washing clothes on cold/eco wash?

Stuart_P

are there any reasons not to wash clothes on a cold wash cycle? i assume with the advances made in both washing detergents and washing machines there shouldn't be.

i'm thinking of going the cold wash route but not sure. i only wash at 30 currently (except for the monthly service wash) but would like to go cold if there is no noticeable difference. what do others do? my washing machine has 3 cold wash cycles. i've heard using liquid is preferred. correct? any suggestions on best liquids for the job? i prefer to use a detergent that is not highly scented. has anyone tried ecover with cold wash and seen good consistent results?

Myser

There was a similar thread on there a while back. Depending on how heavily soiled your clothes are, 30°C should be fine. Many modern detergents are designed to work down to that temperature.

You may want to wash items like underwear, towels and bedsheets at a higher temperature?

Stuart_P

so stick with 30 then rather than going cold for general day to day stuff? i tend to do bedsheets higher if the fabric allows.

Myser

I think liquid is recommended as powder tablets and plastic capsules may not break down at a lower temperature. Although some tablets I purchased from Lidl recently were marked as 'Effective from 30°C'.

Have used non-bio Ecover for delicates at lower temperatures and it seems fine. I think they have a special detergent for this?

If you find 30°C is washing your clothes satisfactorily, then stick with it!

Stuart_P

Myser wrote: »

If you find 30°C is washing your clothes satisfactorily, then stick with it!

thanks i'll probably stick with 30 like you suggest. there were 2 reasons i started thinking about the possibility of doing just cold washes with regular clothes

1) save money heating up the water to 30
2) prevent clothes from shrinking over time

spannerzone

We use cold washes for almost everything except bed linen and even those only get 40degree treatment.

We use liquid rather than powder....however to ensure we don't save any money and to help shrink clothes we then use a tumble drier

pimento

I do my towels and sheets on a hotter wash usually 40 degrees and then 60 every three or four washes. I think the water has to be that hot to kill all the germs.

Here's a link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6669551.stm

loracan1

Washing at 30 might get most stuff reasonably clean but I couldn't get white t-shirts anywhere near clean when the heater element in my washer bust. And the towels just smelled weird.

LisaW123

Washing at low temperatures using gel turned my last washing machine mouldy. Which? withdrew best buy status from gels for this reason. These gels do not contain bleach, unlike most biological powders. You need a biological powder and a high temperature to get rid of bacteria. I now wash towels and most bedding at 60C regardless of what the care instructions say. it is the only way to kill bacteria. I only use gel (woolite) for silks and wool.

If you are going to wash on low temperatures using gel regularly, you should really run a boil wash (90C) with biological washing powder (but with no load) at least once a month in order to keep your machine free of bacteria and mould.

Fishingtime

I wonder what the temp is of their water

http://www.demotix.com/news/342803/people-washing-clothes-bank-ganges-india#media-342802

roundturn

You need higher temp to kill germs etc and occassional hot washes to clean the machine out.

Otherwise cold is fine.