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Kent water softner is a good option for washing machine. However, I'll recommend to use frond loading / low sud detergent for the wash. Froth from regular washing machine might seep into various parts doing more damage than good.

That is what the normal logical insight is. But have been using normal detergents for at least 10 years now. The machine has never broken down, except for once when it was transported without putting on the transit bolts which damaged the motor!stupid:

Can any person who knows the front loaders inside out comment on this aspect?

I was using regular detergents few years ago when front loading powders were not so freely available at the neighboring shops.

The froth overflow finds every possible escape routes out of the machine. The situation is aggravated when heating is On. Also heavy wash cycles were to be avoided. The powder also creates a sticky layer on the machine drum in combination with hard water.

I have a tumble top machine (Kenstar) which has the drum opening on the top. In case of regular detergent, one can notice bubbles on the outer drum. Which is an indication that the detergent did not clear out fully during rinse cycles. Although it did not adversely impact the working of the machine as the electrical and motor is well guarded.

The low sud powders dissolve easily with water and clear out of the machine.

I think that hardness and saltiness is different. Hardness is calcium salts. I lived most of my life in a very-hard-water area (London) but there was never a trace of salt taste in the water.

If water has become contaminated with salt, though, it is certainly not good for the wash.

an update: The Pana refrigerator was not an auto defrost model, and yesterday while chipping away the resistant ice from the freezer, managed to poke a hole in the evaporator coil. A loud hissing sound was followed by a white cloud, which means the refrigerant has leaked and escaped from the closed loop, sealed system. Now this silly mistake on a non-autodefrost model usually means replacement of the entire fridge itself because the it isn't possible to solder the thin aluminium tubing inside the plastic insulation as found in cheaper model 190+ltr refrigerators and then recharge the gas to expect the system to not have any leaks, atleast sometime down the line, say in a month or two.

Enter the Panasonic service dude, who has promised to replace the whole freezer box itself since it is a base model refrigerator, the parts are easily available. And then recharge the gas. Total damages should be in tune of 3k or thereabouts. Service charge of Rs. 1600 will follow if I do not have physical possession of the warranty card and bill. At the moment searching for the same somewhere. But atleast the thing is repairable.

And guys moral of the story is please beware and do not poke the insides of the freezer with sharp objects to remove ice. The entire freezer area is enveloped with coils that has very thin plastic insulation and thus are not visible but even a slight poke at these ultra-sensitive areas can land one up in a lot of bother and totally unnecessary hassle.

So I have always been told --- and now I know from someone who learned the hard way.

Glad you could get the repair. Good for Panasonic :)

If ever you need to use normal detergent in a front-loader, try this simple trick. Put about half teaspoon of glycerin or laundry softener with the detergent. It kills the excess suds and ensures a trouble free wash.

I did the same think over 40 years ago. My friendly neighborhood mechanic fixed the hole with Araldite and it worked fine. Sold it after six years. Yes do not poke to get rid of the ice. Here is what we did with older type refrigerators
. Switch the machine off.
. Open the door.
. Clear the refrigerator of every thing. This was the time when it was cleaned.
. After an hour or so the ice would start melting.
. If you want to pry the ice, use a flat spatula, no knives or sharp edges.
. Once the ice melts dry up every thing

NB: do not ever use fabric softener on your microfibre cloths. It will turn them into ordinary rags :eek:

The safest way to remove ice,however hard or big ,is to use water. Pour or splash water over the frozen ice and watch it melt magically. You can easily remove the way ice once you have splashed water on it. Of course, you should have something underneath to collect the water.

Alcohol works better or anti-freeze. In all regions where temperature remains below 0 for extended time, people used a squirt bottle with alcohol or anti-freeze to open car door locks (before electrical remote locking came in).

I am looking for a front loading washing machine for Bangalore. I have shortlisted some IFB and Samsung models. Any pros and cons about these brands?

Kindly help

Alcohol is fine when there is risk of damaging electrical or rusting from water. Like in car. That's because alcohol drys out much faster than water.

The basic idea is to transfer the heat to ice for it to melt. Refrigerators are designed with high moisture in mind. So it's ok to use warm, not hot, water to melt ice. The are drain channels designed for excess water.

I would avoid both the brands. In today's market LG direct drive has the best price and most of the models with direct drive motor have 10 years warranty, some thing not available with other manufacturers.

The LG warranty is only on Motor. These seldom fail.

These are expensive equipments that should service us for at least 10years. I'll go with IFB for their reliability and availability of spare parts in long run.

I've had bad experiences with every Samsung products, so my opinion could be biased.