When we rented our first property together three years ago, one of the first items that we purchased was a digital washing machine. This washing machine has since seen its fair share of dirty clothes, from my husband's dirty work overalls, to muddy clothing from our walks through the forest to our everyday items. The washing machine has performed consistently throughout, and the only fault I have had with it is the occasional time when the heavy load has prevented it from spinning. However; the machine was recently beginning to look and smell a bit neglected. The wash drawer looking slightly cream in colour despite my regular rinses and the drum of the machine smelling, dare I say it, highly pongy.

When browsing my local Sainsburys last week, I decided to have a quick gander through the cleaning aisle, to see if I could locate anything that would rid me of the disgusting smell that would slowly fill the kitchen when I left the washing machine door open. I had tried a myriad of different solutions at home such as bicarbonate of soda and a hot cycle but none seemed to solve the smell problem. Located on the top of the detergent aisle shelf I located a box of Dr. Beckmann Service It washing machine cleaner. Now I haven't heard of this brand of product before but reading the back of the box the product promised to clean, freshen and maintain my machine (all qualities that my neglected machine was now lacking in). So I chucked a box into my trolley with excited anticipation to see how good it would really be.

--The Product--

This product looks rather nondescript in appearance, being packaged in a small white box with the picture of a washing machine on the front and a pink heading which simply says 'Service It'. Turn the box over and you are presented with a series of three images which outline the qualities of the cleaning liquid and these are to clean the machine, to freshen it and to maintain the washing machine parts. As my machine has never been serviced before, I was also impressed that this cleaner promised to prevent the need for frequent servicing.

When I got the box home I opened it to find a small blue bottle inside which housed 250ml of contents. The bottle is topped with a bright pink cap and has a series of instructions listed on the back to aid the user in cleaning their machine. I was keen to smell the product before using, and I was expecting it to be odourless or slightly chemically. However I was surprised with the smell which is a soft and clean fragrance and smells rather similar to a clean load of cottony washing.

--Price and Availability--

As previously mentioned, I bought a bottle of this cleaning fluid from Sainsburys and as it was part of an offer I paid a reasonable £2.03 for it. I have also seen this product online for around £3-£4 meaning that it is a bargain in my opinion given that if used every 30 washes this works at only an additional cost of 7p - 13p per wash, much cheaper than paying for a full service. A quick look on the company website states that this fluid can be bought from Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons, Somerfield and Wilkinsons.

--Instructions and Use--

In my experience this product was incredibly easy to use and the instructions on the back combined with the simple illustrations mean that it is quite idiot proof. It is recommended that you check your washing machine manual to check that this product is suitable before use. Following this, the three steps given are as follows:-

1. Firstly you are instructed to take a small amount of the fluid onto a cloth and wipe around the rubber door seal. In my machine the door seal is a light grey in colour and I was ashamed to say that the insides of it were quite disgusting once I started wiping them down. I couldn't quite believe the amount of hairs strands and white lime scale flecks that accumulated on my cloth and it was a real eye opener for me in discovering how dirty my machine really was.

2. Secondly you are instructed to remove the drawer of the machine and leave to soak in 50ml of cleaning fluid diluted in 4 litres of water for 30 minutes. Wanting to do a good job I measured out each quantity using my trusty measuring jug and left the drawer to soak for the 30 minute period.

3. The final instruction is to put the drawer back into the machine and pour the remaining fluid into the drawer of the machine. You should then put the machine on for a standard wash cycle at a recommended 60°C with no contents inside. You should not add any detergent to the wash nor should you allow the machine to have a pre wash cycle. My machine has an energy efficient 60°C wash cycle which only lasts for around 50 minutes and so I selected this option and let the machine do its work.

Throughout the wash time I did pop back to watch the machine and was amazed at the colour of the water when the wash cycle was underway. The water appeared a light brown in colour and I can only assume that this was because of the build up of dirt and lime scale inside the machine and drum. Once the machine beeped to tell me it was done I left the door open slightly to allow it to air out and then continued my next load of washing.

It is worth mentioning that one bottle serves one clean and that Dr Beckmann recommends that a bottle of this cleaning fluid is used every 30 washes or every two months to ensure that it runs at optimum performance.

--The Results--

I have to admit to being very impressed with the results of my first try using this product. The cleaning process is incredibly easy to do, and despite the wiping around the door seal it requires very little personal time to complete, the only time being the waiting around for the wash and draw soak. The product does work as it washes, and personally I found it very comforting being able to physically see the dirt being washed around my washing machine drum as it demonstrated to me that the product was really getting into every nook and crevice of my machine.

Most importantly, how did my machine look and smell after it had been cleaned? My machine looked incredibly clean, every trace of grunge having been eliminated from the drawer and seal of my machine and the metal drum looking really sparkly. The smell has been eradicated and replaced with a lovely fresh cottony fragrance which has stayed in my machine despite having completed five loads of washing since it's clean. This ability to get rid of the smell after almost three years of regular use was what made me most impressed with this product as deep down I hadn't really expected any long lasting results. Now, not only is my machine happier but it is also cleaning my clothes more effectively than before I had discovered Dr Beckmann.

--Recommend?--

I have already recommended this product to a couple of people, one of whom went straight out and bought herself a bottle. I would therefore recommend it to anyone looking to clean and maintain their machine. It is a quick and easy process and the results really do speak for themselves in my opinion. I just can't wait to finish the recommended 30 washes so that I can complete the entire process again.

As a result of my review, this product scores a well deserved five stars from me.

Thanks for reading! x