30 degree wash

I am trying to find ways of cutting the gas and electricity we are using (got a car load of FREE logs today!!):j

At the moment I am using one washing tablet (Asda's own bio) and half a cup of washing soda in each wash at 40 degrees with good results. Has anyone tried this at 30 degrees?

Also the only 30 degree programme on my machine has a slow spin, so I would then need to put each wash through a fast spin too. Do you think that would cancel out the savings I could make on a 30 degree wash?

Any thoughts?
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Comments

  • Can you not run your machine on rinse hold then run the faster spin?

    I've never run anything on 30 except items I REALLy didn't want to fade. I never thought it was good for washing after our chemistry teacher taught us that a lot of reactions are at the very least linear, and often exponentialy related to temp, so I didn't think they would be that good at 30. But having seen the adverts recently for energy saving I think I will try it for lightly soiled washes.
  • tru
    tru Posts: 9,138
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    I use about a third of the amount (at the very most - it's usually less) of washing powder, with no washing soda at 20 or 30 degrees, no problem.

    How slow is the slow spin? I use 400 or 800 spin, that way there's hardly any ironing to do :D
    Bulletproof
  • Beamish
    Beamish Posts: 284 Forumite
    bizzylizzy wrote:
    I am trying to find ways of cutting the gas and electricity we are using (got a car load of FREE logs today!!):j

    At the moment I am using one washing tablet (Asda's own bio) and half a cup of washing soda in each wash at 40 degrees with good results. Has anyone tried this at 30 degrees?

    Also the only 30 degree programme on my machine has a slow spin, so I would then need to put each wash through a fast spin too. Do you think that would cancel out the savings I could make on a 30 degree wash?

    Any thoughts?

    Funny enough I saw a T.V advert last night for a soap poweder that washes clean on 30 degrees wash, I made the comment that I did not think 30 deg would be hot enough to get out the dirt and stains, like you I wash on 40 deg for a daily wash and if I have something stained I spray some vanish on first, this works for me, also if its whites only I add some soda crystals.

    I think that you would cancel out any savings if you had to respin the wash.

    Is there any other way you could make savings i.e. turn thermostats down a tadge, leave airing cupboard door open ajar to heat upstairs, if you have a cold kitchen to get up to in the morning put some water into the slow cooker/or porridge and leave it on slow overnight, this makes the kitchen lovley and warm when you get up, put a curtain over the front door if its draughty, check to see if your Electricity Board do a cheap overnight rate, ours does, so I set the washing machine, breadmaker and slow cooker to all come on at 1 a.m., my DH would have us all up and showering at 3 a.m. if he could:rolleyes: I also turn the central heating off overnight and time it to come back on at 7 a.m. but meanwhile put the immersion on to heat up the hot water on cheap overnight rate electricity, you could always ask a Customer Home Service Rep to come and have a chat with you about making savings.

    Hope this helps

    Beem
    Please pull my nightie down when you have finished
  • bizzylizzy
    bizzylizzy Posts: 642
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    troo wrote:
    I use about a third of the amount (at the very most - it's usually less) of washing powder, with no washing soda at 20 or 30 degrees, no problem.

    How slow is the slow spin? I use 400 or 800 spin, that way there's hardly any ironing to do :D


    I'm not sure how slow the spin is (normal is 1000) but I don't want it too wet as it will take even longer to dry in the winter, I drape it round the house if it is raining.
  • bizzylizzy
    bizzylizzy Posts: 642
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    Beamish wrote:
    Funny enough I saw a T.V advert last night for a soap poweder that washes clean on 30 degrees wash, I made the comment that I did not think 30 deg would be hot enough to get out the dirt and stains, like you I wash on 40 deg for a daily wash and if I have something stained I spray some vanish on first, this works for me, also if its whites only I add some soda crystals.

    I think that you would cancel out any savings if you had to respin the wash.

    Is there any other way you could make savings i.e. turn thermostats down a tadge, leave airing cupboard door open ajar to heat upstairs, if you have a cold kitchen to get up to in the morning put some water into the slow cooker/or porridge and leave it on slow overnight, this makes the kitchen lovley and warm when you get up, put a curtain over the front door if its draughty, check to see if your Electricity Board do a cheap overnight rate, ours does, so I set the washing machine, breadmaker and slow cooker to all come on at 1 a.m., my DH would have us all up and showering at 3 a.m. if he could:rolleyes: I also turn the central heating off overnight and time it to come back on at 7 a.m. but meanwhile put the immersion on to heat up the hot water on cheap overnight rate electricity, you could always ask a Customer Home Service Rep to come and have a chat with you about making savings.

    Hope this helps

    Beem

    Thank you for all those ideas, I will look into overnight electricity - I have just switched my supplier today so will wait to find out what they offer. I will put a curtain over the front door asap too. I have a slow cooker and tried porridge in it overnight once but it was HORRIBLE! Casseroles and rice puddings have come out well though. We have an open fire and we're collecting as much wood as we can to use when the weather turns cold. Nice and cosy too!:)
  • Volcano
    Volcano Posts: 1,116 Forumite
    Considering the nutters on here that think 'eco-balls' work (i.e. they are getting good results with water only and NO detergent) then 30 degrees with washing powder is ample for the bulk of your washing.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,076
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    I wash at least half of my washing with no heat at all. Saying that, my family doesnt get their clothes really grubby. I also use washing powder, which works out more economical than tablets. I put the powder in the drum before the clothes which stops it clogging up in the drawer.
  • wigginsmum
    wigginsmum Posts: 4,150 Forumite
    I do most of my washing on 30 degrees and it's fine, even mucky allotment clothes. Whites I occasionally do at 90 degrees if they're very grubby and grey. I just use bog-standard bio washing powder.
    The ability of skinny old ladies to carry huge loads is phenomenal. An ant can carry one hundred times its own weight, but there is no known limit to the lifting power of the average tiny eighty-year-old Spanish peasant grandmother.
  • jellycat40
    jellycat40 Posts: 820 Forumite
    I wash everything on my quickwash 30mins 30 degrees but fast spin. I only use a tiny bit of washing powder each time. The free sample you get in the post for one wash does me for 4-5 washes. I don't use conditioner very often either only on my sheets.

    My washing is clean enough, some stuff the stains won't come out no matter what you do. Sunshine is good for getting tomato and turmeric stains out. If the washing doesn't do it hang them in the sunshine they will be gone in a couple of hours.

    Louise
    Nobody is perfect - not even me.
  • Penny_Watcher
    Penny_Watcher Posts: 3,518
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    I always understood (meaning I'm probably wrong:o ) that the enzymes that eat the stains/muck on your clothes work at body temperature. They are afterall "digesting" the proteins, fats etc in the stains.

    Therefore a 40 deg wash should be the optimum temp for the BIO part of your washing powder, 30 deg being to cold to activate it.

    Mind you it's full of all sorts of other chemicals too that I suppose will work at various temperatures.

    You cannot live as I have lived an not end up like me.

    Oi you lot - please :heart:GIVE BLOOD :heart: - you never know when you and yours might need it back! 67 pints so far.
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