Is a 30 minute wash cycle long enough?

London_1

I have, -before being unwell and unable, and my daughter is doing my washing for me now- a 30 minute wash for almost everything apart from sheets and towels.

 I am of the generation that previously used a twin tub, and I certainly didn't run my twin tub for more than 30 minutes and our clothes were always clean and fresh.

I suppose it depends on the size of your family and how many you have to wash for I live alone so only need to think about my washing My daughter collects it weekly and returns the stuff she's done already bless her, dried and nicely folded. 
obviously underwear is changed daily and tops but trousers can go a couple of days I usually alternate them anyway Unless I am going out ,but indoors its only me my nightclothes get changed daily and sheets/pillow cases weekly.
Towels get a hot wash at my daughters along with tea towels and face flannels.

But when I do get back to doing my own washing (at the moment I am recovering from pan operation ) I shall return to the 30 minute washing schedule again with one hot wash for bedding and towels perhaps 7-10 days depending on the weather if its a nice drying day the washing gets done, if raining then not, as I line dry stuff even in the winter unless its raining obviously

JackieO xx

cornishchick

my machine has to quick mix washes, 30 minutes at 30 with a low spin cycle or 60 minutes at 60 with a HIGH spin cycle. what I discovered recently was I can put this on the 60, hit the temp button and reduce the temp to 40, and the time to 45, and still have a high spin. so this works out the best all both worlds, cleans at a lower temp but spins it out more so drying is easier , 

Pollycat

My Bosch machine has a quick wash cycle that takes 15 minutes.
It's pre-set to wash at 30 and spin at 600 but I increase it to 40 and spin at 1200 which does take longer than the 15 minutes.
It's for very lightly soiled items.

I wouldn't wash dirty work clothes on a 30 minute cycle (unless your machine instructions say it's adequate).
My OH has shirts he just wears in the house. I wash those on a cotton wash at 60, the cycle takes about 1 hour 15 minutes.

I use quite a lot of different cycles, temperature and spins depending on what I'm washing.

KxMx

Apart from the summer months, I add on a spin & drain cycle to my 30min, 30c wash.
Helps dry the clothes quicker indoors or outdoors when the temperatures are not hot, like spring or current weather when the washing needs to be on a line all day to dry outdoors.

(the only thing I can adjust on my machine outside of the set programs is the spin speed). 

silverwhistle

A half hour cycle would be useful but my short one is 15 minutes.

What I do to help sometimes is fill with hot water via the detergent tray using a watering can. I often have loads of how water in my tank from surplus PV which is put to the immersion by an automatic diverter. Even in winter I can sometimes have a tank full of very hot water.

Beyond that I vary the cycle according to need. Training gear when I've been on 4G is different to the match muddy grass version!

twopenny

I use the 30min thinking it was saving money - also I always seem to want to go out on the dry, sunny days when I do the washing

I love my cotton sheets so every now and then I soak them in a bucket of hot water pre wash.

I do miss Biotex. That stuff was great for stains, sweat and linens.

The clothes etc don't look quite as good as a longer wash but they are clean and fresh.

flamingo747

I basically chuck everything in my quick wash cycle. I have no idea of the temperature or spin, nor do I seperate anything. The only times I do anything else is wools in the 30° wool setting, or if DS has thrown up whatever it is gets the 90°. If it doesn't survive, such is life. 

I really should learn how to get the best use from my machine!

Phossy

How much does a washing machine cost to run ? My sense is that the main energy use is temperature not time.

Albermarle

cornishchick said:

my machine has to quick mix washes, 30 minutes at 30 with a low spin cycle or 60 minutes at 60 with a HIGH spin cycle. what I discovered recently was I can put this on the 60, hit the temp button and reduce the temp to 40, and the time to 45, and still have a high spin. so this works out the best all both worlds, cleans at a lower temp but spins it out more so drying is easier , 

Same here. Use a 'Mixed Fabrics' programme ( 60 mins) and reduce temperature to 30 and time to 45 mins( unless it is really full then I leave it at one hour) 
It spins at top speed.
Should also be noted that normally the washing machine instructions recommend relatively low maximum loads for the quick cycles, but I suspect many just cram as much as possible in and then the 15 min/30 min cycle will be inadequate anyway.

Jlo31

It's worth reading the instructions with regards size of loads too. Our LG 10.5 kg only suggests full load to run on cottons, eco cotton's 40 60. Most often settings are 4kg load and the 14 min quick wash just 2kg load. 

So if you are using the quick wash function check your manual on the weight suggested.