Is Calgon good for washing machine?

Few people have not heard of the well-known remedy for limescale and scale, Calgon, whose advertising constantly catches your eye. Marketing bears fruit, and the demand for this product is indeed very high, but you should not blindly trust advertising and statistics. It’s better to figure out for yourself whether Calgon helps for a washing machine, or is such a demand for it unfounded?

Is Calgon really that effective?

Manufacturers claim that if you don’t use Calgon, the washing machine’s electric heater will become so covered in scale that it simply won’t be able to work. The advertising footage clearly demonstrates the result of such “neglect.” But the fact is that we do not know what happens to the heating element with regular use of Calgon; it is likely that in this case the picture will not be much better.

Attention! How aggressively scale coats the heating element depends on the level of water hardness in your region.

If the water is soft, then to prevent plaque from appearing, you do not need to use anything additional than the washing powders that you use on a regular basis. Anti-scale substances are added to them.

In regions where the water is oversaturated with salts, such simple prevention may not be enough. But even in this case, you can do without Calgon. It is better to purchase a polyphosphate filter that will purify the water before sending it to the machine. Such a filter costs $2-3 and lasts longer than Calgon for the same money. One package is enough for only a few dozen times, and the filter copes with its task of purifying water better.

Bloated problem

In modern washing machines, electric heaters indeed fail very often. But can we say that limescale and scale formation are to blame? Craftsmen and service centers do not keep records of the causes of heating element breakdowns, since then they would have to send every part for examination.

But there are other statistics that claim that the heating elements of older machines (produced 15-20 years ago), although overgrown with scale, continue to work properly. But with new units, sometimes not even a couple of years pass before the heater burns out. It is doubtful that the water has become harder. Rather, parts are now made more fragile, so they quickly fail. This is being done to create demand for new washing machines, because if the old ones work for several decades, sales will fall, and this is unprofitable for manufacturers.

Economically unprofitable

Now let's do the math and prove that Calgon is not only not entirely useful, but also not economically viable to purchase.

• Half a kilo of Calgon costs $2-3. This package will last for a month, maybe a little more. Thus, it will cost about $30 per year.
• If the heating element breaks down, a new part will cost 1,500 thousand plus 1,000 for the work of the master, in total about 25 $. And this is provided that even a fragile heating element will most likely work for longer than a year.
• One polyphosphate filter cartridge costs $5-7 and lasts for six months. With regular washing, the housewife will spend from 10 to 15 $ per year on it.

Of all the listed options, Calgon is the most expensive and does not have any undeniable advantages in softening water and preventing the appearance of scale. If it were much more useful, one might think about how you can get the same result for less money.

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