Laundry appliances, like every other household appliance, are prone to damages if they are used regularly. Unsurprisingly, the quality of water flowing through these appliances can contribute to their damage over a long period. Therefore, it’s important to consciously maintain and protect laundry appliances and plumbing as well as the water flowing through them to keep them in good working condition. Keep reading to learn how to protect your washing machine from some common issues.
How to maintain your laundry machine
Water softeners eliminates frequent repairs
To avoid frequent repairs of your washing machine, first ensure that a proper installation job is done on the appliance. It is also important to follow certain operational and equipment instructions stipulated by the manufacturer as certain issues can be resolved with these Do-It-Yourself procedures. If the type of water flowing your home is hard water, then you should get a water treatment service for your home. Water softeners can help to avoid hard water damage on the inside of the washing machine. Hard water also clogs its lines over time.
Water softeners prevent Distorted coloring of your clothes
To avoid having distorted colors on clothes, use the right color setting on the machine. Hard water can also contribute to distorted color because the composition which makes water hard (calcium, magnesium) interferes with some soaps and detergent, which in turn creates color distortion. Therefore, a water softener can also help with this issue as well.
Water softeners helps to fight against bad Smell
To protect your washing machine against an unpleasant smell, take the following steps:
Unclog and clean the filter according to the manufacturer’s instruction manual as it might not be draining properly
Clean out the detergent drawer thoroughly with hot water and a damp cloth.
Clean the rubber seals, which accumulate dirt, mildew and detergent residue over time
Run an empty cycle on the hottest setting or a cold cycle with chlorine bleach
Water softeners helps to prevent Scum build-up
To remove scum from the washing machine effectively, use a cup of citric acid or mix it with a half cup of baking soda and choose a long wash cycle. Set the temperature to 90 degrees Celsius or 194 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also contact a plumbing professional to easily get the job done.
Water softeners helps to keep Mold build-up away
Typically, the design of front-loader washing machines makes them susceptible to mold contamination. Here is how to prevent mold in your washing machine.
The gasket has deep creases that withhold moisture and foster mold build-up. To get rid of this, make a mixture of warm water and laundry bleach at an equal ratio. Next, soak a clean rag in the mixture and clean the door gasket thoroughly. Then, pull open the seal creases and deeply wipe it to remove mold. If there is fungal growth, then you should stuff rags in to soak up the mixture in both the seal crease and directly on the mold for about 30 minutes.
Furthermore, a proactive way to prevent washing machine damage caused by mold is to wipe the door seal dry with a neat rag after every wash cycle.
Protecting clothes with a water softener
Water softeners prevent Dinginess of your clothe
To protect your clothes from fading and to prevent dinginess in clothes, follow these steps:
Always separate dark-colored clothes from lights and pastels. Doing this will prevent any dye released during the wash from discoloring other clothes. It’s also smart to separate delicate fabrics from heavy fabrics.
Turn clothes inside out and zip up zippers to reduce friction that might lead to color loss.
Wash colored fabrics in cold water and white fabrics in warm water. This is because warm water opens up cloth fiber, but cold water keeps it closed. The cold water will help prevent dyes from spreading between fabrics while in the wash.
Add a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle or half a cup of salt to the wash cycle to help aid in color retention.
Water softeners prevent yellowing of your clothe
This problem affects mostly white clothes. Here’s how you can prevent yellowing in white cloths:
Wash the white clothes as often as possible. You’ll begin to notice stains begin to appear after one or two wears.
Never wash white clothes with clothes of different colors.
Use a good laundry detergent containing bleach or add a good bleach to your wash cycle for white.
Be meticulous when measuring your bleach or cleaner because either overuse and underuse can also cause yellowing.
Water softeners prevent Soil build-up
Tackling body soil build-up in cloths requires adequate and sufficient detergent for wash cycles. Increasing the wash temperature always helps to combat soil build-up on clothes. Using detergent products with enzymes can also tackle yellowing soils on clothes.
Water softeners prevent Stiff and touch fabric
This problem is usually associated with hard water because some powder detergent leaves residue when they combine with the minerals in hard water. To prevent stiff fabric, getting a water treatment service or a water softener is a lasting solution. However, other measures include using liquid detergent with hard water. For clothes already suffering from this issue, add a cup of white vinegar to a gallon of warm water in a plastic container then soak and rinse.
Water softeners prevent Weakening of fibers
Sometimes, it is difficult to tell which cloth fabric will get easily weaken. Here are some tips on how to prevent the weakening of fibers. For fabrics with a high tendency to weaken, it is advisable to use the washer’s gentle cycle when washing. Another way to avoid this issue is to turn the clothes inside out before washing, so excessive abrasion will not ruin the surface.
Water softeners prevent white or gray streaks on your clothes
The sight of white or gray streaks is quite annoying after washing your clothes and expecting it to be clean. To prevent white streaks from sabotaging your wash, never overload your washing machine. This is because streaking is commonly caused by improperly dissolved washing powder, and it’s very difficult for an overloaded wash machine to properly dissolve powder detergent.
Water softeners helps to prevent Bad odor of your clothes
A bad smell on clothes can make you and those around you uncomfortable. Here are some ways to prevent bad odor on clothes and how to remove bad odors.
Ensure your washing machine is regularly cleaned and in good working condition
Ensure the water flowing in your home is not contaminated as it can also cause your clothes to have an unpleasant odor
If you’ve noticed your clothes have an unpleasant odor, here’s is how to remove the bad smell from your clothes.
Add a cup of baking soda to your detergent when washing. Baking soda is a deodorizer, so it helps expel bad smell when washing. For powder detergent, add baking soda together with it but the liquid detergent, add baking soda after filling the basin with water.
Another effective method of removing bad odor from clothes is by applying oxygenated bleach to your wash cycle. Adding a cup of white vinegar to rinse cycle also helps to remove odor.
Final thoughts on protecting your laundry with a water softener
Your laundry machine is one item in your house you don’t want to be compromised. After all, your clothes should go in dirty and come out clean. If they’re coming out dirty, you know you have a problem on your hands! Remember to pay particular attention to the installation direction, ensure that clean water is being used, and thoroughly maintain your washer for the best results. For any issues you can’t fix, Palm Beach Water Purification has your back!