How to maintain your washing machine - Consumer NZ

Be careful with keys and coins

Keys and coins kill washing machines . Check the bags before washing and look for dirt and objects that have remained in the drum or are hiding in the rubber seals after each wash.

Check your pump filter

Many washing machines have them as a last line of defense against foreign objects. Look for a small hatch on the bottom of your machine. Check this monthly and remove anything that shouldn't be there; Use a towel or tray to catch the water when you open it. If your machine isn't draining, this is the first thing to check before requesting a repair.

Limit the spin speed of your washing machine

Maintain 1200 RPM even if your engine revs up to 1400 or even 1600 RPM. Higher speeds reduce belt, drum bearing and door seal life without removing much more water.

Do not use fabric softener with detergent.

Fabric softeners react and create a waxy residue known as "rub-off". Nobody wants "abrasion", especially since it sticks to invisible parts of the machine, such as under the agitator. If drops are released, they can leave greasy stains on clothes.

Clean the detergent drawer regularly

Refer to the manual on how to remove it and wash well with warm soapy water.

Clean the door seal

After each wash, remove the water from the door seal (if you see mold, clean the rubber seal with hot water and detergent). Leave the door and detergent drawer open between washes; This allows the interior to dry.

Use maintenance cycle

Many machines have a specific "maintenance" or "cleaning" cycle. Helps keep your machine smelling fresh, prevents detergent build-up and ensures optimal cleanliness.

If your machine doesn't have a duty cycle, wash it in hot water with strong detergent once a month.

Try a drum cleaner

Washing machines without a duty cycle still need to be cleaned. An easy way to do this is to use a drum cleaner.

My 10 year old front loader does not have a maintenance cycle and I have never actively cleaned it. Despite this, I've never had a problem with musty or muddy smells because I dry the rubber door seal after each use, leave the door ajar, wash frequently with hot water for long periods, and never add any fabric softener.

However, I thought it was time to scrub my washing machine. Fisher & Paykel recommends Ceraclen ($6.49) to remove "built-up residue and odor" from front and top loaders, so I poured the contents of one sachet into my empty machine as directed and ran an extended program at 90C .

Since this was also a test to assess Ceraclen's performance, I collected water from each wash and rinse step. I then set a shorter hot water cycle without Ceraclen. Once again the machine was empty and I scooped water with every step. As expected, my machine was fairly clean from the start and there were no visible differences in the samples. Apparently, my long-term washing routine had paid off.

A friend also tried Ceraclen. She doesn't use fabric softener in her top loader, but otherwise doesn't follow my "machine care" advice. Since her two children produce a lot of muddy sports equipment, which she mainly washes with cold water, we weren't surprised to see small fragments of unknown origin in the last rinse of the first cycle (using Ceraclen). However, the second cycle (without Ceraclen) produced pure water, so Ceraclen seemed to have gotten the job done.

Ceraclen contains phosphates and is not suitable for septic tanks. Also check your machine manual before using Ceraclen as some manufacturers warn against it.

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