Advice on washing whites please!

[dascot]

I can't say as I notice a difference in results in my own machine, so unless things actually need a 60 wash for any particular reason I stick with 40 for most clothing. I appreciate you've noticed a difference in your own clothes, and also that you're stating it as your opinion, but people who state their own opinion as a fact and a "must" do irritate me. Probably my science and stats background wanting empirical data and evidence.

Anyway, as I say in my own machine I don't notice much difference. In fact, I've seen whites come out of my machine on 40 looking better than some that have been washed at 60 by other people. Suspect this is due to detergent dosing, or knowledge of how to not overload machine, or any number of other factors.

 

[hoover8pulse]

Are printed whites ok to go over the recommended temperature? I have some lovely bedding which is white but its got London based prints on it. I'll put a picture up to show the pattern. It recommends a 40c wash but would it be ok to go on a 60c? It's a cotton/polyester mix & I washed it at 40c with Daz powder & got some real white whites. But I'm just wandering would 60c be alright?

 

[foraloysius]

Rod

The way your grandmother did her whites was the same as my mother used to do. I still remember the smell of the steam smelling after Dixan that came from the detergent dispenser of her Bosch.

I have a lot of white towels and found them a bit dull looking lately. A 95 degrees wash with Aldi's Una made them sparkling white again!

 

[dascot]

hoover8pulse- in theory it ought to be fine, however...
- it may shrink, but may not
- you may lose some brightness on the pattern depending on how it is printed on.

Up to you, but if anything does happen when you've not followed instructions it'll be at your own risk.

 

[launderess]

Laundering Whites Properly Hasn't Changed From Old Days

That is you don't wash very soiled whites with lightly so, and or there should be a pre-wash or soak before the main cycle. Two wash cycles for whites beats one long one for most all whites, pastels and coloured items.

If wash whites in "dirty" water then sooner or later you'll end up with tattle-tale grey laundry as detergent and soils redeposit onto fabrics. The longer main cycle runs the higher risk.

Having to boil or use very hot water to return whites to brightness means soil and laundry product residue are being left in. That in turn speaks to problems somewhere in the laundering process. Both too much or too little detergent/products, improper rinsing, over loading machine, and so forth all contribute to dingy whites.

 

[wayupnorth]

My mother, grandmother and all the other housewives in my family always did it the same way. Fill the machine with hottest tap water, add Clorox bleach and old fashioned Tide and run thru. I dont have any pure whites to ever do a whole load but I still add a splash of bleach in warm water for towels, sheets, etc.

 

[launderess]

Well yes,

If using chlorine bleach then that changes things completely. Stuff will burn ( oxidation process) through much and leave things "white". But here is the thing, and good laundresses/housewives have known it for years; properly done whites rarely if ever require bleaching. This includes the routine use of LCB.

In the old days "Javel water" was used for stain removal to shift spots that otherwise wouldn't budge. The heavy reliance upon chlorine bleach explains much about American modern laundry habits.

It has been long known that chlorine bleach damages textiles. That is one of the reasons you rarely see the stuff in France and other European countries used for laundry, especially every wash.

 

[zanussi_lover]

I wash whites at 40

I used to wash whites at 60 now I use 40, a normal wash at 40 will suffice just about everything apart from towels and sheets which I do on 60.

If the sheets are brightly coloured I'd wash at 40 or 60 but if washing at 60 use a gentle/colour/Liquid detergent.

Darks I wash at 40, and delicates/wool I wash at 30.

Its only necessary to wash whites on 60 if they are really dirty. Prewash isn't necessary either (its a waste of water)

Modern detergents work well at 40 degrees, 60 is only necessary for hygiene reasons such as towels and sheets, to kill bacteria and dust mites.

90 isn't needed at all, I only use this wash occasionally to clean the machine out, but its very rare as my washing machine is aired out, and doesn't smell.

The UV rays from the sun and fresh air removes odours and kills bacteria.