Washing at 40 or cold is not a good idea

[Stangerthings]

There is an advert for washing clothes in cold water. I think this is wrong. I washed a load of towels at 40 degrees and had to wash them again as they smelled dirty so how is a cold wash going to remove bacteria?

I think that you can wash at lower temperatures with regular, leading brand detergents.
If you use eco products and wash at 40 the results are seriously bad.

We hang towels on a rack so they dry after use. If you leave your damp towels in a heap that will make them smell.

I don’t wash after every use them but I hang them up to dry after use in the same way I hang up wet towels after laundering them so my used towels probably spend less time hanging around damp than those straight out the washing machine as they’re usually only a little bit damp after use anyway. I guess I can see for people with a tumble dryer who never hang up wet washing maybe they are more precious about having a used slightly damp towel hung up to dry for a short period than those who have no option but to hang dry everything.

The nursing home where a relative stayed said they washed bedding and towels at 30 BUT in order to do this they had to add clothing disinfectant to the wash.
Their machines calculated and added the powder and disinfectant automatically

I don’t understand either and in 50+ years of doing laundry I have never caught anything from my towels etc.
If you knew just what microbes and bacteria naturally colonise on and in your body you’d presumably completely freak out and bathe in bleach.
Give your washing machine a service wash at the highest temperature you can, add the correct amount of detergent to the wash and dry them properly.
I have never had smelly towels or anything else.

A slightly damp towel isn't a health hazard, though - it just feels unpleasant the next day.

@LynLynette
the enzymes in washing powder kill at low temperatures. They are denatured above 40 degrees and so less effective.

the OP is asking about towels. Not sure if dog poo and raw chicken juice are regular spills for you but must folk I know don’t spill these types of hazards on their towels/bedding/clothing.

even so, regular laundry detergent and water is entirely effective at destroying most viruses and bacteria. It’s why hand washing was encouraged during covid. Because basic soap and water does kill viruses.

honestly the scaremongering around hygiene on MN is bonkers!

People all over the world wash dirty clothes in Africa and India in cool rivers and streams, beating them agianst rocks and rinsing them clean and they come out looking sparkling white and smelling clean. These people's clothes do not smell. It's not about the temperature of the water or the amount of artifical chemicals you add to it - it's just agitation and some simple detergent. Your washing machine might have mould inside.

If my cat had diarrhoea on a towel, I have to say I'd just chuck the whole thing in the bin lol.

I think cat diarrhoea on a towel is an extreme case requiring treatment outside normal laundry habits.

Bin.

Towels at a higher temperature you say?

I live on my own and dry myself with my high powered hair dryer. Not joking! A couple of hand towels per week is all I use, and have been known to wash them by hand too if the weather is hot and dry.

Far too much washing done I think. Too much electricity, too much water, too much detergent. I actually think that some people wash clean clothes again as they are still in a pile and it's easier to just fling them in the machine than try to figure out what needs a wash and what doesn't.

Anyway there is a bit of an obsession with washing and drying on MN. I know things need to be washed, but it seems to be all day every day. And I have no sympathy if you have hairy smelly sick pets. That's your choice and it isn't mine and never will be either.

I’ve never washed above 40 and never had towels smell. I always line dry them as well to get fresh air on them.

I have switched to 30 for most clothes and 20 for small quick washes. Wouldn’t get stains out but still come out smelling fresh.

I do everything at 30 besides tea towels.

I wash everything at 40 except wool at 30 or cold. With a capful of Zoflora linen or lemon scent everything comes out smelling very fresh.

Everything in my home goes on a 40, apart from bedding & towels which go on a 60

Towels and bedding often need a hotter wash, but most clothes are fine at 30.
If they smell a bit funky, you can get antibacterial laundry disinfectant now which helps

I’ve never washed anything above 40. Recently switched to washing everything cold and have not succumbed to a towel induced illness yet. Everything smells fresh.

My towels don't even smell dirty when I put them in the machine! Is it your machine making them stink?

I wash clothes at 20C with a splash of dettol laundry rinse.
I was towels and bedding at 60C as the cycle is long enough to kill most bacteria , cleans the oils from our bodies and also add a splash of dettol laundry rinse.

I can’t use bio laundry soap as my DH is allergic to it.

We started to wash everything cold about 3 months ago, and haven't noticed any difference. But I do clean the machine once a month with bicarb or white vinegar.

I wash everything else on 20'c, get a lot of wears out of each item before washing, and can't remember when I changed my bed. I am far from the over-washing typical mner. I just have to wash my towels on 60 if they already smell damp, or the damp smell doesn't come out. (and yes I hang them to dry them after use, but when the heating is on at a bare minimum, hanging can only do so much!)

I've turned the temp off completely on my washer a couple of months ago, use bio and a fabric disinfectant for final rinse.
I was expecting to turn the heat back on, but instead very happy with the results.

Yup. War of the Worlds, just saying.

YABU. I wash pretty much 80 to 85% of our washing in 30 degrees or below, saving an absolute bloody fortune in electricity. And also they are short ecowashes - only 15 to 20 minutes long. Most of our stuff doesn't really need a thorough, very hot wash, it just really needs a freshen up. Only do Boil wash (80 to 90 degrees) every three or four weeks.

Oh and also ecowashes save a lot of water too. We don't have a water meter - but I'm very conscious of saving water because I care about the planet.