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?

No one needs to waste money on laundry ‘disinfectant’ !

(Science graduate and Biology teacher, so not entirely dim. Don’t fall for the marketing of unnecessary chemicals.)

We wash at 30 with no issues so long as they are dried straight away after

I wash everything with non-bio at 30 and everything smells fine. I take things out of the machine quickly and air dry. I don’t leave stuff hanging around in the dirty basket for long though, as we do a lot of sport. Swimming and rugby kit goes in the machine straight away.

We do have a really good washing machine though which I think helps, although it is 13 years old. I run it on an empty hot wash with a good slug of white vinegar if the machine starts to smell.

Towels, bedding, socks/pants/knickers all at 60.

Everything else at 40 apart from hand knitted cardigans/jumpers and anything that’s delicate at 30.

@JCoverdale when I lived in Africa, all the clothes had to be ironed, even and especially underwear, to kill tumbu fly eggs.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordylobia_anthropophaga

Looking and smelling clean does not always mean hygienic. With three women in the house, two who play a lot of sport, all towels, sheets, and cotton nickers and socks get washed at 60. We don’t need athletes foot, thrush, etc. going round and round. Also, with allergies and sensitive skin in the family, I prefer hot water to chemicals.

Oh and always leave the machine door open inbetween washes to dry out.

Clothes last longer and it’s much better for the planet to wash at lower temps. Just requires a good routine and decent non-bio (we use Splosh) ime.

Ooh i do love a mumsnet laundry thread. You lot have made my day !

White towels (all ours are) and bedding (ditto- 100% cotton) are at 60C and other clothes are 40C.

Knitwear on wool wash.

I'd rather economise on other things than laundry.

Everything is washed at 40 in my house, unless we've had a stomach bug or similar in which case we use 60.

I'd use 30 instead of 40 if my washing machine had that setting.

Re. white cotton bedding and towels... if you wash on lower temps, often any stains (and by that I mean face cream etc on pillow slips) doesn't come off fully.

My machine has a 75 and 90C option and washing pillow slips on those gets them much whiter than 60C.

Likewise, tea towels etc.

It might be your washing machine. Old machine of mine always turned out teatowels that smelled, no matter what i tried.

new one they're whiter, fresher...etc. world of difference.

The only time I wash anything above 40 is bedding and towels if someone in the house has caught a D&V bug. Otherwise 40 is perfectly adequate. My towels have never smelled dirty after washing at 40 and I don’t need every trace of everything to be eliminated to survive because I have a functioning immune system.

Exactly that. Also MNers say you dont need water to clean germs but are grossed out by others who don't wash their bedding at least weekly 🤔 .

Every single thing in our house is washed at 30 degrees.

I think a decent machine is a big part of the answer. Mine has an extra large drum so everything gets, as it were, swished about more. Also has an aqua plus and wash plus setting which is great for really minging loads.

It is possibly my favourite member of the household. Best investment I’ve ever made. 13 years old and still going strong, and totally vindicates choosing a good washing machine over a good pushchair when DS was born.

I was everything at 30, no issues with anything smelling

You can bet that hotels and spas don't wash their towels at 30 or even 40, and you wouldn't wish them to. (Or if they are doing these days, they are using industrial strength substances to kill viruses and bacteria; probably doing both to be honest.) Why do you think they are all white? Why do you think they and the bedding smell a bit bleachy? Towels and tea towels get all sorts of things on them: blood and other bodily fluids, cooked and raw foods, or used to mop up a spill quickly which could be anything. Then bacteria grow when they are left to wait to be washed for a few days.

Wash your towels properly, people! And then keep them clean when you are putting them away too. The things I have seen from supposedly normal hygienic friends and relations beggars belief. I take my own towels now.

It's not.

It's a new Miele that cost £1K.

It's the water temp.

why do you think that in the 1950s and before, there was a boil wash? (in a boiler.) Maybe you are too young to remember? :)
Super white clothes as a result.

Do you wash yourself at 60oC - no. Most people opt for 40ish. Bit of soap, bobs your uncle. Do you add Dettol - no.

You would die if you saw what comes out of your bellybutton when it is swabbed, only you don't, die. It just lives there, quietly, humming away 😂

I wash my clothes at 40 but some loads are washed with cold water. The trick is the detergent, if you are using whatever is the cheapest, cold water is not a good idea.

I'm in Australia and for me Cold Power and Omo Ultimate are excellent in cold/warm water.

But who the fuck has mould on their towels?

I wash everything at 40 and don’t have any problems. To prevent unpleasant smells you can put a bit of vinegar in every load.

@BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted wins this with her use of the word 'launder' 😃

If your household shares towels, you really do need to wash at 60c.
There is a label on them saying 60C.

Towels get damp and hang onto bacteria and virus, and if anyone has thrush or any kind of skin /fungal infection on their body, it needs a hot wash.

If you don't believe this, look at some of the science online.

If you believe towels stay clean and free from any bugs, ( they are only used to dry 'clean' bodies) you'd never wash them at all!

Mould spores are invisible.