Cold Washing your Laundry

belfastgirl23

Lois_and_CK wrote: »

Yes, mine too. So which would work out cheaper do you reckon?

I tried it with my electric measuring plug thing and the cold wash was def well cheaper (I think by 3-4p) but of course less convenient unless you put the wash on at night and take it out in the morning...

A_fiend_for_life

An article on washing at 15C.:j

Not happy with the detergents being used though:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/07/energy

We're heading to a state where the embedded energy in detergents and water is greater than that of the wash cycle.

A_fiend_for_life

dannymccann wrote: »

Hi there! Just wondering if anyone had any evidence or stories about why not to use the 30min 30c wash on my washer? I used it twice last night and everything came out spotless and smelling nice, and according to the manual it uses half the power of the traditional 40c wash?

Or am I just being tight? :rotfl:

I've not had any problems washing on 30C sometimes have specks of powder on dark clothes but other than that no problems. I've been doing a 30C wash for the best part of a year I think with a few 40C washes.

Challenging bit is waiting for a good drying day which has by and large been successful.

If you are being tight count me in on that list.:D

PinkPeach

I'm sure I saw a couple of people on here the other day discussing about how to save money by washing their clothes on a cold wash. I've looked and looked but can't seem to find which thread this was on. Can anyone tell me if this seems to work ok? Obviously dirty items are going to need some heat to shift any grubiness but for anything else this makes sense in theory as it would help save soem pennies over the winter once I start spending money on heating again.

seasalt_2

My wm doesn't have the option - apart from a wool/delicates wash which wouldn't cope with OH's boilersuits! I used to always put everything on a 40* wash but am now using the 30* one if possible and haven't noticed that things are any less clean. I seem to remember someone else saying they had to use liquid detergent on a cold wash becasue their powder didn't dissove properly. And have also heard that you should do a really hot wash every so often to clean the machine.

BitterAndTwisted

I think for the most part none of our clothes actually get terribly dirty, especially if we only wear an item once before it goes in the machine. Therefore most items really only need to be freshened and a cold wash would be perfectly adequate for this. I wash nearly all of my laundry in cold water except for bedclothes and towels and I suspect I could get away with putting them in a cold wash from time to time as well.

valk_scot

I use a 30'C wash for almost everything except for rugby kit. I've got a 15'C wash as well which I do use a lot of the time too for very lightly soiled items. I use either big box powder (ie not concentrated) or liquid wash anyway so don't know how tablets or concentrated powder would work. Oh, and I hardly ever wash out my washing machine per se. A very rare 60'C wash seems to be enough to keep it clean.

SusanC_2

I use the "no heat" setting on my washer except for in the middle of Winter when it's very cold out and therefore the water coming in would be very cold. I haven't noticed any difference in the condition of the washing since changing. My husband's work shirts and trousers still get mud stained but since he's a gardener the only way to stop that would be lots of soap and elbow grease and it's not worth the effort.

Fruball

Yep! Me too - just recently changed to cold as, like you, our clothes mostly just need freshening up so they now go in on a fast cycle, cold wash

Only difference is instead of using a tbsp of washing powder (used to use loads :eek:) now I need to buy liquid as powder doesn't dissolve so well in cold, and just use a tiny bit of that

Must be saving me a fortune :T:j:T:j

(when its really freezing I will do a 30c wash, again on fast cycle)

[Deleted User]

I also usually wash on a cold setting. I do wash some things on a 30c wash though.

I have been washing with cold water for some time and everything seems fine so far. I use liquid detergant or those washer ball thingies so never had the problem with powder not disolving properly.