Cold Washing your Laundry

Test with cold wash results.

Very successful,didnt need to do an extra rinse.
Will see how it feels tomorrow during wearing.

I never knew that about bed linen.
I must have a severe case of dust mites as I usually only wash at 40 degrees!!!!

My test wash is all dry now and there is definately no smell of the washing liquid.

Obviously this cold wash will not be suitable for all your washing,but I think we wash everything so much nowadays that it will be fine for socks,t shirts etc.

What with this and cutting down on boiling my kettle every half hour,scottish power will be round to see if I have bypassed their metre.

Hi Guys

I'm a new poster to this site but have been lurking around for months. Finally time to make my contribution!

I have been cold washing most of my laundry for years! I have a inexpensive Hotpoint which has a cold wash option but is connected to both hot & cold. I do everything except very heavily soiled stuff on a cold wash, including linen & hubbys sweaty work clothes & everything comes out sparkling clean & fresh. I use the minimum washing powder I can get away with & add 2 capfuls of white vinegar to the softner cycle which not only softens clothes (yes, really) , it also deodorises & kills bacteria, as well as making sure my machine doesn't clog up with limescale. Much cheaper & freindlier to the enviroment plus the added bonus that neither of us are allergic to the vinegar, as we are to many softeners. Vinegar is a natuaral antiseptic & can be used on loads of things & the smell disapears when it dries so you don't go around reeking like a fish & chip shop!

The agitation of the water acts as the biggest soil remover in a washing machine & the vinegar gives the antiseptic properties to kill the harmful germs.

I only use a hot wash if something is heavily stained, although often I can avoid this by soaking the item in hot water & a stain remover first.

I would definately recommend it if you have a cold water option, or at least dropping to the lowest temp your machine offers.

Slightly off topic but this thread reminded me of something.

My Mum used to live in a housing block where she had unlimited hot water included in the rent. She really wanted a machine that would just take in "free" hot water and wash with that, but all she could find was a machine that filled with cold and heated the water with expensive electricity :-/

I reckon a machine that doesn't heat the water would be a real boon to anyone who gets their water for free (some council housing blocks have communal boilers).

Mind you, if I had bottomless hot water I'd probably do the washing in the bath!

disolve your powder in some hot water in a jug then pour it into the machine
add some borax that will bring everythng up nice and clean

then about once a month give your whites a zap on the hot wash