To use a 1h 39m cycle for all my washes?

[RtHonNicolaMurray]

I read a Reddit thread last night on this topic and the vast majority of commenters were using a 30 - 45 minute cycle for all their clothes. Some people even using a 14 minute cycle which I find really surprising - I can’t imagine my clothes would be clean after such a short wash!

I use a standard 1:39 cycle (Miele’s “Minimum Iron”) @ 30 or 40 degrees, or a 2:30 cottons cycle @ 60 for bed linens. Am I absolutely overdoing it?!
For context we’re a household of two adults, one (very small, non-shedding) dog and two short-haired cats. Fiancé works outdoors and does lots of DIY and we both exercise a lot, so lots of sweaty gym clothes to wash. I am by no stretch of the imagination a clean freak, so very surprised that I’m the outlier.

YABU - 30 minutes is plenty to get your clothes clean
YANBU - Hour and a half is pretty standard

@MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers

Everything goes on the 45 minute 40 degree wash, including sheets and towels although for small loads I might use the 30 minute cycle at 30 degrees.

Me too. Never done a long wash in 40 years of doing washing.

Miele too and I used the 20 mins wash or the 1hr cycle.

@user1471530109

The shorter cycles are much worse for the environment! I read this recently probably on here They agitate the water more vigorously so use a lot more energy. I use 1hr39 or 1hr51 which are both quick cycles according to my newish machine. I can do a much shorter 30mins. I do for delicate woollens. But tbh, I'm not sure I will anymore mainly due to the unnecessary impact on energy.

I work in environmental, wherever you got this information from is beyond wrong

Our (very new) AEG washing machine doesn't have a cotton cycle faster than 1hr36 (that's with "quick wash" selected). My DH hates that it won't do quicker than that.

There is so much misunderstanding of washing machine cycles. Faster washes almost always use more electricity and water. It’s worth researching your cycles / energy use as over time it would make a big difference to your bills.

I assume this is the case too for dishwashers? I hate that our eco dish wash cycle takes so much longer! Eco just has to take the fun and convenience out of everything huh 😂

My usual washes are about 1.5 - 2 hrs so YANBU, I have a John Lewis machine and can choose the length of wash so generally go for a mid length one, there is a 14 minute wash but I have only used that for a quick rinse out

Yes name. We've just got a new dishwasher, the Eco cycle takes 4.5 hours (I know!) and uses 0.7 kWh and 9.5 litres of water.

The express setting does the washing up in an hour, but uses 1.3 kWh so nearly twice as much, and 10.5 litres of water.

@NotThatHomer I hadn’t noticed that but I air dry everything.

I used laundrettes for 15 years. Their washes were 35 minutes long. When I got my first washing machine at home, I discovered that a load of stains and marks that I’d thought were permanent disappeared after a two-hour wash. For this reason, I’m not keen on short washes.

@TeachesOfPeaches

MN competitive long wash

Lol

Our eco standard wash is over three hours! 20 or 30 degrees for everything except towels and sheets, which we try to wash far less often than the MN Hygiene Brigade would care for.

30 minutes is the emergency wash button, not for everyday use.

@halloweenie13 I am not convinced I am. Have you not read the many posts on here saying the same? Why would the 'eco' wash on the machine be one of the longest?

'environmental'? What does that mean? Environmental health isn't really connected to this as far as I know?

I work in environmental

Environmental what?

My short cycle uses more water and electricity than my longer cycle.

Why would the 'eco' wash on the machine be one of the longest

Because it soaks rather than agitates and uses less water, which it heats more slowly. This all makes it slower, but uses less energy. I've posted the figures for my dishwasher above, but the same principle applies to washing machines.

Plus the shorter cycles are only suitable for smaller loads, so as well as each load using more energy, you're likely to do more loads, so even more energy is used.

Our Eco wash takes hours.

I use the 30 minute rapid wash at 40 degrees.

We have a washer-dryer and all my loads are washed and dried within two hours.

Towels and bedding take a bit longer as I wash them on 60 but even then they're clean and dry in four hours or so.

I use the minimum iron cycle at 30 on my machine (a Zanussi) as well. I haven’t actually tried the mini 30 though so maybe I’ll give it a go next time and see if it gets stuff clean. Mine doesn’t have anything shorter than that unless the rinse setting is? But I can’t see that cleaning anything.

This is very interesting - I'd never realised the longer washes were more eco friendly, and easier on the clothes.

I might be converted (except for when it gets to 4pm on a Sunday and I realise the kids have no clean trousers for school)

My husband insists we use the eco wash which is 4h19

We have a timer on it, so we can do two loads a day which is more than enough. One in the morning timed to finish when the first person gets in and straight into the dryer or out on the line depending on the weather. Second one timed to finish as the first person gets up and ditto. There are 5 of us and we don't need 14 loads a week.

hmmm.. The internet (Ariel washing powder, Which?) do not agree on this longer cycle being more eco friendly thing.

This is so interesting and just shows that most people have no idea how to use their machine including me.

I have always washed everything on a daily wash program at 40 degrees, except occasionally some towels on cotton at 60. My last washer took 53mins and with 4 children I felt I couldn’t wait longer for a wash.

My new washer is Bosch and the daily wash is 59 mins, this was a key factor in deciding on this machine as most other new machines have quick programmes well over an hour. I have never used an eco wash or any of the other multitude of programs as many other posters havn’t. It seemed crazy to me that the programs were so long.

Now I realise that those programs are soaking the washing a lot if the time and hence cheaper and more eco! Thank you mumsnet. I am going to try them but how do you use a timer? Are they built into the washer or do you need one of those timer things on your plug? I never read any manuals ever, they are so boring but perhaps I should.

I think manufacturers are not marketing these products properly and women don’t lIke ploughing through pages and pages of boring grey manuals. I do have one manual I use which is a lamented coloured fold up card with instructions for cleaning my coffee machine, perhaps all gadgets could come with one of these and we’d all know how to use our machines properly.

@Kotatsu

hmmm.. The internet (Ariel washing powder, Which?) do not agree on this longer cycle being more eco friendly thing.

Oh don’t say that I’ve just been convinced to change my ways!

I use the shortened version of the standard washes as a matter of course so the 40’ wash is 1hr and the 60’ s 1hr 6mins. The standard cycles are about 2hrs 30. Short 15/30 min cycles are fine for ‘emergencies’ but are for small loads not a full drum.

Mine weighs them and a small to medium on 20 degrees is 1hr28m. The 30 minute cycle is for one-offs really.

@TooMuchPaper

I do a 40 degree wash that takes 48 minutes. Clothes always clean after it.

Me too. Never anything more.

The key is to read the instruction manual- that should tell you the energy consumption of various programmes on your machine, plus what amount of washing they are suitable for.

I have a 9kg machine and the 15 minute quick wash is only suitable for up to 2kg of washing so I only use it for real emergencies, or for pre-washing the really filthy/stinky stuff before it goes in the main wash. There's a 'mixed wash' that takes about an hour and is for up to about 5kg. The eco wash (3 1/2 hrs) uses the least energy, plus it seems to weigh the clothes so it doesn't take as long if you have a smaller load (we barely have any whites!).

90% of the time I wash on the eco extra long wash, you just plan around it. I try to wash things when they are actually dirty, not necessarily after every wear. Towels get a few days out of them (we use them on clean bodies!) as long as they are hung up to dry between uses.