Well, here’s a shocker. Calgon doesn’t work.
We’ve been telling people for years it’s a complete waste of time and your money and, finally, consumer organisation Which? agrees with us. Calgon is a waste of your money!
Calgon’s owner Reckitt Benckiser has for years claimedthat Calgon makes washing machines will last longer using it, we’ve seen not a scrap of evidence to support this claim.
They’ve claimed that Calgon is recommended by washing machine engineer’s and, we’re still looking for the washing machine engineer that supports this position and recommends the use of Calgon.
And, it’s been mooted that Calgon magically prevents breakdowns and, again, there’s no evidence and never has been to support this notion.
Now, Which? say the same thing, it doesn’t work and the advertising is false, so much so that they have lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority over the claims being made about Calgon over it’s magical and mystical properties.
Which has run an extended experiment simulating three years use and have concluded that, although the product did prevent the build–up of limescale, “the small layer that built up in Calgon’s absence was not sufficient to affect performance or suggest future failure”. Sound familiar? Regular readers of UK Whitegoods will know that this is exactly what we’ve been saying for years.
The Telegraph noted that a spokesman for Calgon said they were “surprised and disappointed” by the Which? comments and said the report was “highly misleading”.
She said: “Our own research undertaken both in-house and by independent testing organisations has shown that regular use of Calgon will help reduce the need for costly repairs.
“Coping with a machine breakdown in the middle of winter or on a weekend, for example, with a family sized laundry basket to deal with can be a very expensive option.
“There is no dispute that the regular use of Calgon prevents limescale build-up in washing machines.”
She said keeping the machine free of limescale gave it a long life, optimised detergent performance and saved energy by up to 5 per cent.
But hey, here’s a thing Reckitt, why don’t you pony up the evidence to support all these claims, as in hard data. We suspect it’s probably because there isn’t any.
lets face it,calgon is just profit making,if its that good,why dont thay ad it in washing pouder?
It is now late 2019, and I have just seen a TV advert for ‘Calgon’ in which all the claims disparaged by Which and others are still being made. if they are unsupportable, why are they still allowed to be broadcast?
What the spokesperson from ReckittB didn’t say was that if you use Calgon as directed for a three year period the money spent could not only pay for any of the ‘expensive repairs’ but could probably buy a new machine! If you want to use some thing that prevents limescale build up in a machine just add 4 ounces of washing soda per wash and dose the detergent for soft water.
Adding a cup full of Soda Crystals to your wash will do exactly the same job of keeping your machine clean and smelling fresh with every wash especially if you have pets that shed hair. Washing their bedding etc can soon clog up the rubber door seal and outflow pipes leaving quite a pong. Cheap to buy too! This is all they used in the good old days. Great for cleaning shower drains, sink drains and giving your machine a thorough clean when used on its own on a hot wash. Just in the process of putting my machine through a complete wash with Soda Crystals at 90 degrees and can hardly believe the muck that’s coming out from areas you cannot get at. Looking forward to next clothes wash where clothes etc will smell a lot fresher. Can’t beat the good old products our parents and grandparents used.
Thanks for the advice Caroline… I live in a region with very hard water and our Miele washing machine is not spinning well anymore, so I was looking into the Calgon advert I saw on TV. At 170p a tablet on Amazon it does not sound very expensive but I will look into the soda crystals too. What surprises me is that everybody still seem to use the detergent drawer of their washing machines. I haven’t done that for years… I just use detergents you put on the top of the washing, so much easier and no washing of the dirty drawer but can one put the crystals on the top of the watshing? Will they still work and won’t they damage the washing?