small brush. This is necessary to remove the remaining scale.

After the end of the procedure, wipe all the elements with soft towels or a cloth. Leave the drum open so that it can air out and after a certain period of time the smell of vinegar is aired out.

Tips

1. If you are faced with an unpleasant smell while washing washing machines or if one part is out of order, do not immediately run to the home appliances store, because there is a high probability that you can do everything yourself.
2. How often you will carry out such cleanings of the washing machine directly depends on how often it is used, as well as on other factors - water hardness, wear parts and the quality of detergents.
3. In addition to the methods that we told you about above, you can clean with special products that are sold in household chemical stores.
4. Do not forget about water softeners, which can prevent the appearance of a large layer of scale on the insides of the washing machine. You can add them with each wash cycle.