[Chlorinated]

sorry, i meant to say smells like paraffin.

[Chlorinated]

Re: What to buy and how to maintain in my situation?

haha actually when I was trying to clean my last machine I put 2 litres of bleach in and serviced wash it. this permeated the home and put me in stiches causing a big relapse in my illness. that is why im so cautious.

so I suppose you think I should just put some bleach into the wash or do a weekly bleach service wash? which do you recommend and how much should I use?

thanks

[Chlorinated]

Re: What to buy and how to maintain in my situation?

Given my situation, I suppose I cant have everything. As regard to bacteria on clothes surely the washing soda will go someway right? I think baking soda can be used to kill things like mold.

As regards to the machine, maybe I can do a bi weekly bleach servive wash or maybe add a little normal bleach with the my detergents? Will that be work. If yes will the bleach be completely rinse because the last things I need is bleach permeating my home which will cause even more problems.

Thanks

[Chlorinated]

Re: What to buy and how to maintain in my situation?

kwatt wrote:
But, in every instance there will be a pattern of bleach free washing, either through using solely liquids, colour powders or some sort of holistic or whatever “cure” like soapnuts or ecoballs.

I had been researching some alternatives to soap nuts and ecover and came somebody mentioned ecoballs and said they never had any problems with their machine.

The options I am currently seeing are:
ecoballs.
washing sado aka soda crystals.
waitrose sensitive washing.

1. Would you say these are all likely to fail as well? Will the soda crystals not be effective? I asked on another forum and some people seem to have been using these without problems. Maybe it was the soap nuts and my cheap machine, maybe not.

Somebody also told me you can get ‘chlorine free’ bleach and add that to the wash. Would such a product solve my bleaching problems or do I need a chlorine based bleach? If I need a chlorine based bleach can I put some in normal bleach with the above detergents and will that do it? If yes will the bleach be completely rinse because the last things I need is bleach permeating my home which will cause even more problems.

Thanks

[Chlorinated]

Re: What to buy and how to maintain in my situation?

Martin wrote:Perhaps ‘chlorinated’ might be interested in reading THIS article from yesterday’s Daily Mail?

Expensive. Actually I need to look into it but I’m just wondering how would it move things from the surface and would it also remove detergents from the surface of clothes. In such a case that would be a perfect solution but can it reall moves chemicals/detergent from the surface as well as mold etc. I guess repeat rinsing alone doesn’t move chemical from the surface?

[Chlorinated]

Re: What to buy and how to maintain in my situation?

Actually I am already seeing a doctor and my question was not a medical one. As regards to what my diagnoses is, what I experiencing(btw it is not reacting to trace elements and it is not like you say) etc, that is a medical matter and not something I’m asking or discussing here.

Put simply, I know how to manage my condition and it’s simply a case of wearing what I can by using an appropriate detergent e.g. ecover, soap nuts, non-bio persil is manageable.

However my question is about buying and maintaining a washing machine so as to prevent future bacterial overgrowth etc bearing in mind that I want to use the aforementioned or similar non-bio perfume free detergents. Hence I would be very grateful if somebody could kindly answer the following.

1)If soap nuts won’t clean at all, what about other non-bio non-perfume alternatives? are there any which are demonstrated to work?
2)If I do use this rubbish detergents, what practical things can I do to ensure the machine doesn’t develop problems like my previous machine. Will a monthly bio detergent wash be sufficient. Any suggestions on what I can do?
3)Are the cheap machines machines going to be ok provided I follow recommendations in 2.
4)I would prefer a cheap machine so would a used machine from the shop be likely to be free of bacterial problems? Would renting be a better idea.

As you can see I’m only concerned with using specific deteregents and ensuring the machine doesn’t develop problems later. My last machine had severe problems which is why I am worried but maybe it’s because it was a zanussi zwg1120 and I hadn’t been doing maintenance cycles. By the time I noticed the problem perhaps it was too big?

Please advise.

Thanks

[Chlorinated]

Re: What is this dirt and why does it keep reapearing

I see, yeah that makes a lot of sense.

Well I tried bio detergent multiple times, bleach multiple times, vinegar multiple times and ‘dr Beckmann service it'(packet said use only 1 wash) all on boil washes but it didn’t fix the problem. I also got a repair guy to come down and he used a chemical cleaner of some sort that he said is not available elsewhere. Of course a week later the problem returned.

I’ve heard of affresh but since the last two chemcials didn’t work I didn’t try it, do you think I should try afresh or is it unlikely to work given the other things I’ve tried?

Thanks.

[Chlorinated]

Re: What is this dirt and why does it keep reapearing

I have just been to see my doctor regarding my chemical sensitivities and the topic of my washing machine came up. I told her how I inhaled a lot of fumes after putting 4 litres of bleach into the washer, leaving it overnight and washing it the next day. She said that at that dosage and overnight, any bacteria in the machine would have been killed by direct contact or even contact with bleach fumes.

Is this correct? As I say the grey/dark matter has returned a week after extreme bleaching however as I have used perfumed detergent and baking soda I can’t tell of any smell. If what my doctor said is true, then what is this dark matter that reappears, maybe detergent? Anyway I’m guessing you guys think the 4 litres of overnight bleach does not kill all bacteria by way of soaking fumes and washing?

Thanks

[Chlorinated]

Is my washing machine still safe to use in this way?

Ok guys I intend to change the machine however that may break the bank at the moment so I want to see if I can manage it a bit and use it for a bit longer. Is it safe to wash in the following ways:

1. I am currently using perfumed bio detergent and this causes my clothes to come out smelling of perfume even though the grey dirt builds up after which I wipe it off. If I use no detergent or a weak/non perfume detergent then my towels come out smelly.
I know the clothes have been in water which is touching dirt, however since the clothes come out smelling of perfume, is it safe to assume the clothes have been cleaned and are safe to use? Or is the detergents perfume just masking the dirt smell which is on the clothes/will affect me?
Basically even though we know the machine is infected and dirt is being removed from the machine with every wash, provided the clothes come out smelling of perfume and not smelling bad, are they safe to use? Note although they smell of perfume, I do notice that towels for example are quite hard feeling.

2. When I use soap nuts with baking soda now I notice there is no build up of grey dirt under the seal. This is likely because unlike the bio detergent, the soap nuts isn’t cleaning the machine very well and not removing any of the grey/dark dirt. It probably isn’t even doing a good job on the clothes however using baking soda seems to control odours.
Once again provided the clothes/towels are not coming out smelly when using soap nuts with baking soda, are the clothes safe to use?
I know this will make the machine worse in the long run, but that’s fine, I will have to change machine anyway I am just looking to use it for a bit longer. Is the baking soda masking the dirt smell similar to the perfume or not and is it safe to use the towels/clothes.

Thanks

[Chlorinated]

Re: What is this dirt and why does it keep reapearing

From what I am seeing the ‘stainless outer tub’ machines are top end models like miele and ise and will cost several hundred the least, is that correct?

Some people say the older washing machines didn’t used to have such problems. These washing machine when not as cheap as today didn’t cost several hundred. Can’t I source something like that?

[Chlorinated]

Re: What is this dirt and why does it keep reapearing

Kwatt, I have to disagree with you on people not being irritated by perfumed detergents. In my case, I am sensitive to perfume on people sitting next to me, detergent smells coming from washing machines, motor fuel and a host of other fumes etc. I have a specific condition so perfumed and chemical detergents are problematic for me.

I will take preventative measures however can you recommend which brands of washing machine I can use that, unlike the zanussi, are not prone to these problems.

[Chlorinated]

Re: What is this dirt and why does it keep reapearing

Guys, thank you for these replies and it looks like I’ll have to change the machine:(. May I ask:

1) The reason I am using soap nuts, ecover and others is because I am severely sensitive to most detergents including non bio persil and others, not for being eco friendly or money saving reasons. Can you recommend a detergent to use that will be ok on the machine considering my sensitivities?

2) Can you recommend a brand(s) of washing machine that will be safe to use i.e. not have these problems so much?

3)Is ecover ok(I know the article says no) however unlike soap nuts and another eco brand I used(both of which do not contain bleach), ecover does contain bleach so I’m hoping that was not the cause of the problem?

Thanks

[Chlorinated]

Re: What is this dirt and why does it keep reapearing

The black marks are caused by unwanted bacteriological build up in the machine usually due to poor cleaning, incorrect wash cycles, incorrect detergent usage and a number of other factors

Ok so I understand it is a bacterial problem and not a fungal(mold) problem. The problem is that I have done relentless service washes with products and even put 4 litres of bleach at one time however these gray dirt kept returning within 2 washes. Therefore I guess servicing the machine further won’t help?
Also I explained that I noticed if I use soap nuts the grey dirt stopped appearing wherease when I use powder at 40c they return. Doesn’t this mean anything?

Water is left in the sump because, unless someone’s managed to invent some form of anti-gravity device to defy the laws of physics and, I’ve missed it, it is not physically possible to clear all the water from the sump. If you think about that a little more, you’ll also come to understand why that this has to be the case and that there is no way around it.

Even if it leaves some water, surely my clothes should not be smelling of perfume if perfumed detrgent wasn’t used and so many days after a perfumed detergent was used. Could it be that something stays in the machine even though the water seems to have drained? How do you explain washed clothes coming out of the washer with a strong perfume smell even though I was using a perfume free detergent? And also that the last time I used a perfume detergent was several days ago.

Anyway my machine is less then 2 years old and it looks good yet I have these problems. Considering all the things I have tried thus far, do you think it is better to get a new machine?

Thanks

[Author]

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