To think towels need a hot wash?

[FirstOfHerName]

Recently I was staying with my parents on holiday and I noticed that my mum washes everything (including towels and bedding) on a cold half-hour wash. I told her that towels probably need a warm wash at the least and she got annoyed with me, saying that she used a special washing detergent formulated to work in cold water. They're her towels so I left it at that and said no more.

However, whenever she's stayed with me, she's told me it's grim that I wash towels and bathmats together. Well it would be if I did them on a cold wash, but I wash them (and bedding) at 90 and then tumble dry after, so don't see the problem with it. Any bathmat germs would be killed off at that temperature, I would've thought.

Who is more in the right here, her or me??

(someone telling me we're both disgusting in 3...2...1...)

For me I wash bedding and towels at 60 with a cap of zoflora

My MIL insists that washing everything on a 30 degree 'wool' setting is perfectly adequate. Even though she doesn't wash towels until they are visibly dirty and only changes bedding every month.

All her laundry looks ditched and her 'white' towels are a grubby light beige.

But because I am polite, I just nod along and say nothing. When I really want to sneer and say 'You are a slovenly cow and your house is scruffy and smells stale. It's disgusting.'

I only use 60 wash if people have been ill. Otherwise 30 wash but towels bedding etc done separately. On the germ front, surely underwear is dirtier?

Ertrude- but so what if your MIL's towels aren't cleaning white?! She clearly isn't a slave to her laundry.

cleaning=gleaming

Genuine question - most posters here refer to using biological detergent. I have always used non bio in the belief that it doesn't aggravate eczema. (DD aged 4 has such sensitive skin it's ridiculous). Is this correct?
Is non bio not as effective?
If using non bio do you need to rely on higher temperatures?

It depends. Some non-bios are also designed for lower temps (the overall push is to encourage cooler washes on the whole, its far more eco friendly), but yes they are less effective at lower temps than bio detergents.

Many people with eczema find the detergent makes no difference at all, its not a blanket thing for skin issues. My dd used to need non bio but now it makes no difference at all, I don't know why.

Everything at 40° or under if delicates. We all have very robust constitutions and are rarely sick and if anyone dosn't make it to the bathroom and there's soiled bedding a 60° wash (only ever happened couple times). Only time I've used a higher wash temp was 20 years plus ago when doing Terry nappies

I put all my bedding and towels and everything that needs a damn good wash on the pre-wash setting. It does it at 40 ° but they get a double wash for that. It works fine. Also if I think a 15 min quick wash is not enough I put it through again at 15 mins so I get a 30 min wash - there is no 30 min wash setting on my washer.

This is fascinating. My questions/comments.

I've never cleaned the machine (on 90 or anything else) is that bad?

Did anyone explain why they were putting dettol in the washing machine?

Why do bath mats especially need isolating and washed at a high temperature? We just step on ours very briefly while getting out the bath or shower.

I would like to know about Dettol too. And Napisan and white vinegar.
Also, I do use fabric softener...... Sounds like not many do?

Towels that have been used in the house , I usually wash on 60.
If they have been used at the local swimming pool, then it's definitely a 90.
Cold wash might clean any visible dirt but not kill germs.

When you say germs what do you mean (ie bacteria?) and is there evidence they are obliterated at 90 but not 60? Genuine question if anyone knows.

I feel towels and bedding are different. I always wash bedding at 60 as I understand it's the temperature which kills house dust mite to which DH is allergic. Unless towels have been to the beach or been stood on in mud I wash them frequently on 40.

PP "what is 90 for?" in ye olden days, before disposables 90-95 was called the nappy programme and we all washed them on that.
I still use it for some whites or to remove stubborn stains on things which won't shrink. Good for the machine occasionally I think, always smells fresh afterwards.

Mairead because her 'clean' towels aren't clean, even after washing. You can SEE they aren't. And I object to using an unclean towel.

Her washing machine is filthy, the drawer full of black gunge and slimey stuff in the rubber door seal, and it smells of drains.

Her tea towels are vile and are visibly stained and dirty. Washing up bowl always rimmed with grease. Shower screen thick with limescale and non slip mat in the bath gunged up. Her finger nails are always dirty and her hair 'smells'. I could go on.

But maybe that all seems perfectly fine to you, and people nod politely at you too.

Do clothes on 30 or 40, towels on a 60 and kitchen cleaning cloths/pot towels on a 95.

My machine has a dedicated "drum clean" cycle, which is set to 70 and cannot be changed, but the agitation pattern is very different to a wash cycle (it almost spins whilst full of water).

Even if I were to do towels on a 40, I would do them separate as washing them with clothes can accelerate wear and tear on clothes due to the weight and texture of them.

Low - dettol I think people mean the specific laundry one. Napisan I use because it's cheaper
I don't use fabric conditioner as it holds sweat smells in and I don't like soft towels either!

My washing machine will say occasionally "hygiene wash needed" which means I need to run it on a 90 or above cycle.

Happens about twice a year.

It's obviously for the machine itself rather than the washing.

Ok I may be naive here!!! But I only wash whites/lights at 60 plus. Most of our things go at 30 in all honesty

If anyone is worried about bacteria pop a Milton tablet in the washer with the detergent.

I'm towels at 90, white cotton 90, elasticated sheets at 40, daily clothing separated into dark, pinks and whites and done at 30. If anyone has had a cold or tummy bug I pop a Milton in the washer too.
I'm immune compromised so it's more for my benefit than the children. Also, my eldest has eczema with sore bleeding patches of skin so I'm trying to prevent courses of antibiotics for her.
I usually run my machine once a month with a bleach soaked tea towel and pull the draw out and bleach over night. I find the machine will smell if I don't.

I wash our towels & bedding weekly at 60 degrees, most other things at 30 or 40.

I wash the bathmat separately because it's too heavy to go in with the towels & the machine tells me it's unbalanced & can't (won't) spin if I try to put it in at the same time as the towels.

When you say germs what do you mean (ie bacteria?) and is there evidence they are obliterated at 90 but not 60? Genuine question if anyone knows.

There isn't a general answer for this. It depends on many factors, the species of microbe in question, the length of exposure, if there is detergent present or not, pH, if they have stress response systems, other factors. I have worked with microbes which grow optimally around 90 C and find 60 C too chilly to grow (none of them are pathogens as humans are too cold for them).
There are gazillions of different microbes (and most of them do us no harm) there is not one way of killing all of them reliably.

Ooh, nice Ertrude!

How often do people clean their machine? And what do you use?

I usually clean mine every few months with a shop bought cleaner for machines in a 60 wash but an wondering if I am missing something here!

90 is overkill but cold water is grim. 60 is fine and I'll confess to throwing in towel occasionally with clothing at 40 but we dry in the sun.

And the detergent that works on cold is nasty stuff full of chemicals and synthetic fragrances. SHOCKED that people are advocating laundry disinfectant! Don't they realise that this kind of thing is contributing to super-bugs??