Cool water washes lead to bacteria in washer

[gelaundry4ever]

the only time I use cold water

is when I wash any dark colors or blues or reds. Everything else gets a warm or hot wash with bleach if they're light colors or whites. I want my whites perfectly white! And I do use a reasonable amount of laundry detergent, bleach and fabric softener. I use pods.

 

[KNowler360]

Claro, former maker of Miele tabs, sell a Hygiene tab that releases 180 ppm of PPA into one liter of wash water.

https://www.claro.at/shop/en/product/claro-hygiene-tabs/

Old topic, but this caught my attention. I was looking for a PPA based laundry sanitizer with a sporicidal strength (e.g. pet fungal infection fabrics cleanup), but could not find anything for home use. So I checked this out.

Not sure where the 180ppm comes from, it's not on the Claro website.

Also, you would need dozens of tablets for a 30-40 gallon washer to achieve a necessary ppm for a sporicidal effect. This is a small dishwasher tablet.

So back to search. It would be good to have some similar add-on product to drop in your washer to release a higher count of PPA ppm. I think the ppm released by Oxy powder detergents are miniscule, for the purpose of some bacterial reduction but not anywhere near needed for sanitation.

 

[phillymatt53]

the only time I use cold water

is when I wash any dark colors or blues or reds. Everything else gets a warm or hot wash with bleach if they're light colors or whites. I want my whites perfectly white! And I do use a reasonable amount of laundry detergent, bleach and fabric softener. I use pods.

When I do my laundry, since the machine has been sitting idle for a week or so, the first loads are for whites, with hot water, along with bleach.
So any nasty organisms that have managed to build up in the washer's guts are taken care of.
Then, I'll do the colored stuff on warm wash.
So far so good.

 

[launderess]

Old topic, but this caught my attention. I was looking for a PPA based laundry sanitizer with a sporicidal strength (e.g. pet fungal infection fabrics cleanup), but could not find anything for home use. So I checked this out.

Not sure where the 180ppm comes from, it's not on the Claro website.

Also, you would need dozens of tablets for a 30-40 gallon washer to achieve a necessary ppm for a sporicidal effect. This is a small dishwasher tablet.

So back to search. It would be good to have some similar add-on product to drop in your washer to release a higher count of PPA ppm. I think the ppm released by Oxy powder detergents are miniscule, for the purpose of some bacterial reduction but not anywhere near needed for sanitation.

Laundry sanitizers for commercial/industrial use based on peracetic acid are to strong acids for use in domestic/homestyle washing machines. Softer metals, rubber and other bits used in such machines would be destroyed with frequent use of such products.

White vinegar is about 5% acetic acid and it will harm domestic washing machine parts if used too frequently and or at high enough amounts, peracetic acid sanitizers are far stronger and so there you are.

https://www.ecolab.com/offerings/advacare-disinfectant-healthcare

There are professional laundry detergents with higher levels of bleaching activator and oxygen bleach that will produce laundry sanitizing in wash cycle. This long as proper dosing per pound of soiled goods is followed, contact time and temperature.

https://kreusslerinc.com/product-spotlight-trebon-plus

https://hwr-chemie.de/en/produkt/sa...-yopxR1M7Br0_Wd_oRbeNJn3XqHna2fGHImNZjoN35DU1

 

[gelaundry4ever]

When I do my laundry, since the machine has been sitting idle for a week or so, the first loads are for whites, with hot water, along with bleach.
So any nasty organisms that have managed to build up in the washer's guts are taken care of.
Then, I'll do the colored stuff on warm wash.
So far so good.

I've been doing that lately.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Don't use Tap Cold or Cool, why when a washer still has COLD, to this day?

 

[phillymatt53]

I've been doing that lately.

And that's also why I recently modded the machine to use an optional warm rinse feature because it seems to improve the use of softener.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

When I do my laundry, since the machine has been sitting idle for a week or so, the first loads are for whites, with hot water, along with bleach.
So any nasty organisms that have managed to build up in the washer's guts are taken care of.
Then, I'll do the colored stuff on warm wash.
So far so good.

What do people not understand?

 

[phillymatt53]

What do people not understand?

A lot of people have turned into.... "Lack Of Common Sense Uneducated Puppets"
Zombies!

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Haha!
Almond color with LCB seems to turn into this really UGLY color. I have an almond bath mat for the second bathroom and I use a little LCB on it when I wash it, and it turned it into this weird color I can't even explain....but I don't care. I strictly buy white towels though because I don't trust how colors and towels will come out with it. It's amazing how little of it you need too. LCB expires so I buy the small bottles which last me a long time as well. If I buy a gallon, it long before I can use it all.

I feel like ammonia with detergent is best for colors. I know ammonia doesn't disinfect but it gets them cleaner.

Have you ever been to someone's house (like an overnight stay or something) and the next day you take a shower, grab one of their clean towels and put it to your face and it's like this mutant funk, and yet you have no choice but to use it to dry with? I'm not being dramatic either. It's like it was a super dirty and was washed in cold water in an overloaded washer and smothered with fabric softener then baked dry......when you put one of my towels to your face, all you smell is that super clean smell.

Surprisingly, I actually had that happen at my dad’s place, and I only used that specific towel and then I washed it in straight hot water as to me it actually smells like dog and I wanted it to be actually clean

 

[gelaundry4ever]

A lot of people have turned into.... "Lack Of Common Sense Uneducated Puppets"
Zombies!

I wish things got better, but I think they're getting worse.

 

[phillymatt53]

I wish things got better, but I think they're getting worse.

I try to stay positive, optimistic about things, and keep thinking "It's Only A Temporary Thing".

 

[gelaundry4ever]

I try to stay positive, optimistic about things, and keep thinking "It's Only A Temporary Thing".

Same, but it seems to me it's permanent.

 

[phillymatt53]

Same, but it seems to me it's permanent.

Nothing's permanent.....
We're all living on this planet as guests.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Nothing's permanent.....
We're all living on this planet as guests.

Good to hear.

 

[Chetlaham]

I can tell you that after installing a 50/50 358277 mixing valve in my Speed Queen I feel the ideal washing temperature for most loads is around 105*F.

It is interesting, because the 358277 valve came with instructions which states the valve is energy saving, replacing an older 60/40 model.

So it seems like top load washers started off with very warm water, having a thermostatic or 3 solenoid mixing valves.

Then it went to two valves at 60/40, then 50/50, then 40/60, then 30/70 and now ATC control that makes sure warm doesn't go over 80*F.

They've gradually reduced the warm water temp such that most people wouldn't explicitly notice. And now that people have gotten "used" to washing in room temperature water, they want people to switch to even cooler water.





From Whirlpool's website, the temps are rather abysmal:

 

[gelaundry4ever]

I can tell you that after installing a 50/50 358277 mixing valve in my Speed Queen I feel the ideal washing temperature for most loads is around 105*F.

It is interesting, because the 358277 valve came with instructions which states the valve is energy saving, replacing an older 60/40 model.

So it seems like top load washers started off with very warm water, having a thermostatic or 3 solenoid mixing valves.

Then it went to two valves at 60/40, then 50/50, then 40/60, then 30/70 and now ATC control that makes sure warm doesn't go over 80*F.

They've gradually reduced the warm water temp such that most people wouldn't explicitly notice. And now that people have gotten "used" to washing in room temperature water, they want people to switch to even cooler water.





From Whirlpool's website, the temps are rather abysmal:

View attachment 319732

What the heck? Are they serious? I wish things got better.

 

[phillymatt53]

I can tell you that after installing a 50/50 358277 mixing valve in my Speed Queen I feel the ideal washing temperature for most loads is around 105*F.

It is interesting, because the 358277 valve came with instructions which states the valve is energy saving, replacing an older 60/40 model.

So it seems like top load washers started off with very warm water, having a thermostatic or 3 solenoid mixing valves.

Then it went to two valves at 60/40, then 50/50, then 40/60, then 30/70 and now ATC control that makes sure warm doesn't go over 80*F.

They've gradually reduced the warm water temp such that most people wouldn't explicitly notice. And now that people have gotten "used" to washing in room temperature water, they want people to switch to even cooler water.





From Whirlpool's website, the temps are rather abysmal:

View attachment 319732

I sit back and figure it's just more "control" legislation aimed at the population.
"Do this, not that"
Next, they'll enact a law that mandates how many sheets of toilet paper you are allowed to use in your mandated energy-saving low-flush toilet.

 

[Chetlaham]

Energy regulations in washing machines are a mistake.

 

[phillymatt53]

Energy regulations in washing machines are a mistake.

And so are a lot of other things!
Because they make no real sense, they're dreamed-up BS just to annoy and control people.

 

[soapdog86]

When I do my laundry, since the machine has been sitting idle for a week or so, the first loads are for whites, with hot water, along with bleach.
So any nasty organisms that have managed to build up in the washer's guts are taken care of.
Then, I'll do the colored stuff on warm wash.
So far so good.

I use cold water for washing all the time. I used a laundry sanitizer in the rinse.

 

[pstehle]

I sit back and figure it's just more "control" legislation aimed at the population.
"Do this, not that"
Next, they'll enact a law that mandates how many sheets of toilet paper you are allowed to use in your mandated energy-saving low-flush toilet.

that takes three flushes to get emptied out... don't get me started!

 

[DADoES]

I use cold water for washing all the time. I used a laundry sanitizer in the rinse.

Have you confirmed that your washer has a long-enough rinse agitation to meet the required exposure time for the sanitizer product to work? Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, for example, calls for minimum of 16 minutes exposure.

 

[phillymatt53]

Have you confirmed that your washer has a long-enough rinse agitation to meet the required exposure time for the sanitizer product to work? Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, for example, calls for minimum of 16 minutes exposure.

Ya know, I've never needed to use such a product, sanitizer.
In fact, since washers were ever created, nobody ever made the news headlines for getting sick or crippled from their laundry.

It's all nothing more than some Marketing babble, creating fear in people, just like most of those subliminal messages in tv ads do.
Snake Oil Sales, generated to create more revenue for companies.

 

[soapdog86]

Have you confirmed that your washer has a long-enough rinse agitation to meet the required exposure time for the sanitizer product to work? Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, for example, calls for minimum of 16 minutes exposure.

I've been using Lysol Laundry Sanitizer for about five years and it really works.