For the guys that ONLY wash in cold water

[dj-gabriele]

Hi everybody.
As some of you might have notice I'm "allergic" to cold water washing, indeed since I'm here in Bologna I never washed anything under 40°C (that's 104°F).
For me washing is sorting the laundry by colour and textile, drop it in the basket till the machine is full and pour the powder for lights and liquid for darks. Come back 2 hours later to get the laundry done. No additives, no prewashes, or other treatments.

Reading the forums and seeing that many wash only in cold, I'm curious to know how your washing is done, if you use any additives, soaks, prewashes, etc.
Are all the stains and odours removed? Do nasty kitchen rags come clean all the time? How do you organize the laundry? This kind of stuff is what I want to know.

Thanks a lot!

 

[arbilab]

Given a practical preference (electric water heat is VERY expensive here), I wouldn't even brush my teeth below 104F.

 

[sudsmaster]

I figure 105F is pretty close to 98.6, which is body temp, and if fabrics can't take body temp then they are rather useless to begin with.

Anyway, all my stuff gets washed at warm (105F) or hot (130 to 160F). Once in a while, at 200F, but that's kind of drastic these days.

 

[gorenje]

I'm "allergic" to cold water washing

Me too.

Hi Gabriele,

you are not alone. I'm always keeping in mind that if the body temperature is cca. 37°C all the laundry have to be washed at least @ 40°C.
I'm also one of that kind that when I take out the laundry from the washer I'm quite 100% sure everything is perfect.
I'm not using additives (like Vanish, Stain release pacs, Disinfectants or andy kind of Bleach...) But I strictly sort the laundry so I can wash everything at the highest temperature possible for that sort of load.
The only "additive" I use is a laundry bar soap, but only for those stains that are really hard to remove without pretreating and for pretreating collars and sleeves.
For dirty whites I do use the prewash cycle followed by a 95°C cycle and you can be sure that everything come out spotless. For the less dirty whites I do a 60°C cycle.
I prefer powdered detergents. I use liquids only for darks and for colors that runs. (I have a Europeanf front loader)

Ingemar

 

[combo52]

COLD WATER WASHING

I too always wash in at least 100F or above if fact almost always above 120 F. I suggest to my customers that like to wash thier clothes in cold water that they try washing thier dirty and oily hands in cold water, or better yet a cold bath LOL. I always suggest that that nothing be washed in water so cool that is not comfortable to hold your hands in.

 

Cold rinsing on the other hand once the soil is removed in the washing process and in suspension in the warm wash water works just fine.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

DaveAMKrayoGuy's Clothese Washing Philosophy:

I was told Cold Water prevents colors from running (although it is still best to separate darks & lights as it is to wash whites separately, although I've been washing both white & colored towels together & the white ones stayed white--but that could be attributed to Cold Water washing there)...

You also, of course, save energy from the water not having to be heated--GAS, in my case--and it seems as though all I ever wash in Warm is the baby's clothes, of which even mixing dark & light, colored & white, everything in terms of a "hue" keeps to itself...!

Hot, is what I seldom ever use--it would have to be something EXTREMELY dirty & unsanitary, and I would always use a COLD Rinse, there--especially when I set the washing machine for TWO rinses...

A Warm Rinse, little-to-not-often that I use that would accompany a Warm Wash, but that was w/ the baby's stuff, but these days I use a Cold Rinse, nowadays, but still do the "Extra Rinse"...

-- Dave

 

[bosch2460]

I never wash below 105 degrees, ever. It is a requirement for me to wash in water warmer than my body temperature to remove body soils. Not to mention, the hotter the water, the less effort I need to make for stain removal. As for Cold water helping with color run and retention. I find that to be false. I always wash darks, and jeans in warm water, sometimes even hot. (Yes, even black Armani shirts). I have had a lot of my clothes for years, and they have not faded. IMHO, the secret to keeping color in clothes, is not the water temp, but the detergent you use. I ALWAYS use a detergent that is specifically for colors, mainly powdered Cheer. It is rare that I use the dryer either, which I contribute to fading as well. All clothes, white or colored, get the same amount of soiling. You just tend to see more on lighter clothes, and less on darks. So, even though I may not actually see soil on darks, they need to be washed like I would wash a white load. Just my .02, kids.

 

[gorenje]

@ Dave and others who wash in Cold water

I got a question.
Are you using Chlorine Bleach when you wash whites in Cold water?
And if Yes, I'm curious to know how would be the washing result if you wash a dirty load of whites in Cold water + detergent but without using the Bleach.

Ingemar

 

[whirlcool]

For us, washing in cold water would be akin to putting on last weeks bed sheets again without washing them first. Yuck.

We have our hot water tank (gas) set to 140F. Everything gets washed warm/warm except for whites and sheets which get an occasional hot/warm wash.

I think fading of colored clothing comes from the detergent you use rather than the temperature you use. I have some t-shirts that are Royal Blue, Cranberry Red, Mustard Yellow that are about a year old and they don't look faded at all. I use a mix of Foca & Vaska to wash them (25/75).

 

[roscoe62]

@ bosch2460

Is this Cheer powder in an HE formula? If not what dosage do you use/in a front loader without the aid of the Marines digging you out of the laundry room ?

 

[dj-gabriele]

I just love when people "read" my posts

Thanks guys for having answered my questions, but most of you have my same habit of NOT washing in COLD water while I wanted to know more about those that use it all the times while the only one that uses cold, just told how it is supposed to save colours and energy.

Not a single explanation about what I had asked!

 

[vintagekitchen]

Cold Washes..

Well, my mother always washed in cold only, unless one of us was very very sick, with something contagious. She always claimed she saved money by not using hot water for laundry. I can tell you, what little money she saved on the electric bill, she used up in the multitude of different additives and stain removers she always had to use. There was always some Oxi-Clean or Clorox 2, or both, in the laundry room, as well as Spray-and-Wash, and several other stain removers, pretreaters, etc. The funniest part was, she combined all this with the cheapest powdered detergent, SUN, which being powdered, didnt even fully dissolve in the cold water, especially in winter (and doesn't even wash very well in hot water). I walked around in itchy clothes a great deal of the time, no matter how much Snuggle softener she used, in addition to a sheet or 2 of Bounce in the dryer. So in my experiance, washing in cold water is "penny wise, pound foolish".

 

[whirlpolf]

...when people "read" -> a very good point.

I agree, that is more than unpleasant while on the other hand, your questioning post is prone to attract "anti"-answers. ("allergic" to cold washing? my "a"....rmful of pleasantries....) "allergic" means something you react to when getting to much of a substance. Cold washing does not contain any of these substances, it is just a habit.
So being "allergic" to cold can only mean some psychological thing.

Long story, short point:
No warm or hot washing all the time here, no way. My electric bills will not go through the roof, I will not allow them to, no way. Refusing to bow to "highest/hottest water level" religion.
I do a hot wash every now and then but for a quick fresh-up of hardly stained jogging t-shirts, some cold quick wash of 20 mins. will do.
Stains? No problem as long as towels keep soaking up water I could not care less and I let those stains be there until next hot wash.
Odors? Some tablespoon of chlorine in the first rinse or some white vinegar in the last rinse will do (if necessary at all).
Who do I want to get my fabrics so spic&span as to blind my neighbour's envious eyes for?

My clothes are to work for me (soak up liquids, keep me warm), not me working extra for my clothes.
4 cold washes will have 1 hot wash, that is enough strain on my wallet. Period.

Besides: Some liquids (Formil) or powders (French Persil and Epsil) are perfect for cold washing. There is hardly any difference to hot washing. No major complaints so far.

But maybe I am just not the highly praised clean-queen that I ought to be.
It's just me and MY black boots on MY carpet, MY bike chain grease on MY rags and that is me and my life. I can live with that. No idea who in the world would mind. Those people should speak up please (can't hear you!)
*shrugs*
Joe

 

[bosch2460]

Cheer.....

I use the regular powdered Cheer. I use 2 TBS in my Miele, and a half cup for a full load in the Filter Flo. I do have mechanically softened water. Let me add, that I have had a FL of some type for about 10 years. I have never bought HE detergent. Just do not find it necessary.

And let me add fuel to the fire a bit. Years and years ago, I washed everything in cold water. I wanted to save energy and all that crap. I soon started experimenting with warm and hot washes. Why? Because my clothes soon felt "coated" in something, never smelled nice, and stain removal was a cow. Personally, I find that washing in cold takes more effort, more time, and the results are still only fair. So, I switched from cold to warm. My electric bill did not go up at all...running at least 20 loads per week. So, the energy savings from cold to warm, are about the same, in my book. So, I never take that as an excuse. So if water temp, water savings, and color retention have nothing to do with the reasoning behind cold washing, then why do it?

 

[gorenje]

I am single so I don't have piles and piles of dirty laundry to wash. (but even if I had I wouldn't wash in Cold)
I don't care for those 2 Euros of difference on the Electricity Bill. And I am not using the washer just to let my clothes float a bit in some water, I'm using it to get them clean every single time, not every 4th time. That's ridiculous.

Bleach, Stain removers and others additives cost much more than some Hot water.
This is just my personal opinion.

I've been several times in the USA and I slept in hotels and in private homes. When I slept in some of the private homes I've noticed that the white towels were in fact dingy with some yellow spots but they smelled of Bleach. Because of my interest in laundry machines I've been also in the laundry room and while talking with the owner I saw that she was washing the laundry in Cold water. I can not say for sure that such towels were in this shape because of the use of Cold water but definitely something was wrong with the laundry habits of that woman because I've also experienced very clean and fresh laundry during my stay.

Ingemar

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Water temp

I always wash in the hottest water safe for the fabric. I wash towels, undergarments, jeans and especially my work uniforns on hot (water heater set @140F/60C). Most other thing are warm wash, rarely do I use cold.

 

[appnut]

I wash in hot and warm.  Warm is between 100 and 105 degres F.  Hot is between 120 & 130 degrees F.  The only time I use cold is for a cold prewash of my whites and that's it.  Even sweaters are done in lukewarm water about 85 to 90 degrees F. Both of my sisters wash prdomantely in cold.  I remember one time when we were visiting my sister and my mom was observing her doing laundry.  She asked me if she always washed in cold and I said yes.  then my mom piped up to my sister and said, don't you ever even wash your towels in at lesat warm water sometimes?  The answer was no.   Fortunately she doesn't have many guests and so not many people use her guest towels. My mom said you should wash them in warm at least sometimes.  it can't cost that much to wash in warm water over cold. 

 

[jerrod6]

I think color transfer is a matter of the type of dyes used in the fabric rather than the temp of the water regardless of detergent.  I use a detergent made for darks and I still see dye transfer into the wash water.  My washer drains into the laundry sink next to it and there is always color transfer from fabric to water when the fiber is cotton......Not so much if the fiber is polyester.  Most  of my clothes are cotton and  dyed with the  intention to fade over time so I never mix dark with whites.

 

Special additives:  I Never use LCB, The only additive I might use with any load is a bit of STPP and lately I have not even been doing that. The detergent seems to work quite well by it's self. 

 

The only "cold" loads I do are polyester gym wear, or silk.  The rest gets warm(105F), very warm(120F) and there is an occasional wash  at 140F or 190F.

 

At this point I don't think a lot of the  detergent additives and boosters add any value to the laundry process using cold or hot water.

 

[thomasortega]

Gabriele:

Like 99% of Brazilians, I wash everything in cold water.

Sometimes I use hot water for whites, but latelly even the whites are being washed in cold water.

For cold washes, I use only detergent, sometimes liquid, sometimes powder. (most of the times liquid). nothing else.

I HATE bleach. I use it only to clean the washer once a month or two. Never on clothes.

It's dificult to have a stain that won't come off easily, in this case I repeat the wash using warm or hot water and a dose of Vanish oxy bleach powder. (pink for colors and white for whites)

No matter how dirty the clothes are, I always set my machines to the longest cycles (front or top loaders). Sometimes I skip the "soak" cycle that every top loader in Brazil has, and on newer models it's not a separate cycle like the american machines. usually now the soak is divided in several (maybe more than 10) very short portions of the wash so, wash-soak-wash-soak-wash-soak for more than 1 1/2 hour in some models.

Also, I never found any difference in my laundry when I gave up using hot water. Actualy the only difference is that now i can start my machines all at the same time, because my water heater is the smallest tankless model i could find, so it fills only one machine at a time and very slowly.

millions of brazilians always washed in cold water and never had any problem with it. It still not rare to find people that would say "this is the wierdest thing i've ever heard" when we talk about using hot water to do laundry.

Also, most of the premium top loaders in Brazil are cold fill only (the instructions manual says that hot water should never be used) and only a few models have internal heaters.

hot/cold fills are found only on modern "globalized" front loaders like Electrolux, Whirlpool or LG, but most of them also suggest that both hoses can be connected to the cold water line. (most of the houses don't even have water heaters or hot water pipes) because it's really unnecessary.

top loaders with hot fill simply doesn't exist anymore. Brastemp had the TOL versions with hot fill, but honestly nobody cared about it.

Also, most of the standard housewives in Brazil still use some bleach (very little) only on whites. all other loads are made using only detergent.

Except those who don't care about their laundry and simply toss everything mixed in the washer, the average brazilian always had perfect results, bright colors, sparkling whites and we never heard about mould in our washing machines, even modern front loaders.

Tonight i made another video and I'm going to post it tomorrow on Facebook. It's a full cycle at my new machine and it shows exactly how most of the brazilians do their laundry.

Before I forget, of course most of the brazilians still use soap bars to rub difficult stains before loading the washer. Also, it's not rare to find people soaking kitchen towels, socks and cleaning rags in buckets, overnight.