Magnetised limescale remover.

[soup]

The handle on our washing machine broke last night (managed to get the door open and get the clothes out) repair man came today at 9:30 and fixed door, 12 hours from it breaking to it getting fixed well done Hotpoint/Indesit.

Now when the guy came to fix machine we noticed some black "scum" on the underside of the detergent dispenser drawer hole (roughly were the water comes in to "dilute" the soap powder)and he said it was caused by limescale build-up (I thought the water here, Balerno just outside Edinburgh was soft) this washing machine has been plumbed in and used about twice a day since January 2002 he recommended a "Detergent and limescale remover" and a couple of hot washes a month. Would an inline magnetic water softener be any good or is he talking out his bum and this black "scum" is just some sort of mould that lives on permanently wet but not soaked areas (covered in Detergent)? Can't see inside the pipework to see if this "stuff" is everywhere or just the detergent drawer. Are these magnetic water softeners rated?

[Derek ^]

We live in Yorkshire , have soft water and get the dreaded black mould. Nothing to do with limescale.

Just recently a great gob of it went through into the wash and marked some white towels which had to be washed several times to get the marks out.

DG

[Weatherlawyer]

Limescale is at best neutral if not amagnetic.

Detergent on the other hand is a remarkable fertiliser. However, there are places where research has turned into the deployment of magnets as bacteria filters. I believe it is the iron in both them and their feedstock that is attracted to the magnets.

I can not provide a link but would be interested if one can be found.... London's water supply?

[Jim Scott]

Sounds like a slime mould to me. They are in the air all the time and thrive on damp surfaces, sometimes they are red/orange. They do no harm.

As for magnetic 'softeners' having an effect on calcium salts ....

[mark_yh]

As other posters have mentioned, this is nothing to do with limescale, and more to do with mould growing in the washing powder residue. You need to clean this stuff out - we had a Zanussi that decided to fill the kitchen floor with water rather than the drum because the fill pipe got blocked. A garden sprayer, set to needle jet, can be good at loosening gunk in the drawer cavity that's hard to reach. The drawer itself can be taken out and cleaned easily. Pouring a load of very hot water into the half open drawer (should end up going into the drum - try slowly at first just to check) also helps. Shouldn't need to be done more than once or twice a year.

[Cordless Crazy]

I've heard those magnetic jobbies are not what the are cracked up t be. Bought a CalCombi a few months ago only to read on the forum tha they are ****e. Bought a Water King instead and fitted that. It run off elec and uses induced magnetic fields to reduce the limescale a opposed to the Cal which is a bog-standard self-contained unit.

Ended up installing the WK on the rising main and the Cal before th washingmachine/dishwasher as it was silly to throw it away. Never know it might have a benefit, but I will never know, as I have nothing t compare against!

-- Cordless Crazy

[Steve Walker]

A fool and his money.....

[Brian Sharrock]

As Tinkerbell says at the panto'; - 'All those who believe in fairies - Clap your hands!'.

[Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)]

What's that sweetie? :-)