Washing clothes at 20 degrees

[smashthesigns]

Should I change to washing our clothes at 20? Looking to save some money. I normally wash everything at 30 on a half wash (still 2 hours on our machine), but am wondering if it would be better to drop to 20. None of us are that grotty so I'm not worried about stains. My mum thinks I'm mad and everything will come out dirty, but then she washes everything at 60 and doesn't seem to be worried about her electricity bill.

Also if anyone does this what detergent do they use? Do some not work at low temperatures?

I'm not really sure how much the saving would be going from 30 to 20 degrees. I imagine it is minimal.

Do you not have any quicker cycles. I wash at 30 on a 59 minute cycle and even grass stains on cricket whites come out.

If you get your machine manual (or look it up online) most have a chart of energy use per cycle. Really opened my eyes and will answer this question for you.

Why not just cold? I do the bulk of mine at 30deg but 3 loads a week in a cold water cycle as that’s the best cycle for the contents - blacks, bamboo’s that specify cold only on tickets, and denim + odd clothes that specify cold only on tickets. It’s still a 2hr cycle but the clothes come out just as clean as those in all the other cycles I run at 30deg that go for 3hr.

I never go above 30 unless there has been gastro or something and then I do bedding/towels on boiling but that would be once every few years.

Nope, I wouldn't do 20. I wash most things at 30 unless it's bedding, towels or sports wear.

You might not think you're a grotty person but everyone sweats and I don't think 20 would properly clean the clothes.

I use 40⁰C for most things with the odd 60⁰C for bedding and towels.

I dont trust 20 or 30⁰C washes to get things properly clean

I don't know if I am just imagining this but I am sure that I read somewhere that Americans use cold water when they wash their clothes.
Not sure if their machines are set up differently or they just choose a cold wash.

Looking visually clean is not the same as being clean. If you’re washing at 20 your clothes aren’t going to be clean, and 30 is pushing it really.

@Hellocatshome

Do you not have any quicker cycles. I wash at 30 on a 59 minute cycle and even grass stains on cricket whites come out.

Do quicker cycles not usually use MORE electric?

@dementedpixie

I use 40⁰C for most things with the odd 60⁰C for bedding and towels.

I dont trust 20 or 30⁰C washes to get things properly clean

This is me Unless something has only been worn for five minutes and gets soaked in juice or covered in food then I put those things in on a 30 wash

My washing machine has a great daily wash cycle with 1400 spin and a 40 wash is an hour a 60 wash is I think five minutes more

I can’t believe how log some of your machine cycles are
I couldn’t be doing with 2 and half hours of three hour cycles I do at least two 9kg loads a day which I try not to tumble dry where’ve possible

Do quicker cycles not usually use MORE electric?

No

Quicker cycles tend to be at higher temps by default don’t they? (Unless it’s a wool / delicates)

Does it make a difference using bio / non bio detergent?

Washing at 20° isn't going to get anything clean, and I only use 30° for very delicate things.

I wash towels, tea towels and bed linen at 60° and everything else at 40°.

I wash most things on 30 with the added detergent anti-bag stuff. My 30 cycle is 1 hour 15 and my 40 is 1 hour 30 I think. I don’t think mine has a 20 wash, unless for delicates. I can’t imagine the saving will be anything noticeable either.

I have a one-hour cycle and can choose the temperature, from cold to 90 degrees in 10 degree increments. Undies etc go on 40, towels, tea towels and cloths on 50, most outer clothes inc denim and knitwear on cold to preserve their colours. If you use biological liquids then low temperatures aren’t a problem and will clean clothes well.

Worth mentioning that from a scientific point of view bacteria thrive at 37C but also grow/reproduce at 30C (just more slowly). Most bacteria cannot tolerate 40C. Admittedly, detergent will also go a long way to kill bacteria but personally I prefer a two pronged approach.

@Hellocatshome

Do quicker cycles not usually use MORE electric?

No

They do on mine (and use more water too). Check your manual as it may vary from machine to machine but generally the slower cycles do more soaking and less intensive swishing so can use less water / electricity.

mine i believe is at 40 economy mode for 1 hr and that usually does everything ok, if bits have been missed i just re wash.

I’ve just started using the Eco wash on my machine on the advice I read here on mumsnet - apparently it really saves on the electric but just takes longer.

While we do have quicker cycles they're not very good at getting the detergent out, so we end up with clothes that need another rinse which is even more wasteful. It's a washer dryer (we rent, it wouldn't have been our choice if there was the room) which is maybe why the cycles are all so long?

I'll see if I can find a manual for it - the eco setting is 4hrs30 at either 40 or 60 which is just too long. I also thought that it was eco in comparison to a full length wash at 60 so I've always been a bit doubtful as to how much energy it is saving.

I worked in care and we were told to wash at 40/60 and iron or tumble dry to try and kill as many bugs as possible, without destroying fabric.

I have a 15 minute cold wash cycle on my machine- perfect for freshening up clothes.
I mostly dry outside, and wash other clothes on a warmer/longer cycle.
I add a dash of anti microbe liquid into the wash.

Stop doing 1/2 loads as that wastes more energy than doing a full load.
Ariel works at 15°C or above

Shorter cycles consume more energy that's why the eco cycle is invariably the longest one