UK article about washing at low temps

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'As for the insinuation of the commercial aspect'

Persil, Nappisan, Dettol, Ecoballs. How does naming these products in the article underpin their supposed research findings, other than making subtle mention of each ones' favorable attributes in relation to the topic?

The article also doesn't really offer much in regards to proper research data to underpin what is mostly presented as a supposition of what 'may' happen if people consistently wash in lower temperatures. What may happen doesn't mean that it will happen and, drawing from personal and collective experiences, is unlikely to happen. The only definitive statement they offer is in regards to dust mites and that hardly constitutes a virulent outbreak of some super bug contamination.

I used to work in a residential care place for seven years. It was classified as a low care facility for the elderly and, thus, did not require commercial grade laundry equipment at that time. We did laundry in regular domestic top loaders using cold water and a commercial grade detergent. Over the years that I worked there we never once had any kind of reportable contagion issue. Nor were we ever required to go into lock down. Whereas nursing homes that were connected to our organization, which used commercial grade front loaders and germicidal laundry protocols, went into lock down for gastric outbreaks at least once a year.

Regarding your idea that a child would be at risk of catching something whilst helping mum with contaminated laundry, it is conceivable, but highly unlikely to about 99.999%. Kids are far more likely to get sick going to the play ground, day care, kindy or their GP's surgery.
 
A little history lesson

And there is something that you need to know and this is a history lesson and thats something i have seen on a french tv show that i use to watch and still watch from time to time in the 1800 way before automatic washers or wringers clothes where wash in a lake or on a scrub board and as you all know the water in a lake is cold and also you need to note that during that era they where no water heaters in homes of this era and no dishwasher so in other word when they wash the dishes sinks at the time did not have hot water they had to wash the family dishes in cold water unless they took the time to heat there water on a woodstove and in regard to laundry you can read everything in this article.

Laundry history 1800s, washing clothes in the 19th century, Victorian and Edwardian laundering

www.oldandinteresting.com www.oldandinteresting.com
 
After reading the article, I come away with the understanding that it says that cold water washing may not be appropriate for some situations. I do not see a blanket statement on cold or hot water washing. When I was in college, I can remember guys first doing their own laundry and they liked the idea of washing everything together in cold as a way to minimize the chances of color transfer and ruining their clothes. No sorting necessary! It was a simple thing they could understand and they didn't want to invest any more thought into the laundry process. They didn't care about dingy socks or undershirts.

I think that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach that is best for all laundry situations. I wash in hot, warm, and cold temps, and use different products for different situations. I don't use bleach for my dark clothes, and don't wash my underwear in cold water, for example. I understand that there are places in the world where people only wash I cold, but I would bet that they have their own "good laundry" practices which may include proper sorting, soaking, a sunny environment where they can hang out the clothes to dry, methods to kill germs in contaminated clothing, or otherwise adjust their laundry process to ensure they don't get sick. It makes more sense to me that the cautionary tale being put forth is for people who don't realize that washing underwear with cloth napkins in cold water is not a good idea, or that washing in cold all the time without taking proper precautions could lead to cross contamination.

I like to wash my towels in hot and to use bleach. But I also hang my towel on a bar to quickly dry after a shower, and can use it for several days without it developing an odor. I have used towels at other people's homes that have an odor in "clean" towels. That means to me that it was not properly washed, dried, or stored. Some people may wash their towels in warm and change their towels after each use, and that may work well for them. But I would think using a towel repeatedly, not letting the damp towel dry after use, and then washing in cold water would allow bacteria to grow in the towel, and would result in a smelly towel.

If I had to wash for a week or two in only cold water, I would be sure to carefully sort my laundry, use bleach to disinfect when necessary, and I wouldn't wash underwear with cloth napkins together.
 
Sorry, but to all those who was in cold water, it's common sense that hot water cleans anything better than cold. Would you wash your dishes in cold water? No. Why? Because it doesn't clean things as easily or hygienicly as hot water.

Body temperature is 37.5 degrees. How can one ever expect all the bacteria caused by sweat and flaking skin cells to be effectively killed and washed away at any temperature lower than that?

pierreandreply4, you asked what one would do in the event of water heater failure. Get a washing machine that has a heat element might be an idea.
 
maybe but not if the washer is a topload model because even if the washer had a heater inside i would not use it and i was tought that washing in cold water is better so i will continue to wash in cold water and if i have to wash my bedsheets it will be in warm water not hot because the max temp my bed sheets can take is eather cold water wash or warm.
 
There's a billion bacteria EVERYwhere. If not right when you wash it, but immediately once you put it on. WASHing dishes is not what makes them clean where they are no longer a growth medium, DRYing is, once washing has removed stuff that would retain water.

I'd more guess that article was written at the behest of the utility companies which would like nothing better than everyone boiling their clothes at electric rates among the highest in the world.

Wasn't there just a huge bacterial outbreak in Germany? Isn't Germany one of those "60C wash" countries? We cook known-contaminated foods (poultry, salmonella; beef, e. coli) to 70C. But we handle it before cooking and that doesn't make us sick. And we don't eat our laundry.
 
The article makes a lot of sense to me.
For example my IKEA polyester shower curtain should not be washed above 40°C according to the care lable.
Well, the thing is, if I do so and even if I use a high quality powdered detergent with a TAED activated oxygen bleaching system, the curtain redevelops that nasty dish rag smell within a week after washing. The only way I can keep it fresh for up to two months regardless what detergent I use is by ironing it after washing. Heat works much better for me than chemicals when it comes to laundry hygiene.
However I am not convinced it would be so dangerous for the average person when washing in cooler temps like stated in the article. For me personally it feels rather icky than dangerous when I think about transferring skid marks onto tea towels and other things in a cooler wash.
By the way the recent bacterial outbreak in Germany has been tracked down to fenugreek sprouts in salads, had nothing to do with laundry hygiene.
 
i would not use it and i was tought that washing in cold wa

have you ever considered that what you were taught is..ya know, WRONG? Or that maybe there is a better way of doing things? I was always taught to wash everything on Non-Fast Coloureds 40, but I certainly never stuck to that once I got older and especially after I moved out of my parents. You're allowed to challenge those who have gone before you. If we didn't, imagine the world we would live in!

"We cook known-contaminated foods (poultry, salmonella; beef, e. coli) to 70C. But we handle it before cooking and that doesn't make us sick"

It does if you don't wash your hands in hot, soapy water!

Mr. Boilwash, I agree completely. I wouldn't say any bacteria on clothes is going to kill you or make you ill. As with anything, if you constantly wash in low temperatures over a period of time it will cause problems and could leave marks on clothes and leave you with a smelly washing machine that's covered in mould. Left for years, this could very well make you ill. Of course I'm not saying "ONE 30 WASH WILL KILL YOU!!" but the effects of prolonged cold-30 washes could indeed make you or family members ill - especially babies, children or anybody vulnerable to such bugs with underlying health issues.
 
High Temperature washing

Lets not forget that washing at high temperatures is not just to make laundry more sanitary, it also makes it a hell of a lot cleaner!

As has been demonstrated in recent threads a hot wash, and preferably a boil wash will leave whites far cleaner and whiter than lower temperatures, particularly when combined with a good quality, biological washing powder with oxygen based bleaching agents.

I'm sure results at lower temperatures may be improved by the use of harsh bleaches, pre-treating, pre-soaking and using detergent boosters, but I for one want to be able to put my washing in the machine, add detergent and have everything come out spotless. I don't have time to mess around checking clothes for stains and pre-treating them, and I don't have the money to buy overpriced detergent boosters!

85-100c for whites, 60c for non-white bed linen and towels, as well as light coloureds and white synthetics, then 40c for dark/bright coloureds and delicate/wool items. Nothing ever has, or ever will be damaged, shrunk or faded by this method in my experience. My laundry will never be washed below 40c thank you very much!

Matt
 
Any washing under 40 degrees Celsius/104 degrees Fahrenheit is banned in our household! It's kinder to the environment for a start, as it prolongs the life of your washer so it doesn't have to be scrapped as quickly. Also, washing at higher temperatures kills bacteria, so your clothes will be more sanitised and you won't have to use harsh chemicals to kill the bacteria. When I question people about washing in cold water, I always talk about why you don't wash dishes in cold water etc. I think that detergent companies/appliance manufacturers are trying to push cold water washing too much and that additives like Vanish/Calgon are not needed with higher temperatures.
 
thank you for your generous contribution to the global warmi

Well I dry my clothes on the line whenever possible...

A clothes dryer uses 5 times the energy that washing at 60c uses, so if I boil my whites then hang them on the line, I still use considerably less energy than you would washing them in cold water then sticking them in the dryer.

But anyway, that's not the point of this thread.

Matt
 
YOU ARE ALL WRONG

...ALL of us? Every single one us? What about all our Mums and grandparents who successfully boiled everything they washed for years? You might need to rethink this "I'm right, you're wrong" business...
 
Iam sorry and i apoligize

maybe not everyone sand for this i am sorry and i apoligize but but for most canadian household electricty is costly where the reason clothes are wash in cold water and when i have dishes to hand wash i use mild hot water and use the dishwasher for the bigger loads.

Ps: and you also need to know that each washing patterns are diffrent when it comes to washing clothes.
 
@ canadian household electricty is costly

Pierre, not at all, over there in Canada electricity is almost free! You should learn some things.

Italian household electricity is THREE times more costly (average Canadian price is 8 eurocents, over here average is 22 eurocents, this translates in 32 Canadian cents per kWh) and commercial can be up to FOUR times more costly but over here nobody is ashamed at washing at 60°C their underwear.
 
Has anyone considered that the average dryer hits 80C, and that it matters not a whit WHERE the clothes reach that temperature, they're just as disinfected once they do?

Yes I wash hands after handling raw meat, mainly to keep from contaminating other foods. What I was saying is, salmonella on your hands doesn't harm you unless it ends up being swallowed. And we don't swallow laundry.

I washed at 100F in my frontloader for 11 years and no, it does NOT smell like mildew. So much for that silly urban laundry legend. I just stuck my nose in it to confirm. It smells like neoprene boot and Tide HE. I DO remove standing water from the boot and dispenser when it's done. Standing water is where mildew comes from.

For your low-temp fabric shower curtain, I suggest 3 drops PREDILUTED iodine in the wash. You ain't smelled clean until you smell iodine wash. But it will stain irreversably if you do not predilute it. Iodine attacks only biotics, not fabrics.
 
Iodine? #2

This, for once, sounds interesting!
Would something like betadine do the trick? Only three drops?
I didn't even ever think about this.
 

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