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With the current water restrictions, a lot of people are looking to re-use their washing water for the gardens, however this can lead to difficulties.
If you are having a problem with the machine not filling or emptying properly and have recently started reclaiming the grey water from the machine, put things back as they were and see if the problem goes away.
If the hose is too long, water can syphon out of the machine when it is refilling between cycles, or the water can take too long to pump out leading to a poor spin result. Where possible, have the machine pump the water into a container large enough to take a full load, then take the water from there onto your garden/lawn. I have seen some of the hardware stores selling a wheelie bin with a submersible pump, this is ideal for water recycling and is very easy to use.
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There is a current campaign on television about carbon emissions which says that using cold water in the washing machine can save a number of balloons worth of CO2. In fact, using cold water will mean that your detergent will not work as effectively and will generally leave a build up in between the inner and outer bowls, this can result in a musty smell when you open the machine after a few days of not using it. This build up can also cause small dark deposits on your clothes that are diffiicult to remove.
In a top load machine this will mean, at the very least, you will use extra detergent and this will make the waste water more harmful to the environment. If you have a front load machine, constant cold water washing will reduce the life of the machine by at least half as the build up will cause corrosion on the bowl support bracket resulting in a very expensive repair. With more and more appliances being made with short life expectancy, compounded by making this life shorter by our usage, the environmental damage brought on by disposing of these used appliances will get worse.
A warm wash will give a better result with less detergent, save on service costs, and can extend the life of your machine.
If you like to wash in cold water, it is useful to regularly do a hot wash cycle without any washing in the machine to remove any build up that develops before it can harm the machine or your clothes |
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Usage tips and tricks