Good question, I have a washing machine and never thought about that...let's see if anyone knows the answer...

it's a good idea to throw in a calgon tablet every 5 washes or so. but if your machine has been in a high calc water area for a year or two or three, it might be too late! the heating element can get coated with calc deposits and lose heating effeciency. 

why don't they put de-calcing units in the machine as they do with dishwashers? where you just add salt to regenerate the process.

I do a full wash with 2 lt of white vinegar ... every now and then.. more for the soap that gets stuck in the pipes..  works well.

Thanks Maria - now I am going to ask what may well be the most stupidest question ever.....I take it you do this with no clothes in the machine ?? Just a full cycle with the vinegar right ?

Jeffrey, you make me laugh.  Of course. We are talking about cleaning the washing machine, so please no clothes this time :-)

told you it was a silly question !!! Thanks Maria
Jeffery S, Nov 25, 2014 @ 17:42

Well, in mv view, Jeffrey was right to ask because some people may not have fully understood what you were saying.

I think we should all try to bear in mind that many of this site’s users are not native English speakers, so what may be obvious to us may not necessarily be so for them.

That said, thank you for your useful tip.

R.