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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think the Ozzies are mad (washing question)

206 replies

beautyspot · 13/03/2011 03:28

Living in Oz and renting. Our beautiful and expensive flat comes with a cold fill only washing machine!

(OliPolly's recent thread re washing her smalls by hand made me think about this)

My neighbour was in the other day and shocked to see me filling the washing machine with hot water from the shower (carrying buckets!). Most of the people I know here are happy to wash in cold water and says it protects their clothes and the environment. I say it can never clean clothes properly.

Am I being unreasonable to think that a cold water wash can never clean properly? My neighbours here think so.

OP posts:
theredhen · 13/03/2011 03:38

Yes, I've heard this about the washing machines in Oz. But don't all washing machines now only have cold fill only? But they have an element to heat up the water inside the machine? Confused Does this mean that washing machines in Oz don't heat the water?

MadamDeathstare · 13/03/2011 03:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
beautyspot · 13/03/2011 04:19

Red hen - the one we have (and some of our friends too) is a top loader with no heating element. Looks like something from the Ark but they are quite common here. Some of our Ozzie friends do have ones that have a heating element but they choose to wash in cold water!

Our washing machine was actually smelling as were our clothes, because we were initially just using cold water.

OP posts:
Original poster
beautyspot · 13/03/2011 04:21

Madam - I kinda think that it must be really strong chemically for it to work in cold water and I'd rather not use that - OH has a skin condition.

OP posts:
savoycabbage · 13/03/2011 04:57

Nearly all of my friends think I am mad as a hatter to wash my clothes etc. at 40 degrees. We brought our washing machine with us.

differentnameforthis · 13/03/2011 05:02

My ozzie top loader washes hot or cold.

Some stains don't come out in hot water.

AngelsOnHigh · 13/03/2011 05:06

Um! my washing machine has a hose attached to the cold water and hot water tap. The controls on the machine allow me to wash in cold, hot or warm water.

The same with the rinse cycle, cold, hot or warm.

I choose to wash in cold water for the sake of the environment and also to reduce the cost of my electricity bill.

I use Bio-attack with added softener".

One small scoop is all that is needed and no added softener.

I guess it depends on the type of clothes you wear. Most of the clothing in OZ is lightweight and doesn't even need ironing when it comes off the line. Very rarely use the clothes dryer.

I even wash underwear on the gentle cold wash cycle.

I guess you might need to use hot water if , god forbid, you wear your clothing more then once before it is washed.

I soak whites in "Napisan" but still wash in cold water.

Morloth · 13/03/2011 05:33

I wash everything in cold.

God I love Napisan for my whites, if I was asked what I missed most living in the UK Napisan would be towards the top of the list.

I will sometimes run the towels through on warmer water but don't bother here as they go and hang in the sun anyway.

I use OMO sensitive and Cuddly Hypoallergnic fabric softener, though I am trying the Earth Choice on at the moment because it is almost half the cost.

We are all clean and fresh smelling.

Seems an insane waste of resources to wash clothes in warm water.

My new washer barely uses any water which makes me very happy!

GotArt · 13/03/2011 05:45

Washing only in cold water means you will get e-coli building up in the washer which then gets spread throughout clothes. No cold laundry washing liquid is designed to kill that bacteria.

Morloth · 13/03/2011 05:50

And yet, here I am at 33 years old and never had any sort of an issue with ecoli.

AngelsOnHigh · 13/03/2011 05:59

Most of the time the clothes are line dried in the beautiful sunshine which kills the germs anyway.

It's different in the Uk where it's so miserable most of the time and the clothes still feel and smell drap when they come off the line or out of the dryer.

AngelsOnHigh · 13/03/2011 06:00

That should be drabGrin

Morloth · 13/03/2011 06:01

Actually I had better get off my arse and bring my sheets in, I can see a storm rolling in over the mountains...

PickleSarnie · 13/03/2011 06:01

You can get napisan here though morloth. It's with the baby stuff in sainsburys (and probably all the other supermarkets)

Bubbaluv · 13/03/2011 06:05

Wow - lived in Aus almost all my life and never seen a cold-only washer.
I wash dark colours on cold only to avoid runs but whites on hot.
Then again, most rentals don't come with a washer at all, so I guess they've just found one from the ark for you?
Have never seen one with an element though I have to say, only ones that have attachments to both the hot and cold taps.

Bubbaluv · 13/03/2011 06:05

Are you staying long? If so ask the to remove the antique and buy yourself a proper washer!

AngelsOnHigh · 13/03/2011 06:11

Thanks Morloth! Just heard big drops of rain on the roof.

Weht screaming down the garden to the clothes line to take a full load off. Made it just in time.

Now I'm going to stand in the rain and enjoy it after a very hot Autumn day spent in the garden.

abithormonal · 13/03/2011 06:20

YANBU had a top loader when we first came, didn't clean a bloody thing. Now have a much better eco rated front loader and clean washing - that said just looked outside and it's all dissapeared from the line.

The fixed shower heads get me - how do ozzie women clean their bits?

Original poster
beautyspot · 13/03/2011 06:25

Bubbaluv - we pay $850 per week for our flat. It was owner occupiers in before us and they left to go overseas leaving their washing machine. I know we could buy one ourselves but we are quite transient due to OH's job. Think we will be off to Asia very soon.

I see that some of you in Oz are washing in cold too. It's not removal of stains - we're not really messy - it's more hygiene that I'm concerned about.

OP posts:
AngelsOnHigh · 13/03/2011 06:30

Washing in hot water in a domestic washing machine isn't going to remove any more germs than washing in cold water.

You would need the water at boiling point and that just isn't going to happen in a domestic washer.

If it did you would be buying new clothes every couple of months.

Sunshine is the best killer of germs.

Original poster
beautyspot · 13/03/2011 06:49

Seems to be an awful lot of cold washers here!

I still don't understand why you are doing it. Can't be to save the planet otherwise why would Ozzies run about in big gas guzzlers and never walk anywhere Smile ?

Tell me why my machine is smelling then when I used cold water..

Cold water doesn't remove grease as we all know...try washing your hands or a pan in cold.

OP posts:
Bubbaluv · 13/03/2011 06:51

Or get the domestos or canesten laundry rinse. I use these on my cold washes.

Original poster
beautyspot · 13/03/2011 06:53

abithormonal - has your washing been pinched??

Agree with you about the shower heads. Such a pain - also for washing the shower out.

I get irritated by this cold water "save the planet" thing when the hot water system in our building is on 24/7. There's nothing I can do about it to turn it off or turn it down it's heating all the time. Drives me mad.

Other friends renting nearby have the same issue. These are mega expensive buildings (relatively cheap to rent)

OP posts:
mushroomsandolives · 13/03/2011 06:58

In your cold-only wash top loader, put cold power washing liquid and a scoop of napisan (in everything, not just whites). Then hang outside to dry. Job done.

AngelsOnHigh · 13/03/2011 07:03

beautyspot, where are you actually living?

Gasguzzlers? Yes, people in the country need "gasguzzlers" because of the vast distances they travel.

I live in Sydney and drive a small car as do most of my friends.

My mortgage isn't even $850 per MONTH and I live in a fairly affluent suburb.

When I travel to the city I use public transport. I walk the DC's to school, walk to the shops (except when I am doing the weekly groceries, it's too heavy for me to carry). I guess I could get home delivery but I like to bring it home myself.