How to soften water in a washing machine

Most housewives complain about hard water, as it leads to poor-quality washing and breakdowns. How to soften it for the washing machine? Understanding how hard the water should be is very simple. The definition of hardness is calculated from the amount of magnesium and calcium salts that it contains. Often, residents living in large settlements do not know about the problem. The fact is that today there are a huge number of ways and special measures to resolve the issue: a filter for softening water pipes, chemicals, powders, and so on. It is really difficult with rigidity for those who live in places with an outdated plumbing system. You can not talk about whether it is necessary to soften the water – the answer is obvious. We will find out how to make hard water soft for washing.

Why soften water

A washing machine, like any household appliance, needs proper care. In soft water, it is much better to wash clothes and remove dirt. In addition, cleaning is required when scale, soap deposits or unpleasant odors form in the washer. To determine if the water is hard, use a digital tester (available at a hardware store). A more expensive method is to send the sample to a laboratory for chemical analysis.

“Cold” method, which softens water for hand washing

At low temperatures, magnesium and other salts freeze. This is a great way to easily soften the water, it does not take much time and effort.

  1. Take a large container or a metal bath, fill most of it with water and stand for 7 days in the shade or under a canopy.
  2. Control the process – sediment should appear at the bottom.
  3. Carefully drain the “top” and pour out the sediment.

Now you can hand wash delicate items.

Important! This method is used under hand wash conditions, not machine wash conditions!

How to soften water at home

A few good tips:

  1. Use special powders with softeners.
  2. To neutralize undissolved magnesium and calcium salts, use an excellent method – rinsing things with the addition of 1 cup of vinegar.
  3. Does baking soda soften water? Yes, definitely. Add it in small portions to the washing drum. For 10 liters, add 3,5 g of soda, previously diluted in boiling water. Leave overnight. In the morning, drain the “top”, and pour out the sediment at the bottom.

It is not recommended to use it when washing things made of natural fabrics.

  1. You can also use a laundry softener such as a solution of laundry detergent and laundry soap. For 10 liters you need 300 g of soap. Leave overnight to settle, in the morning use to wash things.

How to soften hard water without using baking soda and soap? Use tableted salt to soften. Just throw one tablet into the drum and put it on the wash “idle”. This method will not only make the water soft, but also clean the heater from scale.

Important! You can soften the water in the washer by placing soap in the drum. Choose the shortest mode. After finishing, remove the soap and wash clothes or linen in any mode.

How to soften water: several ways

Many people forget about special products, filters for cleaning, folk methods.

Chemicals

This problem will help to solve:

  1. Special softeners. “Calgon” 2 in 1 is popular. It protects important parts of the washing machine. The softening agent is also used for prevention.
  1. As mentioned earlier, it is recommended to use powders with the addition of softeners. Accurate adherence to dosages is a guarantee of the work of the SM in excess of the time allotted to it.

Water softener filters

For example, it can be installed in the inlet hose of the washing machine. There are many different filters:

  • Saline. Economy class option. The installation guarantees an improvement in the quality of washing.
  • Magnetic softener – attracts metals. Much more expensive than the previous version, but much more reliable.
  • The osmosis filter guarantees high-quality softening.

Using any softener from the list above, you will get a quality wash, soft clothes and efficient washing. The same applies to the installation of filters.

Lemon acid

You can resort to such a method as water softening with citric acid:

  • Take 80 grams of “lemon”, pour into the drum.
  • Select a washing temperature of no more than 95 degrees.
  • Start a wash cycle.

Interesting! Even some specialists of SMA service centers use “lemon”.

Now you know how to soften water, so your clothes will be beautiful, and CMA will serve you properly and for a long time. And do not forget to carry out prevention as often as possible – remove scale and clean the washer. This will help avoid breakage. Good luck!

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