The Cool Wash Temperature

[gelaundry4ever]

chetlaham

I've had to wash sturdy cotton colors on the warm setting during winter because water would be cold nearly freezing. When I use the warm temp at the time, it feels like what cold would be during the summer time.

 

[Chetlaham]

Jerome, I know what you mean! I've had the same experience. Cold is freezing in winter, and with a 30/70 mixing valve and a water heater setting around 140*F, warm is on the cool side during winter. In the summer, warm is near very warm.

 

 

That is why I wish I had warm/warm and hot/warm options on my machine. Cold water is to cold in the winter to rinse, while being ideal in the summer months. 

 

Warm in the winter feels like tap cold in the summer.

 

[combo52]

Wash water temperatures at our house

I can’t recall ever setting the temperature control on any washing machine I have for anything but hot, my gas water heater said it about 130° or so, when you run that into a high efficiency front load washer, you get a nice warm wash Works beautifully. The only machine I’ve ever set cooler is the whirlpool resource saver which gives you a maximum temperature of 100°F on the normal cycle when I run this machine with a load of colored things the water is dumped into the 74 lady Kenmore next to it And a load of very dark colored things is washed again in the same water. These are the only two top loading machines I use on a regular basis.

The thing I do love about winter and the cold water. I’m sure it gets down in the low 40s here is how wonderfully it rinses and the clothing comes out smelling so fresh I do find on the front load machine when it gets thoroughly warmed up with the hot water that even the final rinse water isn’t ice cold because the hangover heat, I guess.

If it didn’t cost so much money, I’d probably put in a refrigeration unit to cool the water for rinsing in the summertime. The cold water just breaks down any suds very quickly and rinses it away very effectively.

John L

 

[niclonnic]

At my house...

My old Frigidaire TL had both cold and cool temperature settings, in addition to the standard warm and hot. Whereas the "cold" setting simply added cold water from the tap without any heat, the "cool" option added in a small amount of warm water. Presumably, the latter setting is intended to activate the detergent (pods in particular) and improve the washing performance. However, I generally avoid using cold water for laundry, except when washing delicate items or those with dog urine stains.

My tankless water heater is set to 120°F, which is the highest it can legitimately go. The big downside is that this heater takes as long as a full minute to heat up water, no matter where I am in the house. This was not a big deal with the TL, since it filled continuously. However, this poses a problem with my new GE FL. Since that washer uses significantly less water than the old one, it logically means that hot water is unable to reach the machine in time. And having the laundry room upstairs exacerbates the problem.

To counteract this, I have devised a workaround by running hot water from any faucet until it gets hot enough, such as from my bathroom faucet. Doing this purges the pipes of cold water, thereby allowing hot water to get into the washer much quicker.

In general, I use the following temperatures for my laundry routine:

- Everyday laundry (darks, colors and jeans): Warm
- Bedding (sheets, pillowcases and blankets): Warm
- Towels and whites: Hot
- Heavily soiled items contaminated with bacteria and/or allergens: Extra Hot (I use the Sanitize + Allergen cycle judiciously)

 

[combo52]

Proper wash temps

Reply number 33, hi Nick I would try using the hot setting for everything in that washer and yes, it’s a great idea to run a hot water at a nearby faucet before you start the washer.

I will be surprised if you get much above 100° in the machine on hot in this situation which is plenty hot enough for good cleaning But I wouldn’t bother with the warm setting or the cool setting on that washer and I can’t imagine that even 100° water will be bad for getting dog urine out of clothing. It’s not hot enough to really set things.

John

 

[Chetlaham]

Hot Fills

I like the way you think! Hot fill are wonderful in front loads, giving a nice warm wash.

 

 

I personally prefer a warm rinse in the winter. I think the reason you're getting less suds on winter cold is because the fabric isn't relaxed enough to release the extra carry over water from the wash. Though, in theory, that might be less of an issue because the resource saver forces water through the clothes while allowing them to absorb and then release water each spray cycle. 

 

 

I wouldn't mind having such a washer, or at least one that used a series of spray rinses instead of a deep rinse. The final two sprays could be warm to make the fabric more comfortable out of the wash and to speed up drying. Spray rinsing would simplify top load washers a good deal and save a lot of energy in relation to warm rinsing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[panasonicvac]

I'm sure I've said this before but I mainly use warm wash for colors (hot if it's really dirty) and hot for whites, I rarely use cool or cold wash. The only times I'd use cold wash is whenever I'd wash out vacuum bags or filters, I've actually noticed a difference and concluded that cold wash is better for that situation. My Kenmore has a cold and warm rinse setting, I can't notice the difference between the two so I just stick with cold rinse.

 

[johnb300m]

I’ll just note that depending on the model, when Hot is selected for front loaders, it’s not uncommon to get a cold or warm fill at first. And then its internal heater takes it the rest of the way. Often higher than 100F. Just fyi.

 

[littlegreeny]

My tap water comes from Lake Michigan which is currently around 34F. My tap water is in the 40s. I don't know why some folks need to be so mean...