How to clean the powder tray in a washing machine

An automatic washing machine is one of the most frequently used household appliances in the home. Along with the refrigerator, stove and microwave oven, it is an integral part of human life. But the trouble is, while mercilessly exploiting their “home helper,” people often forget that they need to take care of her, in particular, among other things, clean the machine tray from powder residues and limescale deposits. What would seem simpler? But it is precisely this simple matter that often causes difficulties for people. Let's talk about this in detail!

Physical cleaning

The tray of an automatic washing machine is a rather dirty place, only the tank, drain pipes and drain hose are dirtier. Unlike the tank and drain pipes, which are more difficult to reach, the tray is much easier to clean, because it is visible. In fact, it turns out that many users of an automatic washing machine do not even know how to pull out the tray and have never thought about cleaning it.

In some cases, the tray becomes clogged with detergent so that water stops flowing into it and washing off the powder. The owners call the technicians to fix the washing machine, but when they arrive they don’t fix anything, they just wash the tray and charge a lot of money for repairs.

Indeed, an inexperienced user of an automatic washing machine may encounter the fact that he will not be able to pull out the powder tray right away, but this can be done in one movement, the main thing is to understand the principle. Most brands of automatic washing machines have a simple straight tray with a locking tab. This tab partially covers the rinse aid compartment.Press this tab with your finger and then pull the tray towards you and it will come out very easily.

The powder container for an automatic washing machine may have an unusual design. There are not so many brands of machines with non-standard trays, but they are quite well known; removing the powder trays of such machines the first time is not easy, but then things will get better, the main thing is to understand the principle. How to remove the powder tray in an Indesit and Ariston washing machine, we talk about this in detail in the article of the same name; we will not dwell on this issue in detail.

Having taken out the tray, we begin to clean it. Physical cleaning comes down to simple rubbing and scraping off pieces of dried powder and limescale from the inner surfaces of the tray. It is better to do this procedure this way.

1. If the powder container is not too dirty, then you can clean it without using special products, and even more so without soaking. To begin, simply rinse the container with hot water.
2. We take a small, not too hard brush, we need to clean all the dirt from the tray, and then rinse the container with water again.
3. Now take a rag, you need to clean off any remaining dirt, and then rinse the tray again.
4. We put the tray back in place and continue to use the washing machine.

When physically cleaning the powder tray, do not be overzealous and do not use particularly hard brushes with rough abrasive surfaces, because there is a dispenser in the conditioner compartment, the plastic marks of which can be easily erased with such brushes.

Dry cleaning

It may happen that limescale and petrified powder cannot be cleaned using the usual physical method, then dry cleaning using special means will come to the rescue.For dry cleaning to be a success, you need to choose the right chemicals that will clean even very stubborn dirt. We will talk about it in the next paragraph, but for now let’s move directly to the process. It is impossible to clean just the tray using a “clean” chemical method; you will have to clean the entire inside of the washing machine, but this is not bad, after all, it is not only the tray that needs cleaning.

• We take a detergent dispenser or any other and measure out the required amount of cleaning chemicals. The dispenser is needed so as not to exceed the dose of chemicals and not harm these parts of the washing machine.
• Open the powder tray, take the dispenser with the product and pour it into the tray, into the main wash compartment.
• We remove all dirty clothes from the washing machine drum and start washing at a temperature of 90-95⁰WITH.
• At the end of the program, we start rinsing again - cleaning the washing machine is completed.

The disadvantage of this method of cleaning the washing machine tray is that it cannot be used to clean a heavily soiled container, since dirt prevents water from penetrating into the compartments.

If water does not penetrate into the tray, then the detergent will not be washed out of it, which means dry cleaning will not work - a vicious circle. If the tray is excessively contaminated with powder residues and limescale, it is cleaned using a mixed method - chemical and physical. It's done like this

1. Take out the tray and place it in a bowl of hot water.
2. We take the dispenser and measure out the required amount of cleaning product.
3. We empty the dispenser by pouring the product into a basin with a tray.
4. Shake the product so that it dissolves in water.
5. Leave the tray soaked in water with the product for a couple of hours.
6. We take out the tray and clean it with a brush and then with a rag.
7. We rinse the tray with clean warm water and put it in place.

Cleaning products

Finally, as promised, we will list the cleaning products that housewives most often use to clean the powder tray of an automatic washing machine. Let's start with factory-made household chemicals, which allow you to clean the entire washing machine, not just the tray.

• Doctor TEN "Against bacteria." This product is intended for dry cleaning of the insides of the washing machine, including the tray. It will help if the powder tray is not very dirty.
• Frisch Activ. A comprehensive washing machine cleaner that removes mold, limescale, detergent residue and soap scum. Will clean the tray only if it is not too dirty.
• Sandokkaebi. Product made in South Korea. Perfectly cleans the washing machine tray, its pipes and hoses. It is relatively inexpensive.

Now we will give examples of products in which you can soak the tray. Since in this case we do not pour the product into the washing machine, we can use more aggressive chemicals. The following products are suitable for soaking:

1. Domestos;
2. Toilet duckling;
3. Silit;
4. Comet (liquid), etc.

We did not characterize the above means, since they are already well known to everyone. It remains to talk about home remedies that allow you to clean the powder tray. In this case, vinegar essence and citric acid have no competition.

Vinegar essence is more suitable for soaking the powder container before physical cleaning, when citric acid can be useful for cleaning the inside of the washing machine as a whole.

In conclusion, we note that cleaning the powder tray of an automatic washing machine is not at all difficult, the main thing is not to forget to do this at least after every 10 washes, and then your washing machine will definitely avoid some breakdowns. Good luck!

3 reader comments

1. 09.28.2017 at 15:36

   Svetlana:

   I'm wondering, can you put the tray in the dishwasher?

   Answer
   • 10/16/2017 at 12:50

     Elena:

     I washed it in the dishwasher, the black residue comes off, but the powder doesn’t. For the dishwasher I use “Finish”.

     Answer
2. 03/14/2019 at 17:18

   Denis:

   We need to look deeper.
   1. It is necessary to understand what kind of chemical contamination this is. plan.
   2. Select the means and mechanics of action.

   Let's start: 1. there are two types of dirt in the tray.
   a) water deposits and deposits of the powder itself,
   b) these are fatty deposits from underwear.

   Based on the properties of the chemical reaction, fat dissolves alkali, calcium and mineral deposits dissolve acids. Therefore, it is necessary to wash in two stages, since detergents are mainly based on two bases: alkali and acid. Together they neutralize each other. Therefore, first we remove fat using alkaline agents (read the composition of the product when purchasing). The second stage is to remove mineral deposits with acid-containing products (read the ingredients when purchasing). If this must be done by immersion and for a long time.

   Answer