Are you afraid of settled plaque and limescale, so you are trying to protect your washing machine? Surely you have heard a lot of guaranteed advice on what to do in this case. For example, add lemon juice to the drum. Is it reasonable or will you hurt yourself?
The acid erodes the inside of the washing machine
We often use lemon juice during cooking or elsewhere in the household, so we forget that it is actually acid. Yes, that’s why it’s recommended to put it in the washing machine, because limescale simply eats up. The problem is that acid doesn’t ask and doesn’t just attack scale.
Of course, this is only a very weak acid, so it will definitely not destroy your washing machine if you add a few drops of lemon juice to the drum. However, if you do it regularly, you simply damage the washing machine.
Citric acid gradually burns into the components of the washing machine and destroys them. The already stressed interior of the washing machine, which is constantly overloaded by the fast speed of the drum, shifting heavy wet laundry, hard water and squeezing, is weakened by gradually allowing it to be eaten with acid.
How to protect the washing machine from limescale
If you have problems with hard water, then unfortunately there is a risk that your appliances will wear out faster than in other households.
The manufacturers usually recommend in the instructions how to take care of the washing machine or other appliance so that it lasts as long as possible. The advantage of following these tips is that you should succeed with a possible complaint later. Some companies even make their own products (such as cleaning a washing machine) that are designed for their specific product. It is definitely worth reaching for such.
Long-term problems with hard water are then best solved with plasticizers. It’s a budget hit, but in the long run it’s cheaper than constantly paying for washing machine repairs or even looking for and buying a new one every few months.
Photo: Shutterstock, source: Bosch, Lemonslavenderandlaundry
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