How to clean and care for your washing machine

The washing machine, a revolutionary invention that we take for granted… We’ve all got one and put it through its paces on the regular, but do we do enough to ensure it lives a long life and performs at maximum capacity?

From daily maintenance to thorough cleaning, here are all our secrets to keeping your washing machine clean and performant.

Maintaining your detergent tray

We have found that when it comes to cleaning your washing machine it is best to start small and work your way up, starting with things like the door seal and the detergent tray.

The detergent try is something that is routinely ignored when cleaning washing machines, but cleaning it is crucial! Over the course of many consecutive washes, detergents and fabric softeners can build up in the tray and the connecting pipes, potentially causing blockages. Once a month, pour hot water and vinegar into the tray and let soak to help peel away the built-up residue.

Pro tip: Make your own laundry to minimize the risk of clogging your pipes.

As for the seals on your machine, clean them with a cloth and vinegar to prevent mould and bad odours.

Overcoming tartar and limescale

Limescale is the archenemy of your washing machine, as it can slowly build up and clog its pipes, rendering it less effective. This is made worse by the fact that you don't see it happening!

The first step to fighting back against this invisible assailant is figuring out the hardness of the water in your region. What do we mean by hardness of water, you ask? Well, the water in your region can have a high percentage of dissolved minerals (at high risk of limescale buildup) or soft, at the other end of the scale.

The harder the water running through your machine, the more limescale will have a tendency to build up, especially if you routinely do washes at high temperatures. It seems clear, then, that in order to properly prepare to take care of your machine, you should first make an effort to find out the nature of the water in your area.

To check the hardness of the water in your city, you can visit the following website: http://trinkwasser.svgw.ch

If you want to learn more about water hardness and its impact on your drains, take a look at our complete overview on how to care for them.

For example, Morges and Yverdon-les-Bains have very hard water, while Lausanne and Zurich have rather soft water with fewer chances of limescale buildup, and therefore less harm done to your washing machine.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way we can move onto the methods you can use to combat limescale buildup. The first is using a healthy amount of citric acid to clean out the inside of your machine and pipes. In this respect, the best practice is to first scrub the inside of the drum by hand with a rag doused in the citric acid, then pour some into the detergent tray and let the machine run a fast cycle. This will allow it to flow through and clear out the buildup. For more severe cases, you can find and buy anti-limescale balls that go in during your washes. This will help fight limescale by absorbing the dissolved minerals that are in the water.

A good monthly ritual to take up is pouring a few drops of vinegar in with your detergent when doing a wash. The acidity of the vinegar will eat away at the limescale crystals that have been building up.

Daily routines to preserve your washing machine

Whilst washing machines often come with a 10-year guarantee, it's no reason not to take good care of them!

There are a few simple steps you can take that will give your washing machine a better quality of life.

By following these tips, you will care for your machine and hopefully save yourself from future headaches! Do you have any tips on how to take care of your washing machine? Feel free to share them with us in the comments!