Why does laundry detergent turn to stone in the tray?

Very rarely, users add washing powder directly to the drum, and not to the powder receptacle. This is due to the fact that household chemicals must be placed in a special department, because most SM programs do not use all the detergent at once, but in parts during different stages of the work cycle. However, this method has a disadvantage - sometimes the washing powder turns to stone in the machine tray, where it also dries to the plastic elements of the powder receptacle. Let's figure out why this happens and how to deal with it.

Bad powder

If you still have a hard lump of powder in the drawer, then most likely the cause should be sought not in the washing machine, but in the detergent itself. Probably, the problem arose due to the poor quality of household chemicals that were added to the “home assistant” compartment.

In this case, it will be enough to check the quality of the powder - add it to a glass of clean water and stir thoroughly. A high-quality product will very quickly dissolve completely in warm water, but fake household chemicals will dissolve unevenly, leaving behind large lumps and sediment.

For an additional check, you can add a few drops of brilliant green to the resulting solution to see the color of the liquid. A low-quality washing machine powder will completely absorb the green stuff, so the solution will not change its color, while a solution with decent household chemicals will turn a little green.

In addition, you can check the product by carefully examining the packaging. Try scanning the product barcode with a special application on your smartphone or tablet.If the products are certified, the program will confirm the authenticity of household chemicals. If the data is incorrect, then this is a fake.

Is the plumbing to blame?

It is also worth checking the plumbing if there is any washing powder left in the washing machine compartment. Low water supply pressure certainly cannot be to blame for this, since modern washing machines are equipped with smart control modules that carefully monitor pressure indicators. If the “home assistant” is not able to collect liquid within a certain time, the control board will simply stop the working cycle and display the corresponding error on the display.

Accordingly, if the washing machine does not inform the owner about an error with the water supply, but powder remains in the compartment for household chemicals, then the water supply is definitely not to blame. Also, do not look for a problem in the filling valve, because it allows enough water to flow through for the device to operate efficiently.

In this case, service center specialists recommend checking the inlet openings of the detergent compartments for blockages. It is because of such contaminants that the liquid only partially washes away household chemicals from the powder receptacle, leaving some of the powder in the tray. In this situation, it will be enough to simply clear the blockages so that the powder no longer remains in the washing machine after the completed operating cycle.

Cleaning the inlet holes of the powder receiver

We proceed directly to restoring the normal operation of the washing machine. To do this, you need to remove the powder receptacle from your front-loading machine. To do this, pull the drawer all the way towards you with one hand, and with the other press the “tab”, usually located between the main and pre-wash compartments. If you did everything correctly, the powder receptacle will leave its seat without effort.

Next, you need to carefully inspect the inside of the mounting hole of the household chemicals drawer. Looking at it from the bottom up, you will find special holes through which liquid during the working cycle enters the detergent compartment to pick it up for washing. The holes are perforated, therefore, to clean them you will need a needle, toothpick or similar tool, pre-treated with citric acid. How to effectively clean the powder receptacle of a washing machine?

• Take a clean, wet rag.
• Sprinkle some citric acid on it and then wait until it absorbs the water from the rag.
• Rub the top wall of the washing powder compartment with citric acid.

Such manipulations are necessary in order to get rid of calcium deposits that form due to poor-quality hard water from the tap. Citric acid dissolves them qualitatively, so cleaning will be much more effective. Afterwards, all that remains is to use a needle or toothpick to clear the clogged holes.

If your area has very hard tap water, purchase a special water filter for your washing machine to reduce the impact of water on the washer's internal components.

Now you know why powder can remain in the detergent compartment, and also how to deal with it.

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