Cold Water washing

[zipdang]

Actually chlorine bleach kills germs in cold water quite wel

Just consider the temperature of most swimming pools. The water is usually between 78F and 82F, which is hardly warm and toasty. And yet the chlorine works!

What about a tumble dryer's effect on germs? Does 45 minutes in a hot dryer kill any more or less germs than washing in hot water?

 

[westytoploader]

I guess I could wash whites in the GE Combo when it's up and running; I'm sure putting the dryness control on "Charred" will take care of any germs...

 

[frigilux]

You should give it a try, Austin, just for kicks. I'd like to know what your results are. I think Venus mentioned your water is on the hard side, so you may get different results than I do using soft water. I strongly suggest using powdered Tide CW for a real idea of how clean things can get in cold water. If it's not available in your area, just let me know. The liquid version is also pretty good, but the powder is definitely the gold standard.

 

[DADoES]

Wal-Mart here is long-gone with Tide CW powder. HEB still carries it but devotes only one "slot" of shelf space. I must fetch some before it disappears from there as well. I still haven't gotten into the new Walgreens, dunno what they have. I may get to Phase 2 of the detergent test this weekend, but I have enough for that either way.

 

[frigilux]

I bought the last 4 big boxes they had at WalMart in Mankato, MN months ago and have 3 left. Target used to stock it, but they've stopped, too. We have a budget department store chain in Minnesota called ShopKo and I found smaller-sized boxes of it in the Mankato and Worthington stores. Right now I have SO MUCH detergent in my house I can't justify buying more---plus I'm having a ball choosing from all my import detergents---but I'll probably go pick those up sooner than later, hate to find out its been discontinued and run out. I love the stuff!

 

[neptunebob]

I know that chlorine may be less effective in cold water just as any chemical reaction slows down in the cold. When winter comes along, our tap water is like a chlorine cocktail!

Laundress if you are a nurse, do you notice that you can't stand certain product fragrances? My mother, a nurse states: "I can't stand Pine Sol, it smells like public toilets!". Then my sister, also a nurse, says: "That's becuase you work in nursing!".

 

[launderess]

Only completed half of my nursing courses, then switched majors. Long story short worked as an nurse's aide my last two and half years of high school, and were I grew up nursing was seen as a good career choice so off I went. Gradually while still working as a NA in college, decided didn't want to spend my life cleaning up human bodily fluids for very little money and sometimes even less respect, so changed majors.

Yes, various smells do bother me,while others do not. Cannot abide Pine-Sol or any pine cleaner. It does smell like cheap/welfare hotels,public restrooms, etc. Now the "hospital" smell does not bother me one bit, even when visiting. Neither does feces or urine, guess from cleaning up all those patients/emptying bed pans and changing nappies.

L.

 

[washboy2005]

"Are the European detergents such as Persil and Ariel better at color preservation than the American"

Over Here our detergents generally come in four formats:

Biological - Better for whites, and tough stains

Non Biological - Designed for people with sensitive skin as it has no Enzymes

Colour/Colour care - Biological detergent without Bleach

2 in 1 - Biological detergent with inbuilt fabric conditioner, 2in1 detergents generally do not clean as well as a stand alone detergent but usually produce satisfactory results.

So in regards to the question asked above, I would Say yes, Ariel and Persil do look after colours better but that is only if you use the product for colours eg:

Persil Colour Care
or
Ariel Colour & Style

Otherwise I would generally say European Detergents are not better with the Colour Preservation side of things.

Sorry if none of the above makes sense, I have just gotten out of bed.

Take Care
Dan

 

[appnut]

Dan, made sense and was very understandable.

 

[helicaldrive]

Thanks, Dan!

Couldn't be more clear! I'm going to have to get a stash of European detergent and try it out.

 

[washboy2005]

Hey, Thanks :-D for that.

I loved Ariel Biological Powder of the early 2000's but as of late last year Ariel changed their format and gave the powder an overwhelming scent of lemons.

I Tried the new format, didnt like it, as it gave me rashes and no softener could cover the scent.
Although after loads of discussion with Lavamat_jon, I have decided to give it another go, and have bought a 10 wash box today.

I also bought a 40 wash pack of Biological Aquados, Aquados is the powdered equivelant to the liqui-tab, liquicap's, basically its some extra concentrated powder, in a soluble film, you chuck one in the washer drum, add the clothes and away you go. I reccomended these to lavamat_jon when he last stayed with me in early august, he loved them that much that I went to morrisons supermarket and bought a big box of them as they were on Special Offer.

Take Care
Dan

 

[tomturbomatic]

It might well be that healthy people are not falling ill from germs, but sports teams are scared to death of MRSA or Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus as are operators of nursing homes and other places where large numbers of people come into close contact with one another. The NFL teams are going to extraordinary measures to increase awareness of the this infection and to prevent players from contracting it. Carpet has been replaced with plastic which does not suppport microbial growth as have the shower linings. Personal containers of shower gels are now used. Team members are now outfitted with initialed towels and told not to lend or borrow. They also have personalized shower flip flops, razors (don't share don't borrow) and benches have been replaced by individual chairs or stools. The danger of the Staph bacilli getting into a bruise which is a pool of stagnant blood, through a minor scrape or cut is very real and the blood is an excellent medium in which the Staph can survive and multiply. Fourteen days on an IV drip of powerful antibiotics is not pleasant to contemplate while everyone is gowning up before touching you or anything you have touched. Both are common consequences of oral antibiotics failing to knock out the infection. This is an exceptional case, right now, but as more bacteria develop more resistance to known drugs, keeping clean and keeping the clothing and textiles that come in contact with my skin clean is one way I have of attacking germs and the soils that they feed on. When I come in from outside, I change to house shoes. I do not sit or lie down on any piece of furniture in my house until I have removed the clothes I have worn to work, especially because the commute involves riding the subway. If dark colors have to be washed in cool water, I use plenty of detergent and they get a final rinse in a quaternary ammonia solution.

 

[mickeyd]

Laundress and Frigi

Laundress, You made me laugh when wrote about how germs are not very hardy and how well we've adapted because I remembered those nasty aliens in War of the Worlds who were not so lucky with our earthly earthy germs, and although we could not beat the ugly aliens with all of our might, our much maligned germs sure put them to flight.

Frigi, when I was staying at my mother's the evil gas company turned my gas off.
When I got home last week, I did a load of sheets, one of which had yellowed, in cold water with Clorox and Tide Cold. I was shocked at how white and striking they were as the flapped so gracefully in the breeze.

 

[dalangdon]

"Cannot abide Pine-Sol or any pine cleaner."

I totally agree with you. It always reminds me of the houses on my paper route when I was a kid, where the yard was full of dog poop and the people who lived in the houses paid for their subscription in pennies and other loose change. Those houses always reeked of Pine-Sol.

I'm actually quite thankful for that paper route, and having grown up in an economically challenged place. While my family was quite well off (i.e. solidly middle class) that job gave me insight into what it's like to be poor, and how difficult it is for people. As my mom always says "Rich or poor, it's nice to have money"

 

[mickeyd]

MRSA and other bedbugs

Tom, does ammonia kill germs as effectively as clorox? Does the odor dissipate in the spin cycle? What is a "quaternary amminia solution" ? Very interested in your ammomia protocol because I love to kill bugs even though they saved us from aliens, but I've grown suspicious of chlorine's propensity to prematurely age my clothing. Tell it, Man

 

[frigilux]

Mickeyd-- I've had great luck with whites using that same winning combination Tide CW + LCB) for over 7 months, now. It's freaky, isn't it? It just shouldn't work so well, but it does.

 

[DADoES]

I *have* noticed that whites have an odd propensity to look very white when floating in Tide CW wash water. Would OBAs have anything to do with that, or do they not affect whites?

 

[frigilux]

I'd like one of whatever it is Glenn's had, LOL!

 

[DADoES]

Just a nice bouquet of Foca, Roma, Ariel, Ace, Tide CW, Fresh Start, White King, and Downy Advanced. MMMMMMMMM! Clears the sinses right up!

 

[mattywashboy]

okay to restate my first statement.

I was in cold water because i HAVE to not because i CHOOSE to. The water pressure on the hot water is too low for it to fila hitachi tub in under an hour (seriously, its like a tiny dribble and nothing more). So to wash in Warm water is also outof the question because the cold would outnumber the hot resulting in cold water anyway. Also energy costs are expensive and money is tight. I would love to wash in hot and warm water. I have recently been sick and i took all my bedlinen and towels to the laundromat and threw them in a HOT wash just to kill the germs. It astounds me how so many Austalians can wash in cold water, especially those with kids. My clothes are clean but you can still tell they are not clean clean.