Bosch front loader using vinegar as softener in i-dos compartment

wongus on 19/06/2019 - 17:38

Hi..

I posted this on whirlpool as well

Just finished unpacking and setting up the Bosch front loader washing machine (WAW28620AU).

We've previously used vinegar as the fabric softener. Has anyone with the Bosch i-dos washer used vinegar into the i-dos softener compartment?

This link https://www.bosch-home.com.au/customer-service/get-support/c… says that vinegar is not recommended for cleaning as it causes too much damage to the rubber parts of the machine.

However, it seems to be contradicted by this post https://www.bosch-home.com.au/experience-bosch/living-with-b… which states, "To remove discolouration and keep your whites gleaming, add one cup of lemon juice or distilled vinegar to the wash cycle."

The instruction manual is also a bit contradictory for "before washing for the first time". In Run the programme without laundry it has a step 6 "Pour standard washing powder into compartment". I thought idos was designed for liquid detergents.

Thanks

Home & Garden

Comments

  • qwerty on 19/06/2019 - 17:54

    Why not contact bosch before the vinegar breaks some hose or something and void some sort of warranty ?

    The posts you link to both are generic and make sense - cleaning a machine with pure vinegar can damage it , while adding some to a full wash cycle where it will be mixed with water , detergent and softener and absorbed by the clothes wont .

  • GourmetFoodie on 19/06/2019 - 19:11
    +1

    Common sense here. I think you'd be absolutely fine putting 1/4 or 1/2 a cup into a full load which will have a decent amount of water going through it. I think you'd have to be using pretty damn concentrated vinegar and a lot of it over a verrrrry long time to cause a rubber hose to get damaged.

    Happy for some machine expert to prove me wrong though :)

  • serpserpserp on 19/06/2019 - 19:31

    Well one link is talking about doing a clean of the machine with nothing inside, and the other has a full load of washing in it. That changes the dynamics a bit.

  • wongus on 19/06/2019 - 20:26

    Well.. the reason I ask is because with the i-dos system you actually fill a separate detergent and fabric softener reservoir (0.5 litre or 500 mls for the fabric softener reservoir). The machine then automatically dispenses the amount of detergent and fabric softener based on the load and type of wash. Therefore if vinegar is used as fabric softener, it will always be sitting inside the machine.

  • askme69 on 19/06/2019 - 20:55
    +1

    Wife has been doing it for 18 months in the exact same BOSCH. No issues.

  • John Kimble on 19/06/2019 - 21:00

    Did you take out the transport bolts!? I didn't…
    until the machine was dancing around the room…

    • sempro on 19/06/2019 - 22:11

      i've been there….

  • JoGF on 28/12/2019 - 11:42

    Hi there
    I know this is a few months ago now - just want to see if anyone has an update on using vinegar as a fabric softener in a Bosch i-Dos series 8 front-loader? I have used vinegar, but now the fabric softener dispenser has stopped working - and I'm wondering if there could be some connection? I hope not!
    By the way, if anyone knows how to get the i-Dos fabric softener dispenser working again, without having to call out a technician (as the Bosch help line suggested was the only option), that would be appreciated.
    Thanks.

    • slee123 on 18/01/2020 - 21:52

      Hey, any updates on this? We want to use vinegar on towels - we don't have the iDos, but do have a series 8.

      • Capo93 on 19/01/2020 - 22:47

        I would not recommend using vinegar in the iDos. In a machine with manual dosing vinegar is fine to use.

      • 45rpm on 30/09/2020 - 11:37

        Hey, I just had the bosch tech come out for a different issue on my series 8 and I asked him about vinegar in the softner drawer. He said it should be fine. He actually said he doesn't think cleaning it out with vinegar would do any harm given it's mixed with water….

        he also said the issue with things not working in washing machine are cockroaches that get in and walk across the wires loosening them up…!

        • Capo93 on 30/09/2020 - 23:12

          I mean he is not wrong for saying cockroaches cause damage because they do when they walk across the circuit board and short them self out and blow up the PCB. A cockroach weighs on average 0.105g, there is no way a cockroach could dislodge wiring.

          Vinegar could possibly effect the rubber orings in the iDos system. Hopefully they are used food grade and food safe orings which can withstand the vinegar.

          • 45rpm on 01/10/2020 - 21:01

            @Capo93: I don’t have the idos but for my series 8 he said it was fine.

            As for cockroaches he said went it’s teaming with them…

            • Capo93 on 02/10/2020 - 20:28

              @45rpm: Yeah vinegar is fine in a normal machine. His still wrong, the weight of the cockroach doesn’t cause the problem it’s then crawling across live components

    • Dave4118 on 19/08/2022 - 14:12

      Yeah I destroyed mine with vinigar. Do not use it!!! Destroys seals or something. You can buy a replacement tray compartment if you have already destroyed it. I know thia is old but someone might stumble across it and save em the drama.

  • Capo93 on 29/12/2019 - 12:42

    I know from first hand on the Beko Autodose Washer that vinegar swells the o-ring seals and causing the draw to jam. I can only assume Bosch would probably experience a similar issue.

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