Soda Crystals and washing machines

I have advice in several places saying soda crystals are good at dissolving grease and can be used to clean out a gunged up washing machine. At the time of looking into soda crystals I remember seeing on the back of the packet that they should not be used on aluminium. I instantly thought about the alloy drum spiders inside washing machines and wondered whether soda crystals could cause any damage.

I sent an e-mail to a manufacturer of soda crystals and he told me that there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. However, I have had any independent confirmation of this. It is fair to say though that the product specifically targets washing machines as one of its ideal uses. I would have thought it unlikely that they would do so for as many years as they have done if their products damaged the drum spiders.

The drum spider is fixed to the back of the inner drum and consists of three arms made of some sort of alloy with a steel drum shaft in the centre. As a repair man I always referred to the drum spider as being aluminium though I’m not convinced that it is in actual fact aluminium. It may be that it contains some aluminium, but it could be a mixture of alloys as aluminium is probably too soft on its own.

My understanding is that the reason the manufacturer of soda crystals advise against using them on aluminium is that it can cause pitting, which could ruin the look of something made of aluminium. I’m not sure how much physical damage they could be capable of doing and I doubt they would seriously undermine the strength or stability of something made of aluminium.

On balance I think it is fair to assume that using soda crystals, particularly only occasionally, is unlikely to do any harm to the drum spider or any other part of a washing machine. Of course if you know better, please feel free to comment.

Related:

• Washing machine smells – causes of grease, slime and black mould inside washing machines
• Soda crystals – laundry
• Washing machine manufacturers recommend a monthly maintenance wash

Written By - Washerhelp on February 10th, 2009 with 3 comments
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