View Full Version : Hot water/cold water washing (laundering).
Where do you draw the line? Do you launder using different temps, or do you use one temp only? Cold or hot?
Since the dawn of time I've laundered using a mixed temp scale depending on what exactly I'm washing. For instance, bedding, towels, panties/underwear, and socks, (always hot water), colours, such as jeans, tops, etc, (warm or cold), depending on the level of soil-ness.
I use warm water for most things, but co-worker keeps telling me that I need to use cold on everything........
I use cold for everything, haven't noticed any issues. :+1:
Cold water on everything. I really don't sort... just do a "Well, these are mainly white and/or light colors". However, if I only have enough clothes for one load, I don't care what color they are, they all go in. :-) Cold water all the way.
Cold for everything except whites - and then I use hot and a little extra Borax. I have teenage boys - need all the help I can get to get their socks sort of white again.
early morning
9-3-11, 7:55pm
Cold water, almost always. Hot water costs more, and is harder on clothes, at least colored clothing. If something is very dirty or has a spot, I'll scrub it with bar soap first. Float On - I borrowed my cousin's solution to grungy white socks - the lightest sock color she would purchase was gray. Hey, if they aren't white to start with, you don't have to worry about keeping them that way! ;)
That's the one downfall of my current washing machine. It has a "cold wash" that is very short that is designed for delicate stuff. We don't' have delicate stuff. Otherwise, I'd use cold most of the time.
This was something I should have put on the "specs" list. I sent DH to the store to buy a washing machine since I thought that they were all pretty much alike. I told him that I wanted a medium+ capacity (for dog laundry) and didn't care about the rest because I assumed that I could set the water temperature with any standard washing machine.
Not.
I use cold water for everything except towels. I used to use it for towels until I read a true crime story where an important piece of evidence against the female killer was that she had washed the towels in cold water - presumably to remove her husband's blood stains, and the detectives noted that NOBODY washes their towels in cold water! And after that, I always used hot water for my towel loads.
Silly, but true!
I use cold almost exclusively. Every now and then I use hot for whites but don't notice a difference. For heavily soiled whites, like the socks I wear while trail hiking/running I will pre-soak with a little bleach.
I use only cold water on clothes. I will use warm/hot on sheets, bath towels, and dish towels.
Using cold also allows me to put older dark items in with light colored things.
Cold wash cold rinse except for bedding & bath towels. Hot wash cold rinse for them. Line dry as long as possible!
I use cold water for almost everything in the summer, with an occasional warm load if there's a pile of really dirty stuff.
In the winter, though, our cold water is *really* cold, plus I can't line dry outside in the sun where the UV can help to kill bacteria. So I use warm water for some loads then, occasionally hot.
Sad Eyed Lady
9-4-11, 9:29am
Most always cold. Rarely I may use hot when washing something I think needs it, but not often at all.
I'm a mixed-temp launderer. I use cold on darks, and some other things, warm on lightly soiled light clothes, including sheets and towels, and hot (rarely) when I really need cleaning power on whites.
My DH drives me crazy because he uses hot on everything--and then he can't figure out why his black and navy shirts fade very quickly. He's banned from washing my black yoga pants!!
Oh goody! Lots of replies. Thanks you guys. I overlooked mentioning high-efficiency washing machines in my post. Is everyone here using high-efficiency washing machines in your homes?
The closer I get to owning a HE washer/dryer, the more I wonder about my old ways and if I'm going to have to alter or make changes in the way I do laundry once I get my new modern set. (HE washing machine versus my old-fashioned agitator- top loading washing machine).
Blackdog Lin
9-4-11, 10:39am
I switched to cold-only washing years ago, when I first began my SL journey. I also at the same time dramatically decreased my use of laundry detergent, to only 1-3 tbs. per load. And I've noticed absolutely no difference in how my laundry comes out of the washer.
While we're on this topic, a related question:
We got flooded here in NJ, and as a result, we're now washing/rewashing clothes that were in the basement--quite a few loads, actually, DH is manning that effort--because he's willing, and he's faster than I am, I'm not going to nit-pick--I'm grateful for his involvement!
But as he's bringing up warm clothes from the dryer for me to fold, I notice the clothes he washes/dries always come out MUCH more crushed and wrinkled than mine do... even if he takes them out of the dryer while they're just warm
I wonder why? Anyone have any idea? Is he packing the dryer too full? Does a warm water rinse make things wrinkled?? It puzzles me--if we weren't in this flood recovery mode I'd be annoyed because I'd have to iron everything (these clothes are REALLY crushed). But given the circumstances, I'm simply curious.
My repair man told me that powdered clothes detergents are made to only dissolve in warm or hot water, not cold. So I use warm to wash and cold to rinse. My machine doesn't give me a choice for rinsing.......its always cold. My warm water is barely warm, so I don't feel like I'm using too much more energy. If I don't use warm, then I tend to have undissolved soap on my clothes.
Oh....I do use hot for towels and underware.
I also only use a very small amount of liquid laundry detergent. Everything except towels and sheets is dried on extra low.
I wash everything in cold but... I soak underwear, hand towels, face cloths etc in a hot water and washing soda mix first and then add to the wash load. I only do a white, a dark and a linen load a week with hand washables every 2-3 weeks. This has worked very well for me. I use just a 1/4 cup of liquid detergent for the top-loading machine and vinegar for softener. I use the dryer only about 1-2 times a year because I either line-dry outside or dry on racks downstairs when the fire in the air-tight stove is warming the house. This drying system has worked for about 20 years adding moisture in winter when needed.
Last week we added a softener as part of our water purification system and I may go back to the homemade detergent as I liked it but the 7-8 grains of hardness left a film before. The homemade version should be fine to use now.
early morning
9-4-11, 6:01pm
To your second question, Mrs. M - I have a plain-jane top loader - the very bottom whirlpool. It's so bottom that they don't even put their brand on it - it's called a Roper. It has worked for us for about 10 years now, and I have no plans to upgrade. It washes and spins, allows me to set water levels (to 3 pre-sets, *sigh*) and select water temps. It has several cycles (delicate, perma press, normal, heavy) and I always default to heavy. I use very inexpensive liquid detergent, too. I look longingly at the front loaders, and then think about all the people I know who have had washer trouble while washing. All that water - where does it go if you have to remove your laundry because the machine broke mid-cycle??
I have an old one too. Its a Maytag washer and dryer and I bought it in l979 and its still going strong. One service guy tried to tell me the washer was kaput.......but he was just stupid. Got a new part and it was back in business. I hope it lasts until I'm gone.
also have a "Roper". It has really been a good machine. Got it about 12 years ago.
Blackdog Lin. I have tried so hard to make the switch to cold water washing (for everything), but just can't... But boy how I envy those like yourself who do. Great job.
Catherine. Hmmm..., Re: the wrinkles, two things come to mind. First thing being, possibly over-filling the washing machine beyond it's comfortable capacity, second thing being, the heat setting of your dryer is set too high. I keep my dryer (heat setting) set to medium, and I never have any problems with wrinkling. I know different dryers produce different heat output, but if yours is on high (or higher), try scaling it back a notch (or two) and see how that works.
P.S. When I was still doing diapers, occasionally, a pair of rubber pants would elude inspection and go through a complete drying cycle in the tumble dryer with a load of diapers, yet not once did they ever melt. Drying time for an average load/size of laundry in my dryer is roughly 50-60 minutes.
CathyA. I know how it is, I too cannot seem to get past using hot water for the likes of towels, bedding, undies, socks, etc. It really is a hang-up of mine.
Tradd. I'm a firm believer in the old adage, "more is not better". Unless clothes are extremely soiled and dirty, I see no reason why anything more than a dash is needed.
Razz. I like the sounds of your soak method. Will be giving that a go.
Early Morning. I too worry about new modern technology related to washing machines/dryers. Everything electronic, push-button, fancy lights and all. At least with my old washer there isn't much to go wrong, but my washer has reached it's end. It's thrashed, and there's no doubt, laundering the estimated 60,000 plus diapers I put my six kids through definitely didn't help. ROTFLMAO!
P.S. My washing machine has only 3 water level settings too! And, 3 temperature settings. Must be indicative of the old top-loader machines.
CathyA. My washing machine (and dryer) have been fixed and repaired so many times it's unreal! LMAO! Bummer part of all the breakdowns, I had to go to the laundromat. Absolutely HATED that!
Tenngal. One thing I've learned about consumer goods is, some of the least expensive (least fancy) things turn out to be the best things.
Mrs-M--That makes sense, because he does everything in extremes, and I do everything in moderation (opposites DO attract). Ergo, the hot hot water, which might also mean hot hot dryer heat. I don't like over-heating my clothes at all--as my frugal Scottish MIL used to tell me, it makes the clothes wear out faster--she used to point out that all the lint in the lint-catcher is nothing more than your clothes disintegrating slowly.
I'll check the settings--and I'm not going to tell him ;)
Catherine. Indeed, it's a fact that high heat settings related to electric tumble dyers damages fabrics and fibres, also, extended drying times do the same. Very damaging... Bingo! There is the possible third thing related to your wrinkle problem, extended drying times. Do keep an eye on that.
We usually take clothing out before its dry and hang it up to finish drying........otherwise, I'd have to IRON it!!! I'll do anything to avoid that!
CathyA. Even though I LOVE ironing, I still appreciate straighter and less wrinkled clothing to start. Makes the job that much more easy.
Laundry soap is designed to loosen the dirt so the water can carry it away. Using more will not make it work any better (I was 'educated' by a retired chemist that helped develop products such as laundry soap) so I quit using more..and more...
I wash in cold only, and most of the time, use a soak cycle on my machine. I use homemade liquid laundry soap, adding some Borax to the white/light load sometimes. The first time I used the soak cycle, I was shocked at how much whiter the socks were! If you're into saving power, use the soak and the shortest wash time that you can set on your washer (plus cold wash/cold rinse, of course). Our water is really hard, too, but I have never seen granules of borax on the clothes. But because of the hard water, that's why I use liquid soap, too.
I used white vinegar instead of fabric softener for a long time, but recently bought a jug of el cheapo store brand stuff as I missed the nice smell, you know? So now I can get my 'sniff fix' whenever I want. I also use it for other stuff, like homemade anti static dusting spray (homemade Endust) and put a dribble into a spray bottle filled with water. When I have left a load in the dryer too long, I hang the shirts up on hangers, then give them a mist of this mix to relax the wrinkles.
I have a friend that swears if you use the perma press cycle on your dryer (it has a cool down cycle at the end), your clothes will not be nearly as wrinkled if you let them sit in the dryer.
My favorite washer/dryer combo is the one I have now. Fisher Paykel, uses less water, spins clothes so dry you could take a towel from the washer and dry off with it. First time EVER that a load of jeans was dry at the same time the washer finished on a regular wash cycle.
My daughter has a new set of HE. She said you can't add something after it's started, less clothes per load, gets a stinky smell every so often because of some water left somewhere in there at the end of each cycle. I'll never buy one...good looks doesn't mean that it performs any better. JMO
Great post Marianne! Lots of super-duper info. Love the soak idea. For everyday stains in our house, I treat the stained area with a little stain release, then let the item sit in the washing machine (no water/detergent) for 20-30 before starting the wash cycle.
Re: white vinegar, one of my very favourites! Have been using white vinegar for many years in my home. Great for extracting residual soap residue from fabrics, and great as a softener. (Haven't used actual store-bought fabric softener in ages).
Great tip on using the perma-press drying cycle! Makes perfect sense. As far as the new/modern washing machines and dryers go, i.e. specifically the washers, I worry and have reservations over the many reports I read about and hear about related to smelly and moldy rubber seals. That, I can do without. If it weren't for the fact my current washing machine is thrashed, I would continue onward with my old. Love the simplicity and ease of old-fashioned top-loading washing machines!!! Such a saving grace when it came to washing diapers!
Bump.
Catherine. Was just thinking about you and your wrinkle problem. Have you had a chance to experiment a little to remedy?
I make homemade powder detergent, so I pour some in first, run enough warm water just to dissolve it, and then switch to cold water as I fill the washing machine up with clothes.
Oops, didn't see that you bumped it to discuss the wrinkle problem.
Oh heck, Stacy, I bumped this thread topic just so all of us could talk more about doing laundry and stuff! :) Any/all conversation always welcome on my threads!
P.S. Re: powdered detergent, I used to do the same. i.e. Add detergent to washing machine drum, turn on water, allow to fill and agitate for a few moments, then add laundry. I switched to liquid detergent 2-3 years ago and really like it. Does your homemade powdered detergent recipe dissolve quickly and efficiently?
janharker
10-10-11, 8:43pm
I have an HE front loader. I use cold water for almost everything. Well, except when I have had infants/toddlers visiting. Their bedding gets hot. I can stop the washer and add things once the cycle has started, even though it's a front loader. I just pause it, let it drip for a few seconds, then open the door and toss things in. In my experience, warm/hot water sets stains that have oil/fat. So tablecloths and napkins do not get hot water. I use Oxyclean along with my normal Tide HE when I feel like things need an extra boost of cleaning power. We have a septic tank, so always liguid.
Janharker. I'm so envious (and jealous) of your HE front-loading washing machine! I absolutely love, love, love the look of them!!! Never thought of the Oxyclean idea, but I like it. Do you find it to be a good substitute for a splash of bleach?
The first time I used the soak cycle, I was shocked at how much whiter the socks were! If you're into saving power, use the soak and the shortest wash time that you can set on your washer (plus cold wash/cold rinse, of course). Our water is really hard, too, but I have never seen granules of borax on the clothes. But because of the hard water, that's why I use liquid soap, too.
Marianne- Thanks for the tip- I'll try that next time I do whites. My whites end up not very white over time. When I stopped using bleach, I resigned myself to the idea that there was not much I could do about it. Of course, I'm kinda lazy and didn't try too hard to figure it out.
Re: powdered detergent, I used to do the same. i.e. Add detergent to washing machine drum, turn on water, allow to fill and agitate for a few moments, then add laundry. I switched to liquid detergent 2-3 years ago and really like it. Does your homemade powdered detergent recipe dissolve quickly and efficiently?
I switched away from liquid detergent because of the plastic jugs, and I didn't like the fact I was paying for so much water mixed in. I've only been making my homemade detergent continuously for a few months, but I'll also buy powdered detergent with no dyes/perfumes if I'm out and I need it right away. It dissolves completely by the time the water pouring in covers it.
I wash most things in cold water except dish towels. Occasionally I have reason to wash something else in hot. When I cloth diapered I did the diapers in hot water.
Since my first load back when we beat the clothes on the rocks next to the stream, I've always done lights and darks separately. Now that I only used cold water, am I getting it right that it's ok to do them together?
Stacy. It's high time I started making my own homemade laundry detergent, too. The plastic bottles bother me, too. I'm 99.9% sure, one of the areas where I was running into difficulties related to powdered detergent, i.e. chalky reside left behind, was the age/condition of my washing machine. It's so old and worn out... Definitely time for a replacement.
Stella. Dishtowels, towels, underwear, and diapers, always hot. As picky and thorough as I was about rinsing diapers, somehow, using anything but hot water to launder them in never sat well with me, so automatic hot water it always was for that. Hot water IMO means disinfecting/sanitary/extraction.
Rogar. You're talking to a real fuddy-duddy when it comes to mixing laundry, so even though I'm aware there are people who do mix washables, I'm still 100% (totally) against it. With cold water washing you probably can get away with mixing, with no considerable/noticeable results, I will continue to rule against it. IMO, when one launders whites with whites, colours with colours, one gets to enjoy the benefits of rich clean colours afterwards, and as far as I'm concerned, if one is a stickler for whites being white, you just can't get that with mixing colours in with a white wash.
I wash everything at 30C (warm, I suppose) or 40C for things with stains and whites. I find that cold washes leave the clothes smelling mouldy. We don't have a dryer, so we hang up everything inside to dry. A house smelling like mould is no fun.
When I tried using only cold consistently, my clothes smelled stale afterwards (I line dry in a very clean climate (Santa Fe, NM). So now I use hot but hate doing that, so want to mix, some washes cold, some hot--not due to color but to smell of freshness.
Float On
10-14-11, 11:02am
Today I actually washed a load of color clothes in hot......because I caught the dog sleeping in that laundry basket! TomDog may be finding himself getting reacquainted with those things out in the yard called a kennel and a doghouse. And I may actually run the clothes through the wash a 2nd time.
Mira and Larknm. Yes, excellent point Re: mouldy musky stale odour consistent with regular cold water laundering. I know I'm fussy and a stickler for all things proper and done right, but I do know a couple of homemakers who launder in cold (all the time) and they never mention anything pertaining to odour.
Even using hot water to launder towels, I still have to add bleach at intervals (once or twice a month) to keep things smelling clean and fresh.
Years ago (I'm not sure whether or not they still make it or not), but I used a product called, Gal Friday. It was a wonderfully scented wash agent/stain remover that left all things laundered smelling fabulously clean and fresh! It was a liquid, pink in colour (if I remember correctly). Thought I'd mention it for anyone battling sour odour.
I'm really fortunate in that I have a porch that has windows on all three sides, so whenever I dry indoors (wooden drying rack), I can crack a window on each side of the room to help flush out moisture and keep the room fresh.
Float On. That would drive me mad! :) How about a special laundry basket just for your dog?
Mrs-M I think he was mad at me because I'd washed everything in and including the cover of his bed - took his comfy doggy smell and replaced it with fresh lavender clean stuff and gave him a bath. He gets back at me by going out in the yard and rolling in the dirt and then sleeping in my laundry basket. Bad TomDog Bad!
domestic goddess
10-14-11, 1:44pm
Our washer and dryer are older models, and I'm not quite sure what we will do when it is time to replace them. Tide makes a product to clean your HE washer, don't know why you couldn't just run a cycle with a little laundry detergent or vinegar instead.There has to be some sort of substitute for yet another product!
I generally use cold for all clothing, except dsil's clothes. He does construction, so they are often really filthy! I don't even sort my own clothing, as it is all so old nothing could possibly fade or shrink. I use a very small amount of detergent; sometimes only about a tablespoon, depending on load size and level of dirt.
What really drives me nuts around here is that everyone but me uses a bath towel once, and then puts it in the dirty clothes. If you wipe clean water off a clean body with a clean towel, how is it getting so dirty you can't re-use it? I re-use mine, and keep it in my bedroom between showers.
Float On, I never had a dog get into the laundry basket! Cats, yes, dogs, no. Maybe our dogs were too big, I don't know.
Float On. Well, the sly little devil! Although we don't have any animals I can't help but think that some dogs/cats are just like children.
DG. Re: HE washing machines and the cleaning of them with a specialty product, ugh. I second your vinegar suggestion. Even a hot water cycle with a dash of bleach added.
IMO, when one launders whites with whites, colours with colours, one gets to enjoy the benefits of rich clean colours afterwards, and as far as I'm concerned, if one is a stickler for whites being white, you just can't get that with mixing colours in with a white wash.
Ah Hah! So that would explain why my whites are never very white. I do only wash them with other light colors, but we simply don't have enough white clothes to make a full load of whites only.
Originally posted by Stacy.
but we simply don't have enough white clothes to make a full load of whites only.A definite deterrent. How about adjusting the load setting on the washing machine and running a half or even 1/4 load? I'm thinking you could do the partial/reduced load method for important white things.
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