The washing machine should also be cleaned from time to time so that no unpleasant odor spreads in it. With a unusual combination of budget funds this should be done in no time: Lemon, toothpaste, baking soda and vinegar. At least one Instagram user swears by it.
She regularly shares cleaning tips on the Turkish account “eve.dair.hersey”. The video has nearly 50 million views and well over 600,000 likes. Whether that on crazy thumbnail lies or actually indicates that it works? This is how Eve works in the video.
Unusual Instagram trick: does the washing machine really get clean?
First is the lemon your turn. This is simply cut in half and onto each half a portion of toothpaste given. She then throws the lemon halves into the empty washing drum. This should remove the unpleasant smell in the machine and clean the lint filter. She also paints the window of the washing machine door toothpaste. This allows the dirt to be removed and the porthole to shine again, writes Eve.
In the last step, she pours a packet baking soda, i.e. about a teaspoon, in the sealing ring of the drum. Hair, fluff and other dirt collect there very quickly. A musty smell can also come from bacteria in the seal, in the worst case mold forms. In addition to the soda, Eve then gives it Vinegar. Then she leaves – with the lemon halves in the drum – that short program the washing machine running.
After cleaning, that’s all you have to do fluff filter removed to allow water to drain. In the video, however, the capture filter looked otherwise clean. In the comments below the video, some are enthusiastic, but there are also criticism. For some users, the whole process is too time-consuming when you can also buy a special cleaner for the machine. Others even warn against following Eve’s tips. Because vinegar can be really nice on the washing machine cause damage. Before that also warns eco test. The agent is too aggressive and would do more harm than good in the long run. Gaskets and hoses can be damaged by vinegar over time porous become and break. Of course, this doesn’t happen the first time, after all, vinegar is not considered a miracle cure for limescale for nothing and is even recommended as a fabric softener substitute. It’s best not to make the Instagram tip a routine when you’re hanging on your washing machine, though.
Experts warn against vinegar in the washing machine: these are better alternatives
As a gentler alternative, you can citric acid use or a little lemon juice in the sealing ring press. The use of a whole lemon in the video is also not entirely without criticism: one user reports that the flesh of the lemon in the holes in the washing machine drum get stuck and that fluff filter could clog. Here you can too citric acid use as an alternative or baking soda.
eco test recommends adding four tablespoons each of citric acid to the drum and detergent compartment. The machine should then be run at 40 degrees without content. When it comes to soda, the experts recommend around 40 grams, divided between the compartments for the pre-wash and main wash, and a further ten grams in the washing drum. A wash cycle should also be carried out afterwards at 40 degrees without content. Both variants help to get rid of unpleasant odors in the washing machine. So that it doesn’t get that far in the first place, here are a few tips to prevent laundry from getting dirty.
Even more crazy washing machine tricks: what dishwasher tabs do for the washing machine and why you should often put tennis balls in the laundry.
