30 degree wash

Little_Miss_Saver

Had a new washer/dryer the other day mainly as my old washer would not dissolve the powder and I kept having to rewash the clothes (plus had a few breakdowns recently and as the machine was old figured it would be more economical to replace)
Only used it for a 40degree wash and everything came out fine :T . After reading this thread I might give the 30degree one ago - a little wary as DS clothes get very dirty.
I do a 90degree wash once a week for all the whites, but everything else is washed at 40.
I use a mix of Tesco 2in1 powder and Soda Crystals (tip from here of course!!)

LMS xx

looby-loo_2

cupid_s wrote: »

I don't wash anything below 50° and all towels and sheets are all done at 80°.

But.... at 40° my wash takes 2 and a half hours. If I do a quick wash (at 40°) which takes an hour everything is still dirty no matter how much/what detergent I use. By washing at 50° and above I only ever have to do short washes.

I have often wondered which is best: 1 hour at 50° or 2 and a half hours at 40°. Does anyone know?

I think you can't beat a good soak! I often switch the machine off for half an hour or so once it has filled and washed for a few minutes. Watch when the water is heated so it doesn't heat it twice though as that's not very money saving.

MRSMCAWBER

After seeing this thread, i decided to have a go at doing most of my washing at 30.....and it has been fine...i still need to do hubbies uniform on a good hot wash as he is an army VM....

My machine 30 is a silk wash....so as a bonus - no bashing the heck out of my clothes...
I dont use much wash powder at the moment as i have to add calgon powder as we are in such a hard water area...but i got both calgon and wash powder when i was living in germany so it was soooooooo much cheaper...15Kilo boxes of wash powder worked out at approx £6.50 and the 2.5kilo calgon worked out about £4.50.....so much cheaper than the tablets...i dont think i have ever seen 2.5kilo boxes of calgon here though! im just getting toward the end of my last box of washpowder (it lasts for ages).....and was not looking forward to buying from the supermarket here....but now we have been told we are back off to Germany for 3 years at the end of the month....wooohoooo....and guess who is going to stockpile washpowder for coming home with at the end of 3 years :-)

morganlefay

I was told by my washing machine engineer that for washes under 40 degrees I should use liquid and for over, powder. I use less and less of both liquid and powder now, but I can't get really bad stains (chocolate, cooking fat, gravy etc) out at 30 degrees so I only do OH's shirts at 30 (he's a very clean chap and doesn't sweat much.) I have a constant problem with grease stains on coloured t shirts so sometimes I use more powder, pre-treat with Vanish or Stainslayers and wash at 50 and they still don't always come out which is driving me mad. How would I use Stardrops for treating such stains ? I think washing everything at 30 just isn't possible, much as I'd love to.

mrsmortenharket

ATM darks at 40, lights/towels & sheets at 60.

I will take a tip from here though & stop the machine once its filled to soak the clothes & also put the powder straight in the drum. I would still wash the towels/sheets at 60 though

Lisa

lainey_stardust

Hi , i wash everything at 30 if i can. apart from bedding and towels, as i have a cold fill machine . I have never used the full amount suggested for soap powder and so don't really have any problems with white marks or not dissolving.
I'm going to give soap nuts a try soon too....

Angelraesunshine

well i think i know my problem now for getting the white marks it was too much powder in the wash. I have a big machine and fill it up so i always use a big scoop of powder but i have just done 2 30 quick washes and no marks cos i used less powder.

Mrs_Wossinge

I wash everything on a 30-minute economy wash at 40 degrees, using Ecover liquid.

Incidentally, I recently wrote an article for a trade magazine about chemicals in household cleaning products, and am currently using up the big-name nasties and switching to Ecover/baking soda/lemon juice etc as a result of my research.

skyepark

i wash on the cold setting but sometimes 30 i dont have light coloured thing but there may be a point about washing powders working at diff temps

Danni

I wash everything on a 30 minute 30 degree cycle. It gets all the stains out of my white t shirts so I'm happy (I am a very messy eater). I only use one washing tablet though, rather than 2 it says.