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Cold Washing your Laundry

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  • cady
    cady Posts: 668 Forumite
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    what difference does cold wash make? will my powder be ok or do i need to buy special powder? can i wash bedding and towels on cold? and how much money does it save?

    thanks cady x
  • rosieben
    rosieben Posts: 5,010 Forumite
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    Link in post #2 here ;)
    ... don't throw the string away. You always need string! :D

    C.R.A.P.R.O.L.L.Z Head Sharpener
  • Penelope_Penguin
    Penelope_Penguin Posts: 17,288 Forumite
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    I'll merge this into the existing thread on cold washing ;)

    Penny. x
    :rudolf: Sheep, pigs, hens and bees on our Teesdale smallholding :rudolf:
  • sandraroffey
    sandraroffey Posts: 1,358 Forumite
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    in the 60s and 70s, when pyramid selling was at its peak, you could buy from one of these schemes, washing powder and washing up powder that worked with cold water. was bio degradeable as well apparently. i used it. it was great.
  • belfastgirl23
    belfastgirl23 Posts: 8,025 Forumite
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    I've been doing my bedclothes on cold wash for a while now on the basis that i iron them anyway so any dust mites etc will surely be killed by that. I have had some problems with powder not dissolving and have been meaning to pick up some liquid wash specifically for this. In terms of cleanliness though, it's worked fine so far, my only problem is that the cold wash on my miele takes about 2 hours whereas the fastest cycle is the 40 deg one :)

    I have not yet been brave enough to do regular clothes in cold wash though, somehow it feels unhygenic to wash your undies in cold water. Anyone else tried it?
  • sinister_nutmeg
    sinister_nutmeg Posts: 39 Forumite
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    I go for 'cold' (my machine's minimum is 30) washing as the default, but use hotter settings if:
    -washing with biological powder to get rid of protein stains, or stubborn fatty ones (the enzymes in most work best at about 40 degrees)
    -washing bedding (I don't iron anything so dust mites and other little creatures might otherwise multiply, and OH is asthmatic)
    -washing towels that get used at the gym or for hand drying (normally wouldn't bother for towels used after person-cleaning)
    -washing cleaning cloths used for germy/mouldy jobs.

    I use a small amount non-bio cheap powder for most washing, since I think it's the agitation in water that does most of the cleaning. I use a tiny amount of fabric conditioner, but none if doing towels.

    The new 30 degree liquid I've seen advertised presumably has enzymes with a lower optimum temperature than the older biological powders, so if you used that you could do away with my first exception. However you might find it good practice to run a hot wash every once in a while, regardless, to keep your washing machine hygienic - fabric conditioner in particular seems to be quite tasty if you're a microbe!
  • nesssie1702
    nesssie1702 Posts: 1,345 Forumite
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    I tend to do my washing on a 40 ºC cycle most of the time, though some things are washed at 30 ºC

    However, I wash bedding, towels and my whites at 60 ºC, normally overnight so I benefit from Economy 7 pricing. My husband's shirts don't smell "clean" in the armpit area if I wash them at anything less than 60 º - can still smell sweat....
  • Patchwork_Quilt
    Patchwork_Quilt Posts: 1,839 Forumite
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    This was extremely interesting, thank you all.

    Might give it a go. I've just moved onto using vinegar as a softener so this is just another step, really
  • bunnygirl007
    bunnygirl007 Posts: 119 Forumite
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    Ariel's new liquid washes @ 30 - I think its really good. Don't know exactly if it save a lot of money though but I try to do all my washing @ 30 unless I feel it needs a hot wash e.g. towels :p
  • Decola
    Decola Posts: 65 Forumite
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    I've been washing everything on cold for two months now in an old automatic Miele, which has a cold setting on delicates. A load takes 55 minutes, so it's pretty thorough.

    I'm currently using Wilkinsons cheap washing powder, but get just as good results with Asda's own powder, as well as Ecover and Aerial liquids.

    When using powder, I put it directly in the drum so that it doesn't clog the dispensing drawer and dissolves better, along with a scoop of washing soda. I thought before trying powder that I'd have to pre-mix it in warm water for it to dissolve, but that's not been necessary.

    Vinegar can be dispensed automatically to replace fabric softener, and the machine set so that the washing sits in the final rinse water until spun manually.

    Leaving the load soaking in the weak vinegar solution for 15 minutes or so softens it better, negating the effects of the hard water here - as does the washing soda in the first wash.

    The machine is clean, does not smell, and laundry results are fine. I've not needed to use a hot wash on anything yet.

    Electricity saved per wash on cold is around .8kwh on a 30c load on my machine.
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