For the guys that ONLY wash in cold water

[launderess]

"There is an alternative to washing in hot water that's also effective, Dr. Park found: washing at a lower temperature (between 86-104° F, or 30-40 ºC), then rinsing the laundry twice with cold water for three minutes each. "

 

Seems pretty straight forward to me, or am I missing something?

 

  

 

  

 

[foraloysius]

Yes, you missed that they changed the subject to pollens. Let me put things in a different order. There are two subjects that are mentioned.

I Pollen:

Hotter water temperatures are also more effective in removing dog dander and pollen, says lead researcher Jung-Won Park, M.D., Ph.D., of Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea.

There is an alternative to washing in hot water that's also effective, Dr. Park found: washing at a lower temperature (between 86-104° F, or 30-40 ºC), then rinsing the laundry twice with cold water for three minutes each.

In the study, researchers compared allergen levels on cotton sheets after they were washed in various temperature settings. They found that since more pollen was left on the sheets when they were washed in cooler temperatures (86° F, or 30ºC), rinsing the sheets was especially important when using this temperature setting

II Dustmites:

A new study finds that the heat setting you choose when doing laundry makes all the difference when it comes to killing dust mites. The researchers found that washing laundry in hot water--140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 ºC) or higher--kills all house dust mites, compared with just 6.5% of dust mites in laundry washed at 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 ºC), or warm water.

Conclusion:

Pollens can be dealt with with warm water and two cold rinses. Dustmites need hot water.

 

[launderess]

Fine

But since the hot water supply in most US homes is set to 120F to 130F and top loading washers (with no means of heating water)dominate it would be difficult to reach 140F

 

[foraloysius]

The dryer can help too, especially hot American dryers. European dryers don't get hot enough I'm afraid to dry the dustmites out. I'm not sure though if dryers are capable of removing all the allergens, they are able to kill the dustmites if they are kept long enough on a hot cycle. Dryers that cool down towards the end of the cycle may be less adequate at killing dustmites.

Now back to cold water washing I think.

 

[tolivac]

If only if people knew how many dustmites live in their matteresses and pillows----they would not want to sleep on them.From TriStar vacuum "school" a matteress can contain 20 POUNDS of them!Vacuuming doesn't get rid of them entirely-just on the surface-if you want to rid the bedding of dustmites in this case---you would have to BURN it!A pillow can contain several pounds of them too-this counts living ones,dead ones,and their eggs,other residue.

 

[ozzie908]

Being allergic to dust mite and pollen..

I will I am afraid remain totaly NON green and carry on washing my bedding towels and anything in contact with skin at a minimum temperature of 60 degrees.

The thought of anything crawling however small fills me with horror..!

A wimp...

 

[donprohel]

For foraloysius

In my opinion the formula:

Time x Temperature x Chemicals x Mechanical Action = Clean laundry

is not completely correct because it does not take into account another relevant factor: the quantity of water.

Although not as effective as the other four factors, more water helps getting clean laundry at lower temperature with less mechanical action.

This is my experience comparing a top-load and a front-load washer and this is also what I remember of chemistry.

 

[rapunzel]

Dust mites are okay

They are part of the fauna that has always surrounded us. Airing out the bedding on a regular basis, regular sheet changes and giving the mattress a good vacuuming every other week, plus putting it out in the sun once in a while, will allow humans and mites to continue living harmoniously and symbiotically. I'd be far more worried about bed bugs. If we are supposed to panic about dust mites then what are we going to do about all the bacteria that live on our skin 24/7?

When I was growing up hardly anyone had allergies or asthma. Now, it seems that if a child doesn't have some weird allergy they are the exception.

 

[rapunzel]

P.S.

That goes for the pillows too. A good airing and weekly vacuum does wonders. What I do is spray it with eucalyptus spray and give it a good vacuum. It goes in the washer and dryer once every three or so months also.

 

[dj-gabriele]

Test with painted stains...

see the new thread I just created!

 

[foraloysius]

"Dustmites are okay'

Really Olav, I bet you don't have an allergy for them like I have. For me it's not okay to have them around.

Donprohel:

IMHO water is not part of the formula, provided the laundry is sufficiently wet. Water level etc. is not of influence, a dustmite will not notice how high the water level is.

 

[rapunzel]

"For me it's not okay to have them around."

Sorry to hear that you are allergic to them. Since dust mites are so ubiquitous around humans how do you manage your allergy? Theoretically in your case that would mean no carpeting, drapes, minimal furniture, daily floor washing, etc. and what about when you are at work or visiting friends?

 

[foraloysius]

Exactly, hard floors, no curtains or washable ones etc. There is one office in my organisation where I can't work. The other ones are OK. After all I get medication. One friend I can't visit. It's either the carpets with dustmites or some mold or fungus I am allergic to. Besides that I'm very allergic to guinea pigs too. A friend of mine had them, she had to put on clean clothes before she came over, otherwise I would get a rather serious asthma attack.

Sorry for hijacking the thread. Now really back to cold water washing!

 

[pierreandreply4]

i think its wrong to wash everything in hot water

Me in my point i think its wrong to wash everything in hot water everything gets Perfecly clean when wash in cold water and you also need to know that not all fabrics can take hot water i have some bed sheets and the care label say that my bed sheets must be cold water wash only.

 

[foraloysius]

It's nonsense that bed linens can be washed in cold water only. If you're sleeping in them, they reach already the same temperature as washing in warm water. And I bet they don't shrink or discolor from sleeping in them!

I bet your bed linens are still full of dustmites when you have washed them in cold water!

 

[pierreandreply4]

not necesaraly it was even indicated on the package when i bought them wash in cold water only with no bleach and i wash my summer bed sheets in warm water and the hot water cause them to lose there color already and i will always respect what the care label say if it say wash in cold water i will

 

[aquarius1984]

I think

pierre needs to learn some reality.

Maufacturers of fabrics and garments simply tell you to wash in cold to cover their own butts. Its all about everybody sueing everybody when something goes wrong and its a case of removing as many risks as possible even if they dont exist.

Fabrics will lose colours over time anyway and warm or hot washes dont accelerate this any more than a cold wash in my experience. I tend to wash denims at 60*c these days and dont have faded denim.

Cold water is not suitable is the top and bottom results. Fabrics remain greasy, dirty and unhygienic and they seem to wear out faster as the fabrics never relax. Warm water relaxes fabrics cottons and synthetics especially and they become stronger in warm conditions aiding laundering.

Cotton in cold water becomes weak as the fibres are tense and more prone to damage in machine conditions IIRC.

Pierre wouldnt wash his hands in cold water after he has wiped his bottom so why would anyone want to wash their underwear in cold water thats been in damp warm conditions for hours everyday?

I have some very cheap white t shirts I wear as vests and Ive had most of them for 5 years or more, over the years boil washing has slightly shrunk (NOT MUCH) them and brought the weave of the fabric closer. Whether the cotton has swollen in the high temps I dont know but what I do see is that I now have t shirts that feel the same quality as much more expensive ones. In this case boil washing has made the life of the t shirts much longer.

 

[pierreandreply4]

little story read well because i will not repeat it

here is a little story so you better read well

Around 1998 after the big ice storm that happen in canada my home water heater failed and needed to be replace so for 2 weeks i had to wash myself in cold water hands included and i even had to hand wash some dishes in cold water could not use my dish washer and this is my final post since you do not went to understand and you need to know this what will you do if in the near future washers where waterless that means no hot water temp warm or cold and no water heaters in washers so do try to answer this ummmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[aquarius1984]

I dont need to answer it because you make no sense whatsoever.

Waterless machines are decades away if they ever do make the market. and you dont need water to heat in order to sterilize things or remove bacteria.
Its just more convinient to use water in a washer. Radiation and other forms of bacteria control are not that convinient for home laundering so when you have other solutions that back up your waterless theory/fantasy/pointproving ya ya ya come back but until then you need to go learn more.

 

[thomasortega]

Cold x hot water x shrinking x color fading, etc

You're both right!

Some fabrics work better on cold water, others clean much better on hot.
Some of them will last longer with hot water, some other can be severely damaged with it.

Do you really need to start punching each other only because of it?

And about washing without water... well, maybe it can be real.. why not?
But considering there's that magical word -MONEY- in the game, why spend it making a machine that wash without water if consumers still have water to spend?

And about dustmites... well... nobody likes them, of course. Lots of people are allergic to them (perfectly understandable) but I'm sure nobody in this world is so allergic that 100% of the should be killed.

A good mechanical action, even on cold water, may not kill the dustmites, but can simply flush them. plus the dryer can make some other fly away from clothes...

Otherwise, here in Brazil people that are allergic to dustmites would have died. Remember? no HOT water and 99% of the population never used a clothes dryer.