To think DH should know you don’t wash dirty bed linen at 30 degrees?

[BasinHaircut]

I know it’s not the end of the world but honestly, he is 38 and now it’s probably going to have to go on again. He has a sweaty head and pillowcases are unlikely to be clean after this wash. I already have to do our bedding in 2 loads as it’s so big and we don’t have a spare set so it all needs to be dry and back in the bed tonight.

I’m so irritated!

Oh and I also never use liquid detergent or softener - always powder. This after seeing the state of gunge buildup behin rubber seals and no doubt elsewhere on old washing machine and doing some reading. For cold or cooler washes I do pre whisk the powder in boiling water in jug first to help it dissolve.

@Ohtheplacesyougo

Life must be dull.., just realised I’m reading a whole thread on temperature for washing bedding

Me too! It’s fascinating! I really must get up and change the bed 🤣🤣

Hadenoughofbloodycovid(great name btw)!The whole point of modern washing powders is to eliminate the need for hot washes? lots of energy used here .Wash on 40c seems fine .Also does anyone remember 50c washing?.My machine has 30 .40 .and 60 only!

My bed linen gets washed in a 40 . Anything less and it smells but dp does get sweaty a lot and its that greasy smell thats difficult to shift. (He is clean, showers every day etc, just his sweat has a weird smell)

Surely it depends on how manky you're letting the sheets get before washing them 🤢

I usually wash ours at 30°, but do it higher if we've been ill, or they haven't been done as often as I'd like.

Growing up, the only hot water we had was in the electric shower. All other taps were cold. Our laundry was always washed cold. I moved to the UK where everything was washed on hot and for hours and I just couldn't get my head round it, so still use the 'fast' setting, 30°. I live.

I add Dettol laundry cleanser though.

Washing your hands thoroughly in luke warm water with soap will kill viruses and bacteria stone dead.

Why do you think your bed linen is any different? 30 is absolutely fine!

Do you remember the bed bugs that were so discussed a few years ago? Well my dd as part of her work visited a man who owned a dog trained to identify bed bugs. This was his business eliminating bed bugs. He maintained that the rise in numbers of infected places was the consequence of low temperature washing of bed linen. Hotels were found to be often contaminated and people were taking them home in suitcases. He said all bed linen should be washed at 60 dgs or higher.

'Greygreenblue
Ooh this thread just made me think of something someone here might be able to answer. What is the difference between “bio” and “non-bio” laundry powder??

I lived in the UK in my early 20s and never did work out what this meant. Detergent is not labelled like this in Australia.

No one I asked knew the answer. Even the English people I spoke to. Mind you we were all about 21. Never did occur to me ask one of my many older English relatives...

As a side note I always wash sheets in 30 degrees. Most things I was at 30 degrees actually and in when I lived in Queensland I used to only use cold water (the water there is not cold by anyone else’s standards).'

'I can't answer this, as I don't know either.

I do remember the two choices when I was in the UK. Now I am not in the UK our choices are hand wash (foams a lot) or automatic (doesn't foam that much).

So I just assume its biological but it doesn't say anything as such on the bag....'

Are both of your googles broken?

Having been married for 25 years I know not to expect my husband to know anything.

@YellowandGreenToBeSeen

Whilst I agree that more than one set of linen seems reasonable, it might be worth remembering that to some people, it’s just unaffordable.

Not when you can pick up a spare set for £10.

I was mine on 40. All still beautifully white

I wouldn't be having a fit of the vapours if it was washed on 30° nor would I be reasoning it. IF the pillow cases looked awful then I'd re-wash them with the next appropriate wash.

Madness to only have one set.

[quote BasinHaircut]@notsorighteousthesedays interesting

I’ll just get rid of him and I can wash all the bedding as I wish and also won’t have to worry about sweaty man head.

Last time I looked in Primark they didn’t have any super king bedding? I have found there to be much less choice around, and what there is, is not £20 a set.[/quote]
Try Asda or Tesco.

It's not the quality of your Kath Kidston stuff (or whatever), but washes surprising well and does the job.

We have three spaniels sleeping on the bottom of our bed (judge me if you like - frankly, my dears, I don't give a damn!). They sleep on a dog blanket, but even so, our duvet covers get grubby quickly and are therefore changed twice-weekly. Wash on 30, - I use Method for preference, but otherwise whatever is on special offer at the supermarket when I'm shopping that week - come out nice and clean. I have four sets and rotate them. Two sets only of bottom sheets and 2nd pillowcases because dogs aren't encouraged in the bed (I'm indulgent but not stupid).

My DH also has Sweaty Manhead Syndrome. I also suspect that he drools in his sleep. His pillowcases are always disgusting. I am tempted to removed them using both Marigolds and tongs. They also wash well on 30.

However, I do have pillow protectors to - er, protect the pillows, because Manhead Sweat is perfectly capable of penetrating a cheap pillowcase - and possibly an expensive one, too.

It's because our brains are wired differently. Obviously there are individuals of either gender who comply to a greater or lesser extent, but in general women are better at memorising things like these. Men are better at directions. Women are better at multitasking. Men are better at monotasking.

I call bullshit to that one. That's the argument that has been used for years against women to explain why we're so good at looking after children and doing the washing but supposedly not suitable for designing aeroplanes or flying them.

I wash bedding on 40c, always comes out fresh. NHS guidelines for nursing staff to wash out body fluids is 50c however.

OP why don’t you have spare bedding? Just one set is asking for trouble, what if one of you was ill?

Nothing is washed over 30 in this house, everything is clean and strangely neither of us has died from bedding bacteria.

Hotels were found to be often contaminated and people were taking them home in suitcases. He said all bed linen should be washed at 60 dgs or higher.

OR alternatively you could not steal hotel bedding, then you wouldn't take their bedbugs home with you.

(Just a thought

@Meowchickameowmeow

Nothing is washed over 30 in this house, everything is clean and strangely neither of us has died from bedding bacteria.

Same in our house, Meow.

It seems we are living on borrowed time.

I’m not worried about germs. It’s the grubby patch where DH lays his head and just got the purposes of keeping it bright white.

So if it was only about keeping a pillowcase pristine white for a week, rather than the whole set un-germy, why did you feel the need to wash everything all over again?

YANBU, 30 is a cold wash I believe! He should put an old case on his pillow anyway, not nice for new bedding to get all greasy.

@Greygreenblue bio has enzymes added that help stain removal by helping to break down or ‘digest’ biological stains ie those made by body fluids, food etc.

Non bio doesn’t - the enzymes are harder on delicate natural fabrics, can’t distinguish between fibres and stains, effectively - and because lots of people find the enzymes remaining in the fabric irritate their skin.

Also is sweaty man head just the hair products they are using? If so spray a bit of vanish spray before putting in the wash?

You are so right OP, you shouldn't wash bed linen at 30, you should wash in cold like me.
OPs head explodes

We have three spaniels sleeping on the bottom of our bed (judge me if you like - frankly, my dears, I don't give a damn!).

I’m envious actually. Do they snore? Nothing more reassuring than a snoring dog.

Same in our house, Meow.

It seems we are living on borrowed time

The end is indeed nigh!

if you wash at 30 you should avoid powder detergents, as they often can't be properly dissolved. Especially bad if you do quick washes.

The biggest environmental crime is not running a hotter wash, but those people that insist all clothing must always be washed after every use.