Latest recommendation on maintenance wash products

[Dave Wishart]

I had to repair the pump on my ISE and all is good now.. One of the potential causes was that the outlet hose at the pump end was clogged with granular limescale. It’s all ok now but I’ve run two maintenance washes (60 C and 95 C) using HG Cleaner with a limescale tablet (SWMBO got an Adsa one) and I’m getting some foaming.

This makes me think that there’s still residue I should remove. I have read the other thread that suggest a couple of products not to use but I’d like to be preventative and like to understand what I can use.

1. Soda crystals, acid, vinegar seems to be a no.
2. HG Engineer is possible however I’m wondering if £8 on two 100g tubes is worth it. The active component of this appears to be lye aka Sodium Hydroxide aka caustic soda but I guess that there’s other things in it. My guess is that caustic soda alone would be way too harsh on some components.
3. We do use limescale prevention tablets/powder in every wash (now) but given the clogged pipe I’m thinking either we didn’t in the past or it wasn’t working as we should

Any thoughts as to what I could use to

a. clean the residue in the tub (I probably need a few 95 C washes and something strong)
b. remove any limescale in the tub and around the element (I probably need a few 95 C washes)
c. Prevention (is any cheap water softening solution good enough or do some work better than others)? As an aside the other half exclusively uses Persil Non-Bio and there’s no chance of that changing. I live in a hard water area so this i probably the important ask.

[bammec]

About 250g of Citric Acid on a cottons 95c wash? That’s what I run every few months.

[andyjawa]

250g box of Aqua Softna descaler is what I use. Good stuff. Sometimes I add 3 cap fulls of Liquid lemon Flash too to remove any sludge build ups. Been doing this on my 19 year old Hotpoint for 16 years ( its a second hand machine )

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