30 degree wash

panlane

It seems a few people aren't that clear about what the difference between biological powders and non-biological powders are. As temperature increases with non-bio detergents, the rate of reaction will increase in line with the energy input. However, bio detergents are enzymes, typically sealed in a protective wax coat, and as such are very complex proteins. What this means is that as the temperature of the wash goes up their rate of reaction will increase in line with energy input .... up to a point. Then the rate of reaction will decrease(!) because these complex proteins are getting broken down by the very heat you're supplying.

Their optimum will not necessarily be body temperature (37C) because these are not human enzymes, they are bacterial in origin. The manufacturer's recommended temperature for these biological powder is the optimum trade-off point between heat speeding up the reaction and compromising the powder. Dropping above or below this will lead to a less effective wash (though that doesn't mean your clothes won't be clean, I'm just talking about optimum efficiency when all things being controlled for).

That is where I'd end in following the manufacturer's advice. IMO they have a vested interest in having you put more powder than necessary in the machine. I use only a half of the recommended dose in mine, indeed perhaps less. Most of the time, I'd recommend use a low temp, e.g. 40C, and bio powder. Really stubborn stains you might want a non-bio at a hot temp.

BTW, someone mentioned saving power by turning heat off at night. It should be noted that this age-old money-saving trick can actually cost you more power. The heatload required to reheat a house that drops below dew-point can be greater than the heatload required to maintain it above it. This is to do with the high level of energy required to change water's state as opposed to keeping it in a particular state. Best to turn the heating down rather than off at nighttime. More efficient and more comfortable.

Cheerio, Phil.

sunflowermum_2

mumsy1 wrote:

I find one of the best savers it to remind my family to ask themselves
'does this really need washing?'

These days we are all zooming around slinging on and off clothes sometimes changing twice or more a day, I realised my teenagers were wearing clothes like jeans for less time than they were in the washing machine then they just returnd them to the wash pile!

Apart from the cost of electricity powder ironing airing etc etc there was all the labour involved and the final and most powerful to remind the teenagers ..The clothes wear out and look old faster!!!

This is the biggest saver I think a lot of us could make, is it dirty or are the kids to lazy to put it away!? :A

I totally agree with you here!:D Since becoming disabled with ME ,and having to have a carer do everything,we all wear our clothes(apart from underwear and hubbies work shirts!) more than once!Mostly clothes are not really dirty.Often an hr hanging in fresh air will refresh items youd otherwise throw in machine.

Have cut down considerably on ironing.When your paying p/hr for someone else to do it,you realise many things dont need ironing!

All my washes are done at 30 using eco balls from Ecozone,except bedding which I was told by Gp to do at 60 to destroy dustmites.Does anyone know if this still the case??

Was also told by repair man that machines should be run on a 9o wash once a month to get rid of all residues so I try to do my towels,dishcloths on this once a month.

jellycat40

I only iron shirts for OH work. Other than that no ironing done in this house. Can't say that the clothes look any different to anyone else's.

What are eco balls? How much are they? and do they work with out detergent of any sort?

Louise

sunflowermum_2

Eco balls are enviro friendly alternatives to washing detergents.You can get in many places now-Lakeland plastics.betterware ,Kleeneeze.I have tried a few but find Eco balls from ecozone.co.uk excellent.The pack if I remember correctly costs about £30 and can do up to 1000washes-3p pwash.You also get 3 refill sachets so theyll do another 1000washes!

They are excellent for towels as you dont need any fabric softener and esp good if you have allergies/sensitive skin as we all have in our fam.

I got mine online on a special offer 2 for £50 and gave my mum a pack for bday.

sunflowermum_2

The ones I have used-lakeland(not so good) and Eco balls from Ecozone are best.Stain remover included so any tough stains can be pre treated

Suzy_M

Sorry to put a damper on the money and energy saving tips but washing at lower temperatures for some items is just plain unhygienic.

This cropped up a few years ago when there was an apparently inexplicable increase in the number of external parasite cases (lice :eek: to you and me) in humans. As this was affecting people you'd least expect it to questions were asked and the conclusion was that washing clothing at low temperatures failed to kill off the parasites or the eggs (apart from other undesirables). (One reason I always wear cotton next to the potentially yucky areas of my body as it is about the only fabric that can take the hotter washes.)

Also consider some of those "unmentionable stains". These are by nature likely to spread stomach upsets, particularly with kids, and reinfect with some unpleasant "personal" infections (know what I mean ladies). If using water alone the minimum temperature to kill off the majority of organisms is 72C and to kill off all is 121C so low temperature washes using balls or whatever won't be any good unless unless some sort of sterilizer is incorporated in the wash.

Don't get me wrong I'm far from houseproud :rotfl: and have always believed that a little dirt does more good than harm but the generally poorer standards of hygiene these days puts us at much greater risk of infection. So as prevention is better than cure (and probably cheaper and more environmentally friendly) personally I will be sticking with as hot a wash as the fabric will take.

chaletmaid

My daughter lives in Australia and out there all their washing powders/liquids are cold water only ! I often wonder why they can't bring out some over here,we could all save a bomb !I see the new box of Ariel tabs that I have just bought is marked 'turn to 30 C' tosave 20% energy

yellowtigeruk

I tried the Lakeland wash balls a couple of years ago but then gave up after they had come to the end of their life and as we don't have a Lakeland where I live returned to washing powder.
I now buy washing powder tablets from Lidl, I use one tablet per wash and do everything on a 30 degree wash.
I don't using any fabric conditioner as I came to the conclusion that as this is oil based it actually attracts dirt.
I know what you mean about teenagers laundry too. I've taken to removing things from the laundry basket, hanging them in the spare room and then returning them unwashed!! Sometimes I give them a quick iron if they are really screwed up and Ihaven't been found out yet! Obviously you can't do this with really dirty stuff or undies buts its amazing what you can return to them.

tawnyowls

Suzy_M wrote:

Sorry to put a damper on the money and energy saving tips but washing at lower temperatures for some items is just plain unhygienic.
This cropped up a few years ago when there was an apparently inexplicable increase in the number of external parasite cases (lice :eek: to you and me) in humans. As this was affecting people you'd least expect it to questions were asked and the conclusion was that washing clothing at low temperatures failed to kill off the parasites or the eggs (apart from other undesirables). (One reason I always wear cotton next to the potentially yucky areas of my body as it is about the only fabric that can take the hotter washes.)
Also consider some of those "unmentionable stains". These are by nature likely to spread stomach upsets, particularly with kids, and reinfect with some unpleasant "personal" infections (know what I mean ladies). If using water alone the minimum temperature to kill off the majority of organisms is 72C and to kill off all is 121C so low temperature washes using balls or whatever won't be any good unless unless some sort of sterilizer is incorporated in the wash.

It was pointed out by several people above that they would wash bedding, towels and undies at hotter temps, and as mentioned above, the HSE recommend 60 deg for nursing homes (which would be a far more likely breeding ground for really nasty bugs). Most washing machines won't go above 90 deg anyway, so if you want to kill off everything, you're going to have to use some sort of disinfectant. Most clothing, however, does not require this. As for lice, body lice are the only ones that are linked with insanitary conditions, and they are quite rare in western countries. Pubic (crab) & head lice are both passed on through close contact - while hot washes will kill any eggs in the clothing, they constitute a very small percentage of cases of infestation; the vast majority of cases are caused by lice simply crawling from one person to another, and the cleanliness of the people concerned is not a big factor - if anything, it's thought they prefer clean, as it's easier to lay an egg on a nice clean hair than on one covered in grease and grime.

juliaw

The problem with washing on low temperatures is that the detergent clogs up the washing machine and pipes and then you have to pay a repair man to clear them.