Method for removing stains during a cleaning cycle of a household appliance

Abstract

A method for removing stains, in particular tea stains, during a cleaning cycle of a household appliance, such as a dishwashing machine. The cleaning cycle comprises at least a main wash cycle. A cleaning agent is released during the main wash cycle when the temperature inside the household appliance during the main wash cycle exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold, the threshold being higher than about 40° C., for example higher than about 55° C.

1 . A method for removing stains during a cleaning cycle of a household appliance, the cleaning cycle comprising at least a main wash cycle, the method comprising:
 releasing an amount of a main cleaning agent during the main wash cycle when a temperature inside the household appliance during the main wash cycle exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold, wherein the predetermined temperature threshold is higher than about 40° C.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined temperature threshold is chosen from among one of the following values: about 50° C., about 55° C., about 58° C., about 60° C., a maximum temperature reached during the main wash cycle before a decrease in temperature, or about 95% of the maximum temperature reached during the cleaning cycle. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the main cleaning agent comprises an alkali. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 releasing a first cleaning agent at temperatures below about 40° C. during the main wash cycle;   releasing the main cleaning agent at least about 5 minutes after starting the release of the first cleaning agent.   
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 releasing a first cleaning agent at temperatures below about 40° C. during the main wash cycle, the first cleaning agent comprising an enzyme; and   releasing a second cleaning agent after starting the release of the first cleaning agent.   
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the first cleaning agent is dosed relative to the second cleaning in a of from about 0.1 to about 10 times an amount of the second cleaning agent. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining the amount of main cleaning agent to be released based on a value of the predetermined temperature threshold, the amount of main cleaning agent being higher when the predetermined temperature threshold is lower.   
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the amount of main cleaning agent to be released is from about 3 to about 40 grams. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining an information regarding the temperature inside the household appliance at different times of the cleaning cycle.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , where the information regarding the temperature inside the household appliance at different times of the cleaning cycle is provided by a database of programs runnable by the household appliance. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 releasing the amount of the main cleaning agent from a removable dosing device positioned inside the household appliance.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining an information relating to the presence of tea stains among objects arranged inside the household appliance.   
     
     
         13 . A system for removing stains during a cleaning cycle of a household appliance, the cleaning cycle comprising at least a main wash cycle, the system comprising:
 a non-transitory data processing unit, configured to obtain an information regarding a temperature inside the household appliance at different times of the cleaning cycle;   a dosing device comprising a main cleaning agent and configured to receive information from the non-transitory data processing unit, the dosing device being configured to release an amount of the main cleaning agent during the main wash cycle at a time provided by the non-transitory data processing unit, the time being associated with temperature inside the household appliance during the main wash cycle exceeding a predetermined temperature threshold, wherein the predetermined temperature threshold is higher than about 40° C.   
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 11 , wherein the dosing device is a removable dosing device configured to be positioned inside the household appliance. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising instructions for execution of a method according to  claim 1  for removing stains during a cleaning cycle of a household appliance. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined temperature threshold is about 60° C. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined temperature threshold is set at a maximum temperature reached during the main wash cycle before a decrease in temperature, or at about 95% of the maximum temperature reached during the cleaning cycle. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 releasing a first cleaning agent at temperatures below about 40° C. during the main wash cycle;   releasing the main cleaning agent from a removable dosing device positioned inside the household appliance. at least about 5 minutes after starting the release of the first cleaning agent;   obtaining an information regarding the temperature inside the household appliance at different times of the cleaning cycle, where the information regarding the temperature inside the household appliance at different times of the cleaning cycle is provided by a database of programs runnable by the household appliance; and   obtaining an information relating to the presence of tea stains among objects arranged inside the household appliance.