Home appliances are the saviours of our homes. They make it easy to carry out tedious or even easy home tasks requiring only a little or no effort. Home appliances keep your home running smoothly by working day in and day out.

Home appliances are also a sizable investment and as such, you’d want them to last for long. Some home appliances can last as long as 15 years which is quite impressive. But have you ever stopped to wonder why your home appliances don’t last that long? When it comes to home appliances, a lot of factors can be held responsible and one of such factors is stains. Surprised? A lot of people aren’t aware of the fact that stains can reduce the lifespan of their home appliances. That’s why in today’s guide, you’ll be learning about how stains destroy your appliances.

What are stains?

According to the dictionary, a stain can be defined as a discoloration caused by a foreign matter that has chemically reacted with or penetrated into a material that produces a spot that is not easily removed.

Types of stains

There are different types of stains in the world but in this guide, the stains we’ll be focusing on will be grouped into five categories. The four categories are:

1. Dye stains. 
2. Protein stains.
3. Detergent stains.
4. Hard water stains.
5. Combination stains.

Among all the listed types of stains, the type that affects appliances the most is hard water stains. How does hard water stains destroy appliances? To find out, you’ll have to continue reading.

What are hard water stains?

Water is said to be hard when it contains high levels of minerals such as iron, magnesium, and calcium. The hard water stains you may find on your appliances are a result of allowing hard water droplets to dry on your appliances leaving behind calcium mineral deposits.

The stains are often chalky white but are not limited to that colour because they can also be brown or rust-coloured since the colour you’ll find depends on the minerals found in the water. 

How do stains (hard water) destroy your appliances?

So far, you have learnt that hard water is simply water that contains high mineral content. When hard water gets in contact with the skin, it makes the skin itchy and dry. Additionally, hard water can also make your laundry to be less absorbent and stiff.

For pipes, hard water can build coatings within your home’s water pipes and the coatings eventually become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. When it comes to hard water and your appliances, it’s not necessarily about being clean because hard water can damage your home appliances.

For home appliances like washing machines, hard water produces what is known as scum. The word scum is used to refer to the clumps of soap that can be found on the surface of your clothes which forms as a result of your soap or detergent not being able to mix properly with the water because of its hardness. The scum appearing on the surface of your clothes are not only unappealing but can also fabric the surface of your clothes. The scum produced within the washing machines do not affect the fabrics of your clothes, it also interferes with the normal cycle of the machine. Over time, scum will be deposited on the washing machine’s funnels and gasket which causes them to block up and eventually stop spinning.

Hard water can also cause mineral residue to build up on a steam pipe and your appliance’s heating element. When that happens, handling such an appliance isn’t safe and that’s because when the mineral deposits get big enough they could completely erode the heating element which could result in a fire hazard. Also, hard water can build up on the pump of your dishwasher and prevent proper drainage.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, stains (especially hard water) aren’t good for your home appliances. All hard water stains on home appliances are formed from the same process—the hard water doesn’t properly dissolve in your machine and the residue sticks to the surfaces of your machine instead.

Looking for a way out? Solving your hard water problem isn’t a complex process, all you have to do is first treat your water and you can do that using a water softener. After that, clean your home appliances thoroughly to remove all residue left behind by hard water. If you realised it too late and your home appliance is now damaged. You’ll have two options: fix or get a new one. If you reside in the UK then you are in luck because you can visit nacrepair.co.uk for all your home appliance repairs UK.