Limescale ?

[Celtictaj]

As I mentioned in my first post I've just had first ever problem with my W980 mile washing machine. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the engineer says death by limescale. We moved to North Norfolk about 5 years ago and the water is horrendous, even compared to Norwich. I use the Tesco limescale prevention tablets every wash and oko magnet ball thingy as well. I was wondering if there's anything else I could or should be doing ?

I noticed last night when reading through the instruction manual for the W980 that I have been putting the limescale tab and washing tablets thingies in the wrong order , apparently Miele say detergent first and lime scale treatment next. I've bought a couple of sets of the clamp on magnet things to go on the pipes and I'm hoping to persuade "him who knows what hes doing" to brave a session under the sink and fit them.

I can't believe its only been less than 24 hours and I'm having washing machine withdrawal symptoms already! If the service guys can't get to me pronto, I'm going to disappear under a huge pile of laundry. Himself has a Zanussi machine that I gave him when I upgrade to the W980 but I have to say it's awful in comparison, its only got a 1200 spin so It's going to mean stuff is going to take longer to dry.

Does anybody else use a dehumidifier to dry laundry at this time of year ? Back to the lime scale I use the prevention tablets every wash and clean the machine once every couple of months with descaler and the filter etc still gets coated in lime scale. Is there anything that can be used to safely descale the filter ?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

I use the prevention tablets every wash and clean the machine once eevry couple of months withdescaler such as aquasoftner/ oust /service it and thefilter etc still gets coated in lime scale. Is there anything that can be used to safely descale the filter ?

Something's not right if after all that you still get limescale. Make sure you are using a quality washing machine detergent and that you use the amount recommended for your type of water.

[Celtictaj]

Something's not right if after all that you still get limescale. Make sure you are using a quality washing machine detergent and that you use the amount recommended for your type of water.

May be its the detergent ? Ive been using asda non bio delicate and sensative tablets for a while. Is a difficult one as am allergic to some detergents

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

I'm not an expert on washing machine detergent, but the sensitive detergents are likely to have certain ingredients and chemicals taken out, which could have some sort of downside.

[uumode]

I live in a very hard water area nearly at the top of the scale according to the LG paper test strip which came with my dishwasher, and was a bit higher than what my local water board quoted me. (maybe the hardness level varies from different areas within a locality?.. or time of year.... or the paper test was an approximate test)

Anyway, we use Brita water filters for our drinking water, and it completely removes all limescale, our kettle's heating element is squeeky clean. Miele if you are listening, build in a carbon filter into your washing machines! (you might have to get around the slow filter flow first though)

[Celtictaj]

Miele man has just been and worked his magic, luckily it wasn't anything disaterous; just a pressure chamber blocked solid with limescale. I had a look at the Anglian Water site the other day and it giveswater condition by each section or water sub area. The rating for the Fakenham area was very high. Going to use descaler once a month on the washing machine since I do anything between 8 and 20 loads a week.

[uumode]

Miele man has just been and worked his magic, luckily it wasn't anything disaterous; just a pressure chamber blocked solid with limescale. I had a look at the Anglian Water site the other day and it giveswater condition by each section or water sub area. The rating for the Fakenham area was very high. Going to use descaler once a month on the washing machine since I do anything between 8 and 20 loads a week.

Hi celtictaj how much did it cost for the Miele man to perform that task?

As I am getting a Miele too, I might get the same problem in about the same (5 year?) period of time if I just use detergent only.

[Northern Mary]

hello,

ive had my miele machine now a year and a half and i use arial tablets bio ( they have added limescale protection) added and ive never had no problems and the tablets dissolve first time no residue We allso live in norfolk (Thetford)

james bedford

Miele man has just been and worked his magic, luckily it wasn't anything disaterous; just a pressure chamber blocked solid with limescale. I had a look at the Anglian Water site the other day and it giveswater condition by each section or water sub area. The rating for the Fakenham area was very high. Going to use descaler once a month on the washing machine since I do anything between 8 and 20 loads a week.

[Celtictaj]

Hi celtictaj how much did it cost for the Miele man to perform that task?

As I am getting a Miele too, I might get the same problem in about the same (5 year?) period of time if I just use detergent only.

It was near enough £93 pounds because I paid by card when I booked the appointment. The fee includes ahours labour. Given that thats the first work I've had done on my machine in 11 years I can't complain. Now that work has been done machine is using less water and almost silent again. It wasn't just a case of removing the pressure chamber and cleaning out he had to then recalibrate the machine with the laptop.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

It wasn't just a case of removing the pressure chamber and cleaning out he had to then recalibrate the machine with the laptop.

I'm not sure about this recalibrating with a laptop business. It sounds to me like something that maybe can be done but not necessarily has to be done. If it has to be done then it means only Miele engineers will be able to do it. That would mean my advice about one of the downsides to a Miele washing machine being you have to be prepared to use the manufacturer's engineers should read that you will have to use Miele's own engineers. That in itself isn't a major problem, Miele washing machine engineers don't charge any more than most other washing machine manufacturers, but it means if you know a good independent engineer who would charge half the labour, they wouldn't be able to repair it.

[smp]

I wholeheartedly recommend installing a decent water softener, such as a kinetico Compact. They are expensive upfront but they will last a lifetime. If you take my father's as an example his is 25 years old and still going strong, so if you took the £1000 purchase and installation cost over that time it's £40 a year (+ salt). Ours takes about 10 bags of block salt over six months with frequent use.

Here are some advantages:

- Our washing machine and dish washer are bright stainless steel after over eight years. You'll not have to call out an engineer for a scaled up problem.

- Our central heating boiler got quieter and quieter and more efficient as it de-scaled the tank and pipe work.

- Our sensitive and delicate dry skin cleared up within a week and has been great since (we can always tell when we're on holiday in a hard water area).

- Less detergent required in washing machine, washing up etc.

- Bathroom stays cleaner, no limescale build up.

I personally think it's a complete no brainer, even if you have to scrimp and save to install one, you won't regret it.

I'm not affiliated to any water softener firms or anything like that, I just think our Kinetico has been brilliant.

[pilotpete@hotmail.co.uk]

I don’t know if this was a lime scale problem or residue from washing at low temperatures but our old machine had grey deposits trapped in the door seal and also in the filter.

These were not very hard and crumbled when you tried to remove them.

When mentioned at a Miele dealer they said they were probably caused by low washing temperatures and advised as per the Miele handbook to wash at 70deg C or above with a powder detergent every 6 weeks or if you dont use this high temperature then use detergent only on a Cottons 95deg C setting

Further investigation found these deposits were also present at the 90 degree elbow to the outside drain to such an extent that the pipe was almost completely blocked together with a large amount of it in the drain itself.

Rang Persil customer services and was told that all their products contain limescale protection and water softener, so no need to use any additional product.

The only rider to this information was that the correct amount of dosing should be used taking into account your water area, how soiled is the wash and also if you have a large capacity machine 6/7kg or more you may need to add more product.

(this I posted in the Calgon Forum earlier)

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

peter said:

Rang Persil customer services and was told that all their products contain limescale protection and water softener, so no need to use any additional product.

The only rider to this information was that the correct amount of dosing should be used taking into account your water area, how soiled is the wash and also if you have a large capacity machine 6/7kg or more you may need to add more product.

(this I posted in the Calgon Forum earlier)

This is correct, and concluded on my Should I use Calgon anti limescale tablets or other such products? page. However, if someone was to be able to work out that the savings in detergent are significantly greater than the cost of using an extra product, then it could give some credence to the idea of using something extra. If not badly affected by limescale, just use good quality (and the right amount of) detergent, and do the regular service washes as advised here - Causes of grease slime and smells inside washing machine

[jojo1474]

i used 2 use cheap soap powder in my whirlpool aa1400 before i inhereted my hotpoint wm52 and now i use branded powder and calgon in everywash does the trick as my whirlpool got blocked of limescale

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

i now use branded powder and calgon in everywash does the trick as my whirlpool got blocked of limescale

Do you use less detergent because you use Calgon? Or do you just use the same amount you'd normally use and add a tablet?