30 minute wash cycle - yay or nay?

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

Very boring I know!

Our washing machine has a 30 minute option, at 30C. This is what I use for 90% of the washing. DH washes everything on the "normal" programmes which I think is a waste of time and energy. He thinks the "quick wash" options are for things that have barely been worn. I think it's for everything except towels and heavily soiled items.

Does anyone else use the 30 minute/quick wash programme as their default?

Your husband is definitely right. I never use the quick cycles. They use far more water and energy. Long cold washes here for clothing. 60 degrees for towels and sheets.

How? No matter what happened with your drying, you would have saved the energy from the more efficient washing cycle. So now you've spent more energy on washing and then the energy on drying v less energy on washing and the same energy on drying. It'll be a negligible amount really, but it's not true that it would have negated any saving. You still would have saved energy overall, albeit a very small amount.

Whereas we do about twelve full loads of washing a week, sometimes more, so that taking 42 hours is a significant difference from 12 hours.

It'll be a negligible amount really, but it's not true that it would have negated any saving. You still would have saved energy overall, albeit a very small amount.

If it's such a small amount, I'd rather have the time back and pay more.

Yes, if you have a very big family then sometimes you need to sacrifice efficiency for speed!

I use the quick wash for swimsuits and for "Mum, I need my white top for tomorrow, but I forgot to put it in the washing" situations.

It can only handle a small load and is wasteful. I use the eco for everything else.

I only have two teenage children and my mum living with us. It's not that unusual to have a household of five, we aren't the Waltons.

We are super slack about changing bed linen and washing towels or else there would be more than 12 loads a week.

I use a 30 minute 30 degree wash for most things but put towels and bedding on a longer and hotter wash.

I don't know, 12 loads a week seems a heck of lot tbh. We are a family of four with two young children and a dog and probably do one load a day at most, and that includes changing bed sheets every fortnight. Do you have a very small machine?!

Quick wash often uses more energy - check your washing machine manual.
I actually use the eco setting overnight, it's more like a long soak so doesn't spin as much or change water during the wash.

When my washing machine broke (probably from overloading), the technician encouraged me in future to use all the different programmes for their different uses (cotton, delicate, sports, standard, eco etc) rather than always running a standard wash - he said it is better for the clothes and the machine as each setting is designed for a different need. I also discovered that only the long cotton wash can accommodate a full load.

Sometimes I use it, and sometimes I don't ☺ Seems to do the job perfectly well, and it's certainly still sloshing around for longer than if I did it by hand. My smart meter tells me it uses less power than the longer wash.
Bedding generally goes on the 150 min wash, or if it's particularly dirty.

It's all fine really, whatever you do. I put a limescale tablet thingy in every now and again, and run a 90c wash for the good of the machine if I'm feeling rebellious and wealthy 😂

Hmmmm
i use the 30 minute 30 degrees wash for everything except towels and bedding.
no problems with clothes not cleaning.
and I fill the machine!

I use the quick washes only when I really need a quick turnaround. I have a 15 minute cycle on my machine, which I've used only once so far, for a pre-school PE kit emergency.

I prefer the longer eco cycles, set the timer so it's done for when I get up in the morning, and fill the machine up as much as I can. I think the weight limit is 11kg.

It wouldn’t work for us, I tried it and as we have quite sweaty clothes it just doesn’t work. For someone who doesn’t wear much though it probably works fine.

When the local fire station were doing a fire prevention drive a while back, they said never to run a washing machine overnight. Apparently they're a leading cause of house fires (something about electricity and water not mixing) and having one running while everyone is asleep is a no-no.

Actually made me a bit scared of my washing machine for a while!

Just checked my manual/detailed information for my Bosch machine. The cycle I use most frequently - Mixed Load, 1hr @ 30C comes in as the second most energy efficient and hardly any difference from the 3 hour cottons at 20C which is the most energy efficient.

Seems like a pretty good choice to me.

Nay because it uses a fuckton more energy. I use it for work stuff if I'm in a rush sometimes, but that's about it..

Well I am happy to report that after years of using the quick 30 degree washes I am alive, well and not ill as a result of bacterial overload.

And how much of a load can it the versus the three hour cotton wash?

A big enough load. I can't say as I weigh my laundry first.

Quite often I use the cold wash to start off with for food stains etc and then after ten minutes switch to the quick wash seems to work.

Sheets on 90 occasionally

People always say this but there are plenty of ordinary looking well dressed people out there whose clothes stink. Hot days and rainy days round Tesco, you can really tell who launders properly and who doesn’t.

I only run the 90C wash to clean the machine itself, with bicarb & vinegar.

I do everything on a twenty minute wash. All my clothes, all my bedding, towels etc. It's all lovely and clean, aways has been! I put a full load in each time, then do the extra spin. Perfect.