30 degree wash

wigginsmum

You're probably right, Penny - I simply look at whether the stains come out

juliejim

I do most of my washing at 30 deg without any problems.

[Deleted User]

when I was small my mum had to heat a boiler in order to get the washing done for nine of us. She used to soak a lot of the washing overnight in a bath full of cold water. There were no bio powders either and we were all very neatly and cleanly turned out. I should imagine that a lot of her washing was done at 30 or less, once the cold, wet clothes had been added to some hot water. I do remember helping her as i was the oldest and a girl and my hands used to be freezing in and out of the cold water

I should think that modern materials are responsible for holding onto stains as cottons were always cleanable with a lot of elbow grease. I personally have started to wash all my clothes at 30 but I use a stain remover on anything containing artificial fibres or on tough stains eg tomato sauce on white cotton t shirts

I am an ecover/soda user but they have limited use at 30. I now have to mentally balance energy saving v pollutants and so far darks are good at 30 with the ecover mix. Also white cotton sheets. Undies and t shirts are best with a bio at 30

Volcano

New enzyme technology means that they've been developed to work at low temperatures in line with modern delicate fabrics that require lower temperatures themselves. In fact, higher temperatures have a detrimental effect on the enzyme, meaning they don't work as well.

HouseHunter_2

I would just like to pass something on that a washing machine engineer once told me. I used to have a machine with a REALLY fast spin and I was forever having to get the engineer out to fix it. He said it's the fast spin that damages the machine and to never spin above 1000rpm if you want your machine to last. anyway, the machine finally died and I had to get a new one. The one I chose had a fastest spin of 1000 rpm and sure enough after nearly five years I've never had a problem with it (not bad for £190 from Argos). I also think my clothes last longer as well, and MUCH less ironing required . It seems well worth a bit of hassle having clothes draped around the house during wet weather.

mrsmortenharket

Oh dear! I must confess.

Whites are washed on 95 deg

darks on 60 deg

towels & sheets on 95 deg.

Opps.

I save leccy in other ways, with those long life bizarre shaped light bulbs that meant I needed new lampshades.

Also leave nothing on standby.

Only have the hot water on for 2-3 hours a day max.

*awaits lecture*

Lisa x

jobbingmusician

bizzylizzy wrote:

I have a slow cooker and tried porridge in it overnight once but it was HORRIBLE!

Quickest and most energy efficient way to make porridge is 2-3 minutes in microwave!

MATH

I sort and wash

Blacks and Navys - Cool (about 30 c)

Bright colours - Warm (hand hot - about 40 c)

Pastals - Warm/hot (feels a bit warmer than hand hot -about 50 c)

Whites/ heavy soil pastals - Hot (my hot water cylinder is set at 60 c)

IME the warmer the water the better the wash

Jet

I always find if I wash darks on 40 degrees I get white powder residue on the clothes.

Why is that? I intend to go back to washing liquid, but it's not as cheap as powder.

saving-grace

Jet wrote:

I always find if I wash darks on 40 degrees I get white powder residue on the clothes.

Why is that? I intend to go back to washing liquid, but it's not as cheap as powder.

Could you be (a) overloading the machine
(b) using too much powder?