Because I am ignorant. Why is a 4 hour Eco wash better than a 1 hr wash?

[Unreasonabubble]

I saw a thread tonight about washing machine times and it made me think. I normally do a 1 hour 40 degree wash for most of my washing. Should I be doing an Eco wash which takes 3 times longer? Does it save me money? Does it clean better? I like to wash and go if that makes sense. I do not understand why I would clog up the washing machine for hours and hours. I would not be able to get all my washing done in a day if that was the case.

Genuinely unaware here so would appreciate your guidance.

@RJnomore1

Do your clothes not all stink at 20/30/40 degrees or are we just particularly sweaty?

I think it depends on the fabric.

DD's school shirts are polycotton. When she wore a blazer she sweat as hell and the shirts stunk each day. I had to wash them with Zoflora to get the smell out. She now only wears a jumper/cardigan and suddenly the sweat smell is gone.

Similar with DH's running/gym tops and some of my polycotton work shirts if it is a hot day and the train home is swealtering.

I need to pour undiluted Zoflora over the arm pit areas and leave it for a while to break down the sweat bacterias.

Normal cotton T-shirts are no problem at all and most go in a short wash if I need to make up a full load and I am short on time.

@RJnomore1

Do your clothes not all stink at 20/30/40 degrees or are we just particularly sweaty?

Definitely don’t smell at all. We use Bio washing powder, which might make a difference.

@gamerchick

And yet we're not supposed to leave washers unattended because they can be a fire hazard?

Just encourages people to put it on and bugger off to bed. Not a chance I'm doing that.

Exactly this.

These eco programmes drive me mad. My machine has 12 programmes that take forever, that I never have time to use, and three that run for a reasonable length of time, that I do.

I do NOT have time to wait around for 4 hours twice a day for a machine to wash my clothes. It would be quicker to do them by hand using a washboard and mangle. It's not progress, or an improvement, it's a retrograde step that makes life worse.

No way am I going to leave it on overnight or when I go out. We're told not to do that because it's a fire hazard.

I'd basically have to give up work to use the eco programme to wash all my stuff.

@neveradullmoment99

Cupboard dry is pathetic on my bosch machine. It is damp

Funnily enough, I regretted getting a Beko to replace my Bosch when it died. The Bosch dried everything (bar the occasional waistband) to perfection, but the Beko cupboard dry (actually all the settings, bar the extra dry) is actually pretty damp. Even the extra dry isn't reliable and I have to put it on for additional minutes.

Our Beko cupboard dry loads are always bone dry! I thought maybe we would regret getting a cheaper one but it's been brilliant! Guess tumble driers are a fickle bunch.

I found my eco wash wrecked my clothes, they went bobbly and looked worn out after just a couple of goes in the washing machine, This worked out even worse for the environment as the clothes needed replacing quite a lot. I’ve got a Miele now and mostly use the fast 1/2 hour wash now and the clothes don’t get damaged now.

Derbyshire Fire Service say
"Don't leave the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher running overnight or while you are out. They are a fire risk because of their high wattage, friction and motors."

Ooh, I've learnt a lot on this thread. Thanks OP.

@ReviewingTheSituation

Who says not to leave it unattended?

The Fire brigade.

www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/bedtime-checks/

"The firefighter's bedtime checklist

Close all your internal doors to prevent smoke spreading if a fire starts.
Turn off and unplug electrical appliances unless they are designed to be left on – like your fridge or freezer.
Don’t leave the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher on overnight and unattended.
........."

Joining the chorus of people to say thank you OP! My washing machine is ridiculously over complicated with eco settings, so I just pretty much always shove on 'timesaver' & adjust the temperature. I will investigate the settings properly tomorrow.

My tip for those struggling with drying/ironing - coat hangers. Anything that can fit on a coat hanger gets hung up on doors & door knobs. The clothes keep their shape, no peg marks, easy to turn as they dry, doesn't take up space in the house, and no need to iron.

eco makes my clothes fade, think it's all the soaking.

eco makes my clothes fade, think it's all the soaking so I don't like using it.

@ReviewingTheSituation

Who says not to leave it unattended?

London Fire Brigade for one - see point 3 www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/bedtime-checks/

I use eco plus speed perfect on my dishwasher 1.35 hrs as opposed to 3.25.
My washer does not have great times, most things I wash at 40 or 60, no time saver😒
Next time I’m getting an expensive one with steam and time saver

The manual that came with my machine says not to leave it running unattended. I've had it about 6 years now.

I think the success of various cycles very much depends on the machine. I have a Bosch at the moment - the 15min wash is pretty poor (swimwear still smells of chlorine, clothes need another spin). The one hour wash is only meant for smaller loads, but the 3 hour eco wash does a great job on a full load. But then again I have no qualms about using the delay timer overnight - I have been doing three overnight washes a week for about 15 years with various machines with no ill effects.

Nobody needs to do a one hours wash anyway, unless everyone works down the pits or the like.

I have looked into this too. My eco wash takes FOREVER (shit water pressure.) Meanwhile, I can do 15min quick wash either 30 deg or even cold with correct detergent, assuming I don’t over-fill it. (This means DH & DCs don’t touch the bastard thing.) I can churn through so much more washing this way, even if I give it another spin before hanging it out. Definitely uses less water and less power.

@ReviewingTheSituation

It's all to do with the way the water is heated, and how the water is used. Eco settings heat the water more slowly and use less water (reusing the same water several times in some cases). Your manual should show the water and power consumption on each cycle, but eco programmes will save you money on electricity and water.

I never understand why so many people want their washing done in an hour - just put it on and let it do it its thing, surely?

I do mine when the DC take their uniforms off, so I'd be putting it on radiators at midnight.

I’ve never used the Eco setting on my machine, so this has been v interesting. I use the daily wash setting on mine (Samsung Addwash) takes 1hr6. Most stuff goes on 20 or 40 apart from towels and bedding which go on 60 on a cotton wash which takes about 3 hours.

I may try the Eco mode this weekend. So what stuff is best to wash on Eco?

What really annoys me is the lack of sensible information. My machine settings include things like cottons, synthetics, “fashion care”, baby and toddler clothing, Cotton Eco (what if I want to wash non-cotton and be eco?). And it only gives you energy and water use info if you don’t charge the settings. To get a one hour programme I choose synthetics and switch the temp from 40 to 30 and that cuts the time from almost 2 hours to just over 1. No idea how eco that is because it doesn’t tell me.

My proposal: machines come with three controls - one where you can select if clothes are delicate or need extra rinsing, a temperature knob and a time knob. Then there’s a big screen which displays for the settings you’ve chosen what the ‘cleaning ability’, energy use and water use is, lighting up green if it’s eco-friendly. So you could see exactly what you were getting and choose more eco-friendly (cheap) options when appropriate without being locked into manufacturers’ slightly weird assumptions

I use Eco on my dishwasher but not on the washing machine as it takes about 4 hours.

I also have a Samsung washing machine and tend to use the daily wash and increase rinses to 4 and that takes 1h 24 mins. If I use the cotton wash (which is the only wash that actually takes 9kg) then it can be around 3h but if you increase to 60⁰C then it drops to just over 2h.

Interesting!

On my model we usually use a mixed load function which is 1.3 hours and our "eco" option reduces that to 45 mins which is what we use.

@ReviewingTheSituation

Who says not to leave it unattended?

The fire brigade told me not to leave the washing machine or dishwasher on unattended.

They also advised not to use plug in air fresheners. I don't use plug in air fresheners, but I have used Feliway (cat calming) and the fire officer thought it was an air freshener.