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?

When did people start being so obsessed with bacteria on their clothes? I wash clothes so that they look and smell clean. As a nurse my uniforms were washed at 60, but in normal life I find this obsession odd. Saying that, I steam iron everything, but again, for cosmetic reasons.

cotton towels and damp flannels need a hot wash.

Luckily cotton stands up to it.

This is a good opportunity to give the machine a regular service wash, with soda crystals, to wash away residues of soao, fabsoft, grease and resident bacteria.

This is a good opportunity to give the machine a regular service wash, with soda crystals, to wash away residues of soao, fabsoft, grease and resident bacteria.

Doesn’t your machine do that anyway on the clean cycle? My standard wash cycle is 30deg and I do a few cold water washes here and there with clothes that should only be done in cold. After a certain number of washes (??) my machine flashes up a message that it needs a clean and I put it on the clothes free clean cycle with a tub cleaner. It runs at 95deg, doesn’t do the spin etc but is meant to clean the tub, seals, hoses etc.

When did people start being so obsessed with bacteria on their clothes?

I wonder the same. If that’s the case then the reality is people have lived with it healthily and happily for many years. Personally the only people I have ever seen where dirty clothes caused a health issue were literally homeless and even then skin issues were a combination of many factors, not just dirty clothes - and I’m talking crusted, rank, dirty clothes generally with human waste on them. Then there are the older people where self-care takes a dive and they often don’t wash clothes at all or infrequently for a variety of reasons. They just smell though, even then I’ve never known the clothes themselves to cause health issues and it’s due to infrequent washing as opposed to washing them in cold vs 20deg vs 30deg vs 60deg water.

@HoppingPavlova

This is a good opportunity to give the machine a regular service wash, with soda crystals, to wash away residues of soao, fabsoft, grease and resident bacteria.

Doesn’t your machine do that anyway on the clean cycle? My standard wash cycle is 30deg and I do a few cold water washes here and there with clothes that should only be done in cold. After a certain number of washes (??) my machine flashes up a message that it needs a clean and I put it on the clothes free clean cycle with a tub cleaner. It runs at 95deg, doesn’t do the spin etc but is meant to clean the tub, seals, hoses etc.

the only real way to "clean" a washing machine is to use the 90 degree wash. putting anything else in such as dettol etc is a waste of money

Right so I've done two washes today and clocked the smart meter readings for each. This is the first time that meter has felt useful! The amount spent over the course of the 20° wash was 15p, and for the 30° wash 25p. Which is more of a difference than I was expecting. I'd like to do a wash on the 40° eco setting to see how that compares but I'm wanting to use the cooker which would skew the results so I may do that tomorrow if there is enough washing to be done.

So far then it is cheaper to wash at 20°, but the majority of people here thinks my clothes are not going to be clean enough - I guess my next question is how much extra is it to get a detergent that works at cooler temperatures if I don't think my clothes have come out clean enough just now.

I feel a bit sad worrying about 10p a wash but we do maybe four or five washes a week and we're in debt on the electricity account as is before the price hike so its not nothing.

@Bitofachinwag I use sanitiser as it shifts any odour in armpit areas that detergent doesn't always. It's the equivalent of using halo sports wash/white vinegar etc but I just find it easier

if you go through a "hot" cycle, with soda crystals, you may as well put your towels in.

You won't need washing powder because it will dissolve the soap residue, and you'll find it foams up well, and the towels come out softer and whiter.

I haven't RTFT but I have read your update.
Unless actually stained I wash everything on a short wash at 20. I use normal detergent capsules and never have any issues with things not coming out clean. HTH

(Stained stuff I use vanish and normal wash, if it doesn't come clean I might do different)

I'd love to know how many people on this thread think they have become ill from wearing clothes washed at too low a temperature.

@TerribleZebra

I'd love to know how many people on this thread think they have become ill from wearing clothes washed at too low a temperature.

None I imagine. But I do quite like the idea of my knickers coming out cleaner than when they went in. And dp's socks, which could slay an elephant at 20 paces. The documentary I mentioned was interesting, @PigletJohn I'm sure you were on the thread, can you remember? It was one of those BBC2 pop science docs about how minging we all really are. Not always in a bad way, but in a more shit (literally) on your chopping board than on your loo seat, and more nasties in your pants after a warm wash than a stone cold (or obvs hot) one.

@TerribleZebra my mum was convinced she would get covid if she washed her clothes below 60°, even though she's retired and wasn't going near people. Even after we explained she wasn't washing herself at 60° I don't think she really believed us.

On the other hand my little brother (who can be quite grotty) swears he got scabies from sitting on bedsheets that hadn't been hot washed...

@TerribleZebra

I'd love to know how many people on this thread think they have become ill from wearing clothes washed at too low a temperature.

Same here! I have lived in different countries and mostly washed my clothes in cold water. I have never been ill or smelly because of it!

I blame Hinch and all those other cleaning influencers for this obsession with sanitising and using anti bac on everything...i'm convinced they destroy our immune systems.

@myusernamewastakenbyme

I blame Hinch and all those other cleaning influencers for this obsession with sanitising and using anti bac on everything...i'm convinced they destroy our immune systems.

I grew up surrounded by horse muck and playing out on the fields and in the mud Developed a medical condition in my thirties which destroyed my immune system which can happen to anyone. So people might see me as being OTT but I can't fight infection

I know this thread is several months old but I'm going to start washing everything on 20 including towels and bed sheets and a once a month 95' wash.

I had no idea that different machine temperatures was a UK thing!

I've done several loads in the past two weeks on 20 followed by line drying and everything seems to come out clean.

I find if the clothes aren’t too dirty then it’s fine. However, I did it last week with one of DH’s sweaty t-shirts and had to immediately put it back in at 40 as it bloody stank!

I used to do a cooler shorter wash until I realised stuff just wasn't getting clean. Fine for a refresh but not up to standard so I'd rather wash hotter and less frequently. My 40 mixed load wash is less than an hour.

I only do a longer 60 degree wash for (white) bedding and towels - no more than once a fortnight.

Also I use pods and the cooler wash (for wool etc) doesn't dissolve them.

I often use 20 degrees for washes, I have never had a problem with them being clean.

Looking and smelling clean really is the same as being clean.
I have had washers in several hot countries that do not heat water (or connect to hot water systems), even using very basic laundry powder my clothes always came out just as clean as they do off a 40 wash in Britain. The clothes last longer as well.

Forget what everyone else on here thinks. From the 20 wash you've done, do YOU feel your clothes to be clean? If they look clean and smell clean, then, sanity suggests, they are clean.