At what temperature do you wash towels?

ciderwithrosie_2

I wash towels, tea towels, dusters and floor mop microfibre pads at 90c, bedding at 60c and add in some Dettol antibacterial liquid. Mostly everything else gets done at 40c, although I do have a quick 30c cycle which I use occasionally for stuff that just needs a freshen up wash, not a deep clean.

We get through loads of towels and tea towels, so a couple of loads a week. The towels end up in soggy piles on the floor and the tea towels get used for mopping up spills (believe me, I've tried educating the 4 men I share my home with!) so they generally need a boil wash.

got-it-spend-it

I live with a smelly man, so wash our towels and bedding at 60. We also both run a couple of times a week and he cycles to work. If I had a more sedate lifestyle and it was just me and the small children, I'd probably just wash towels and bedding at 40.

Katiehound

I put light coloured towels in with the white bedding and as I have a dust mite allergy all this is washed at 60 degrees.
Darker towels in the coloureds wash at 50 degrees

My machine is so old that it doesn't have anything as fancy as 30 degrees!

marmiterulesok

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

I wash towels at 60. Almost everything else goes on 40, it would be 30, but I can't get a fast spin on that setting on my machine and the spin does cut down significantly on drying time.

Can't you then start a 40c wash and fast forward just to get the spin at the end?That's what I do,because the 30c spin isn't enough.

nanny_beach

My original point was: you use a towel AFTER washing/bathing/showering, why should it be full of germs/bacteria? My towells are Christy and Sanderson, some are part silk/cotton mix state 40d, I am not going to ruin them.They are always hung up to dry after use, depending on time of year, sometimes in the airing cupboard so they dont smell anything other than fresh. only reason we dont share towells, is OH likes a bath sheet, I am 5 ft tall, size 10 can barely lift the thing!I have a new state of the art (whatever that means!) washing machine temp of which goes to 60.

Gwendolyn

I am interested in how often people wash towels and bedding. I have heard some people do it daily, a lot of people I know do it monthly....so many possibilities.


I wash bedding at least fortnightly at 40 or 60 - depending on fabric who was sleeping in there - time of year (full onesies mean sheets are less dirty) etc.


Towels are very much an as and when. Tend to be at 60 sometimes at 40.

lily117

I wash bedding weekly and towels are changed daily and save until there's a full load.

Purple_kitten

Towels, face towels and tea towels washed at 60.

Waterlily24

ZoPig2016 wrote: »

I'm with you. Towels and cloths on 90, bedding 60, clothes on 40.

Me too....

Slowly57

Which test says;

"You might be washing at 60°C because you've heard it kills bacteria. The temperature on its own doesn't. Some bacterial spores and viruses are resistant to washing at 60°C. You need to combine your 60°C wash with a good detergent to blast that bacteria "

Also

"We've also taken a closer look at some washing machines' 60°C cotton programs, and discovered that two thirds didn't actually reach 60°C".

Quite a lot of Google results are from washing gunk manufacturers so hardly objective. I don't believe anything in the Daily Mail (who come up in search results) and NHS direct advice is terrifying.

I only ever use a HOT hot wash for towels/bedding. Most of my wardrobe is vintage so washing is like science. I am very familiar with my washing machine instruction manual lol

I air everything out once it has been worn except for undies/socks which go in the wash. Towels and mats are on the line every morning. Tea towels changed daily. I'm lucky enough to have a big airing cupboard so can use during the rainy season.