Am I the only one who still wash whites on 95°C?

[gorenje]

Hello folks.
I would like to know if am I the only one enjoying to wash whites on 95°C?

I love all kind of washing machines and I love doing laundry. I enjoy every wash load I do, but I enjoy the most when I have to wash some whites. And if possible I do this on 95°C.
Ingemar

 

[maytagbear]

I wash my whites at

tank temperature, which is about 145-150F, and I think (let me know all ye who live not in the States) that's about 60C. (Can't lay my mitts on my calculator at the moment.)

For me, 145F is hot enough. Perhaps if I was washing another person's whites with mine, I might bump up the temperature, but probably not.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[gorenje]

Hello Lawrence,
yes that's about 60°C. And in the States that woul be what for us over here is a "boilwash". But also here in Europe already a long time people wash whites at 60°C and no more at 95°C.

 

[qsd-dan]

I wash my whites about the same temp as Lawrence, followed by an overnight soak (I use a high quality oxygen bleach instead of LCB). If my POS water heater went any higher, I'd be using higher temps for sure!

 

[maytagbear]

Thank you, Ingemar

I try to wash full loads in my toploading Maytag, and that's about 20 some gallons, and (quite a few litres).

Research from a source I totally trust (SudsMAN/Lee/Mac) says that temperature does help a lot in germ control, but better to wash (if one has to) at lower temperatures in an underloaded washer.

Another reason I do not usually go hotter is that I worry about the life of the elastic in underwear and socks.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[appnut]

Mine get washed at anywhere from 130 degrees F to 155 degrees F, depending upon my mood and where I bump up my water heater to wash said whites. But I'm like Dan, I use a very high-quality oxygen bleach, not LCB to wash whites.

 

[DADoES]

 
60°C = 140°F.  That qualifies as a boil wash?  Water boils at 212°F (100°C).

95°C = 203°F.

 

[appnut]

Glenn, I think he's talking about relativity here. For over there, 95 degrees C. is about as hot as they can wash their laundry. Over here, usually, 145-150 degrees F is about as hot as most people would ever get their water heater set as high and that's about as hot as we get our water for washing in hot water--prior to dumbed down temps in modern top loaders. which is why for a modern machine, I prefer a front loader because I have a chance to get to 131 degrees or 152 degrees, either Allergen or Sanitize cycles, respectively.

 

[hoover1100]

95c

Tried it...didn't make a difference, just lots more shrinking!

I wash bed sheets (pyjamas), towels, cloths etc at 60c, but all other clothes I was at 40c.

I've had too many tshirts shrink to use high temperatures in the washer or the dryer on normal clothes now!

Matt

 

[DADoES]

 
I can't get higher than 140°F from my water heater.  I'd been doing whites at that (input) temp for some while, but have scaled back now to 122°F - 125°F (~50°C).  I had noticed some accelerated deterioration of elastic, but that may be attributable more to old clothes than higher temps, LOL.

 

[appnut]

with my WP EnergySmart, i can get it up to 155 at least.

 

[ronhic]

I've tried it on some old white sheets....and it was great to see the start of 'bubbles' form in the washer...

...but I would agree that there is no benefit these days given:

- the efficiency of modern detergents
- the drop off of efficiency of enzymes over 60c (and sometimes before)
- that so many of our fabrics are synthetic blends or use synthetic thread
- cost to (any) benefit ratio

I never go higher than 60c having tried 95c once. Most items are washed at 40c in our house with sheets/towels washed at 60c.

 

[dj-gabriele]

"quite often", for me it is a cuople of times a mont

I use 95°C wash quite often when I'm washing kitchen stuff (all made of cotton and linen) as my flatmates are grossly dirty and my crappy whirlpool I have in Bologna doesn't shift stains very well in the absurdly long 60°C cycle (not that it washes any better on other cycles). I know that it uses the same energy as 2 washes at 60°C (in reality it would be 48°C) but that's the only way to have "automatic wash" and clean clothes at the same time (automatic wash = no pretreating, or additives involved; just drop in dirty and pickup clean).

 

[launderess]

Turn The Dial Down

Rarely do anything above 120F these days, just do not see the point.

Whites & colourfast load get a good dose of oxygen bleach (I've got enough forms and choices to start a dry goods store), and at least for linens and shirts/blouses ironing will add an extra measure of sanitation.

If the reason one is "boiling" all that laundry is for whiteness, then IMHO it is much better to use a good detergent that contains enzymes and oxygen bleach (or add it on it's own), and start from cool water gradually heated to "hot".

Generally because of my background in nursing, know that even 140F isn't going to "kill" much of anything, and that the purpose of heat is to help shift germs and their biofilm. One needs to wash laundry at temps >160F, and hold it there for at least twenty to ten minutes to make any serious germ killing happen. Even then there are plenty of bacteria, fungi, molds, and so forth that aren't bothered. For them you would need temps near 200F, to get the work done. Don't know about anyone else's household, but we do not own much that would withstand that sort of treatment as routine.

There is also the fact it is not just the water temperature, but how fast the washer reaches "boiling". Starting from cool or cold water and taking a long time to reach proper temps gives "germs" some advantage. As with any other living things, some will develop or find ways to protect themselves from being killed by heat. Once conditions on the ground are favorable, these surviors will come out of their shell and live to see another day. Since the field has been somewhat cleared, they also have lots of new territory and little competition.

Commercial steam or otherwise heated washing machines can reach "boil" temps *very* quickly. This surprise attack kills germs before they know what is coming.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I wash whites at 180 or 190 if they have any discoloration. The high temp of 190 really does help whiten fabrics. Before there were chemical bleaches, textile mills used very hot water to bleach cotton.

 

[bajaespuma]

Those old dryers ran real hot!

This is why I'm constantly carping about my LG running on 120V and not 220V.

I'd love to have a vintage Miele so I could run a boil wash once and a while, but I understand all of the risks that have been mentioned already. Having experienced it once in France, I know how effective it can be.

I wonder though, in terms of sanitation, when you run a load in one of those old dryers that get the laundry steaming hot before it's dry, does that achieve a lot of sanitizing?

 

[launderess]

Vintage Dryers Running "Hot'

Well they would have to, wouldn' they?

Like commercial laundromat dryers today, vintage tumble dryers had to content with wash loads that weren't extracted much beyond sopping wet. The only way to get them dry in a reasonable about of time is to blast them with very high heat.

Have all but given up on using local laundromat washers except for the odd comforter or quilt that won't fit in the Miele. Things come out so wet they take ages to dry, and even then one has to consider you are "baking in" whatever wasn't extracted during the final spin.

As a test once took a load that had been washed in local laundromat's 50lb washer home, and put the items (sateen sheets and pillow slips) into the spin dryer (extractor). Each load (about three sheets and four pillow cases) gave up over a pint of water. Contrasted with the Miele where the same comes in at <1/3 cup.

 

[gorenje]

Hi DADoES I know the water boils at 100°C. I wanted to tell what has told appnut. Over here the max wash temp. is 95°C and in the States is about 60°C.

I am using a vintage front loader with cold fill only and a quality detergent that hase oxygen bleach in. I know that probably the whites would be washed as good at 60°C. But I think that the oxygen bleach is boosted when using 95°C and you achieve sparkling and spotless whites without any additives.

 

[hunter]

I used it all the time...

...when I had my old Asko. The new Whirlpool only does 160F...and I miss the 95C boil wash!!

 

[mrboilwash]

Ingemar you are so not alone !
I know quite a few people besides myself who still do boilwashes on a regular basis. Some of my friends and family say 60° is plenty enough for everything, but these are most often the ones with the dingy whites and an endless supply of laundry additives like oxybleaches and disinfectants.

Actually the few FL washers that could do a real boil vanished in the 1960s I think. But in many languages the washer still says "Kochwäsche" or "Bollitura" for the hottest possible cycle. And even a dumbed down 90° is still very close to the boiling point.

In Germany the argument about proper laundry temperatures is going on since the energy crisis in the early 70s and did not become better in the late 80s when we became all green and enviromentally concious and is still discussed very emotionally today sometimes. Thank God all our washers still offer the super hot temperature and 50 cents of electricity costs for a 5kg load won`t ruin anybody financially.

I sometimes seriously wonder why P&G (Ariel) tried so early to Americanize our washing habits. Clementine already tried to convince us in the 1960s to skip the prewash and turn down to 60°.
The more I think about it the more I suspect they just wanted us to get hooked up as soon as possible to Pampers, Bounty, Alldays pantyliners and stuff like that.

Of course in an American toploader any temp above 140°F would do more harm than good, but with a cold or warm start in a frontloader the hotter the better is still true if the fabric can take it.

@ Launderess
I totally agree with you what you said about ironing but unfortunally so many of us don`t bother with ironing at all.
That explains why commercial laundry services often get away with low washing temps and yet can deliver good hygiene levels.

 

[hunter]

maybe P&G did it...

...because washing in cold water makes clothes dingy so of course you use more of their products to make them white?

 

[mrboilwash]

Actually turn down to 60° meant wash in hot (60 Celsius) instead of nearly boiling. But I get your point.

 

[passatdoc]

I know people in Germany who still wash lines/towels/underwe

because that's what they saw their mothers do when they were growing up.

My FL washer lacks a heater, so it cannot wash above hot water line temperature, which for me is about 140-150F or perhaps 55 C. Higher cost washers with a built in 120V heater generally use the heater only when "Sanitary" cycle is used, and only to heat the water above what is coming into the machine via the hot water line, since our washers fill from both hot and cold water lines. The definition of "Sanitary" cycle temperature varies by brand.

I'd say the majority of people here wash "hot" loads at 50-60C and no higher. I have friends with a KitchenAid FL (no longer sold, but appears to be a rebadged Bauknecht like Whirlpool Duets) with a "Sanitary" cycle. They rarely use it because it adds an hour or so to the cycle time, and with three children, they do not have time for cycles that run over two hours, since they usually run two loads a day.

 

[jerrod6]

I used to wash heavy soiled whites at 140F using the extended option of my machine which gives me a longer Eu type cycle, and I would select water plus with additional rinse.

Lately I have been starting this load with the default shorter cycle and with a prewash - tap cold fill heated to 105F, short burst spin then fresh water fill for a 20 minute wash at 120F, high speed spin, two 8 minute rinses with high speed spins between each, and final spin. On some loads I select water plus and an additional rinse(depends on detergent being used and how well it can be rinsed out) but I've only been doing 2 rinses for the last few months.

Eveything else except gym clohtes and blacks gets washed at 104F. Gym clothes get washed at 85F, blacks at tap cold which I think gets heated to 65F. If I have a load with oil stains I might increase the temp to 140F or 190F but this doesn't happen often.

 

[gorenje]

mrboilwash I agree with you. 50 cents (or whatever) of electricity costs for a 5kg load won`t ruin anybody financially.
I don't have so many whites loads to do, but those few times I do I want my whites to be really clean and white. Rather than add lots of additives and have rinse isues.

@ PassatDoc - yes you are right. That's also a reason.
My mom always washed whites and permanent colors at 95°C (she still do so) She still hase many bed linen more than 30 years old.
Ingemar

 

[hoovermatic]

can't remember the last time I did a wash at that temperature -60 is the absolute max for really dirty whites and I have even reduced that to 50 because the results are BETTER at the lower temperature.

 

[wringingwet]

I do a 90c and I love my Asko it gets the withes so white. I just have to be careful that there is no polyester in any of the cloths since it melts the material. I do truly love my Asko even thought there is absolute no service for them in this state.
I think they still believe we have our washers on the front porch or bang them on rock in the creek.

 

[maytagbear]

HUMOR attempt:

Bang your washers on the rocks in the creek?



Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[mrwash]

It is quite a time that I did my whites on "boilwash" but I frequently wash them on 70°-80°C

I might do a boilwash next time because of this thread. I am stll a fan of high temperature washes and I hate people washing their underwear, pajamas, stained kitchen towles, beddings, bathtowles on cold or 30°C because the TV ads say so. BAH !!!

 

[favorit]

My mother was used to boilwash our poor dog towels and bedding/mats every week after she bathed him - cause she was the only one allowed to do it, other would have tasted his teeth *LOL*

Once my mother, after bathing him put him on the towel layer over the washer. Bad luck made the washer engage a very unbalanced spin in the meanwhile. As soon as that Candy started shaking, the dog flew away like a rocket under the sofa ... still dripping wet :-((
Since then he never get close to a washer