Are you Washing Your Clothes Wrong? Probably.

[joe_in_philly]

Here is a topic that hadn't been talked about here before.  But seriously, no wonder people are confused. The story is short on facts and figures.

 

 -running for cover

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[iheartmaytag]

Usually

But Oh-my-goodness, you are aware this article mentions bleach. Love the stuff myself, but there are some that fear it more than the bacteria.

 

[DirectDriveDave]

Well, for 20+ years now I have been washing stuff in water no less than Warm and haven't had anything happen to me. So, I'm sure it's all good. 

 

[frigilux]

This is why all my kitchen linens, bed linens, bath linens, and undergarments are white. They can be washed in hot water and bleached. It's also very easy to see if a stain hasn't been removed.

You guys would chuckle seeing the piles of laundry on washday at my house: Almost every load is either whites or blacks. I wear all black quite often at evening rehearsals and gigs; hence a closet full of black pants and shirts. One load of dress shirts is multi-colored, as is a load of around-the-house casuals. Otherwise it's all black or white.

[this post was last edited: 10/9/2013-11:00]

 

[washman]

Huh?

Are they serious?

"“Warm or even hot water is not hot enough to sterilize clothes exposed to fecal matter. If detergent is formulated for comparable effectiveness in cold water, then no extra benefit would be expected from warm water use"

So we're told to wash our hands in HOT soapy water obstensibly to kill bacteria but washing clothes in same said HOT water does not kill bacteria in laundry?

And people wonder why I find the whole "Green" thing a five star joke.

 

[foraloysius]

It all depends on what the definition is of hot water. If you wash your clothes in a toploader and your water heater is set to 120*F like a lot of people have, the water is not hot enough to sanatize your laundry. And then we're not even talking about toploaders with dumbed down temperatures.

I don't understand the washing your hands with hot water. The water would have to be scalding hot. Just use an anti-bacterial soap if you want to get rid of nasty things. Otherwise wash your hands with normal soap. That's good enough.

 

[frigilux]

It's my understanding that the soap combined with the abrasive/physical action involved in washing one's hands is what flushes away soils and bacteria. As Louis stated, a person would scald their hands if the water was hot enough to disinfect. The advice I've seen is to use very warm water when hand-washing. People tend not to hit the 20-second scrubbing target if the water is either too cold or too hot.

 

[danemodsandy]

Hot Water Hand-Washing:

The next time you end up with really grubby hands, like from cleaning out the garage or doing some weeding, go inside and perform this little test:

Wash your hands with cold water. Now look at them. They will not be completely clean.

Now, re-wash in "hot" water, meaning as hot as is comfortable for you. Now re-check your hands. They will be clean.

Warm and hot water seem to aid in dislodging dirt, at least on skin.

 

[tomturbomatic]

And warmer water is better, with a suitable surfactant, at removing grease which can bind a lot of soils.

 

[yogitunes]

I like these little test......

NOW, for anyone who swears that COLD water will clean anything with a good detergent....

starting tommorow....turn your water heater off, and take ALL COLD showers from now on, and tell me this is getting rid of all the bacteria and body oils/soils from your skin!....

wash dishes the same way, and tell me they are grease free and spotless

and yet you expect COLD washing to remove body oils/soils from your clothes effectively!...

washing in cold may be good enough for you, I question what do your house guest think of this?....do they tell you?....and do they ever return?

I have a buddy who washes clothes in cold, you can smell the musty scent from the towel he dried himself on, and you can smell it in his linens, as well as once you dry off with one of his towels, that scent comes to life...and now its on you!

 

[DigAPony]

Dry off with one of his towels, that scent comes to life...

LOL!! yuck..

Okay, so then what items must, or should be, washed in cold?

 

[abcomatic]

wringer machines

I wonder what would be said about using a wringer machine that uses the same wash water over? A good thing or "abandon hope, all ye who enter."

 

[tomturbomatic]

People who washed in wringer machines knew how to get clean laundry. You start with hot water and detergent, keep the cover on to keep the water hot and add additional detergent with each new load of clothes. You start with table linens, bed linens, white shirts then towels and underwear. As the water cools a bit, light colors then darker colors ending with cleaning cloths and work and yard clothes. It was an efficient use of hot water which, in many cases, had to be heated on a stove for washing clothes. Sudsaver washer users followed a similar routine and stuff got clean while hot water was saved.

Many of us learned to wash by watching our moms and other relatives using wringers and sudsaver automatics.

 

[washer111]

Wringer Machines:

Provided you were thinking about your washing, it wouldn't be an issue. To save water, you wash your cleanest items first and move to progressively dirtier items. That way, the way you used was completely dirty and used up (but you'd add more soap as the older stuff was wearing out).

 

Then there is the thing with hand washing: I've brought it up before: The Victorian Health Dept. recommends washing hands in Warm-Hot water to ensure all germs and dirt are removed from one's hands. I've tried using cold water since making the switch, and I find I have to re-wash my hands as greases aren't removed from my hands. It is slightly inconvenient having to remember to turn on the Hot tap whilst using the 'Lav, but I prefer clean hands

But I digress; If you "need" Warm-Hot water to wash your hands, then why are clothes/items that are in contact with your skin any different? Sure, a jumper or sweater could get the Cool or Cold setting, but your Towels and Sheets? Bleugh!

 

[abcomatic]

yep,that's what I do

In my Maytag, Speed Queen, ABC, Dexter or Easy. Sheets first, underwear next, light colored shirts, then dark colored ones, wash slacks and then towels that are dark colored. Add more water if necessary and more detergent. Rinse a lot and you are good to go. Empty the washer, rinse it out well and the wringer, dry everything down, let the tub air dry and put it all away until the next time.

 

[danemodsandy]

Douglas:

"Okay, so then what items must, or should be, washed in cold?"

Anything with a tendency to fade or shrink in warmer temperatures.

In general, anything bright-colored made of natural fibers (particularly red), and anything dark made of natural fibers (blue jeans, black jeans) that you want to keep the color in.

Washable sweaters made of natural fibers should get the cold water treatment, as should a lot of outerwear.

Cold water isn't good at removing body oils and sweat, but it is very good at helping preserve colors and that "new" look.

You just have to be judicious. I have some bright polo shirts that get washed in cold, but they're not everyday wear, and they're not worn for a full day's schvitzing-into. So, there's not the El Stinko Grande factor to worry about with them.

Synthetics usually can hold their color perfectly well in warm or even hot. '70s polyester was indestructible; on That '70s Show, virtually all of the costuming you saw was vintage, picked from thrift stores and vintage shops, bright as new thirty years after it was made.

 

[tomturbomatic]

But the degree of coldness matters also

In my Miele W1918, cold is at least 85F on all the cycles except for the Delicates and Woolen cycles which allow tap cold as well as 85F.

In the W1986, cold in the Cottons and Perma Press cycles can be tap cold with the next higher temperature being 105F. The Delicate and Woolens cycles allow tap cold as well as 85F.

On the Creda, which allows independent wash water temperature selection, 85F is the lowest wash temperature setting above tap cold.

In the summer, tap cold is at least 80F and in the winter it is close to that with the tempering valve so the 85F which was an important factor on the W1918 is less important for washing.

I use the 85F or 80F temperature for dark slacks and use it with Cheer color protector formula which has hydrogen peroxide to counteract the chlorine in the tap water. Our 1958 LK had a cool water temperature setting. We used that for washing my parents' raincoats because the sewn-in care label said to wash and rinse in cool water and rinse 3 times. You need that bit of warmth above the temperature of cold water for gentle cleaning.

 

[sudsmaster]

Most the article quotes sound advice from the Cleaning Institute about the value of higher wash temps.

For equal time, they also quote an environmentalist:

"Ed Osann, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) senior water policy analyst, explained to Shine in an email that the most important part of the process is using an effective detergent, not using hot water."

The irony of that statement is that the most effective detergents - those with phosphates - were taken off the market as the result of lobbying by himself and his colleagues.

Me, I boost my detergents with STPP and wash most things at 130F or hotter (130 in the Neptune, 160 in the Miele). And I don't use strongly scented fabric softeners, either. The clothes smell fresh and clean because they ARE fresh and clean.

Bath towels? They get at most two uses: in the morning and after work, before they go in the dirty laundry bin for a hot wash.

Do I care about the environment? Yep. I recycle as much as I can, put food waste and garden clippings in a compost pile, which compost I use to enrich the back yard soil so I can grow my own food. The list goes on... but what I know is the place not to scrimp on cleaning power (water, temperature, effective detergents) is in the laundry and dishwasher. Compared to heating or cooling a drafty home, hot water for laundry is a very small fraction of a residential environmental footprint.

 

[mich]

Ewww...

People use there bath towels more than once? Do they realize, that Guys, rub there, um.. (and other places) after they get out of the shower.

I don't currently have a water heater enabled washer, however, I do like to think I go a-bit overboard, washing them in the hottest tap water one can obtain, along with a hour long wash in a hydrogen peroxide based detergent, and Chlroine Bleach in the 1st Rinse Cycle to kill off any lingering bacteria.

I still do not believe it's enough, but they do, look & smell clean.

Still considering purchasing Persil Hygienic Rinse, to use instead of the Chlorine.. Probably would extend the life of the textiles.