….to wonder if 30 degrees is enough?

[Dora26]

In an effort to minimise energy bills DH is questioning everything- including the temperature I wash at - 40 degrees. Is 30 enough for eg towels and underwear? I suppose our clothes would be categorised as “lightly soiled “ - but still?

I do 20 ever since I accidentally did so and discovered no difference in the clothes. 60 for small DC accidents like wee or vomit though, and for towels.

I find the idea of towels needing to be washed on a higher temp purplexing. You've just washed yourself so the towel is literally touching you at the cleanest point, why would it need washing on a higher temp than your pants or tshirt?!

Yes it is. Not long ago we were washing stuff in rivers. Nobody died.

i like to do the eco wash, which is long but 40
i dont trust 30

oh and i use fairy or other non biological

This is a good point

We wash bedding and towels at 60. Anything lower doesn’t kill dust mite eggs so they still hatch. I have asthma and it’s a trigger so keeping dust mites down is important for us!

Cleaning cloths at 90 but all clothes at 30.
I might do towels and bedding at 40.

I've been doing all my washing at 30 for years, and it's fine. I use a liquid detergent though, primarily because it works better in the very hard water we have here.

I am totally behind washing on lower temperatures, but boringly: yes, actually, people did die. Bandages washed in dirty water, and intimate clothing washed in very dirty water, can absolutely give you nasty infections (and that's not to mention the effects of doing the washing itself).

While I don't advocate the river, I wash most things on 30 or 40 and reckon it's fine; I do a vinegar cycle on hot once in a blue moon.

Bloody hell. The neuroticism on here. Nobody died from washing clothes or bedding or even towels on a low temp!

Cold eco wash normally, 60 for towels and tea towels. The machine has a setting to clean it self at 70 and I run that when it asks me to, presumably that is to stop problems caused by constant low temperature washes.

Not had any problems with it.

no but my i like my clothes to be clean, without stains

Great x post there! However @SarahAndQuack comparing domestic laundry to war zone bandages and washing in 'very dirty water' is a bit strange!

Because hopefully you use your towels and sheets for a lot longer than your clothes. So they get dirtier. So you offset the frequency of washing with a higher temperature.

I would wash my clothes in rivers if I had no choice but we are a long way distant from that in the first world. I'd love to see the news reports if I went down to the banks of the Thames (my nearest river) with a zinc bath, wash board and bar of carbolic soap.

@MrsLargeEmbodied Fair enough, but what is staining your clothes that a cooler wash won't shift it? I have 2 teenage boys, an outdoorsy lifestyle, a mucky dog and have no issues with my 30 degrees washing. Do you have an unusual hobby or something?

But I didn't compare domestic laundry to war zone bandages?

I think you missed the post I was replying to! It does sound strange out of context, I do see that.

not at all, i blame it on the fairy/other non biological liquid, as well as the usual stains of life

Ecoballs destroy BO and are great for eczema...

I too don't get all this hot wash thing.

We only ever wash at 60+ if someone is unwell or things have poo on them (when DC were small) and there are actual 'bugs' to kill.

Everything else, including kitchen cleaning cloths gets bunged in at 30/40 and TOGETHER. Horror or horrors!

My towels dry my clean privates.... I don't wipe my arse with them. They have no more 'fluid' on them than a pair of lightly worn pants. Same for bedding, surely. I changed ours weekly/10 days and just put it on at 40. What on earth do I need to 'kill' that's on my bedding? We surely don't have any actual bugs on them or mites as we aren't getting bitten.... And also remember mites lives everywhere, you have them in your eyebrows right now! Will you also wash those at 60+ degrees?!?

Maybe I'm missing something, but like PP said, we shower and are clean people and detergent and a machine washes well. We have no issues with stains or smells. I do use a full wash though, not a quick one.

Wash everything at 30, with a slug of white vinegar into the fabric drawer.

Use less product to clean your clothes to prevent residue build up.

Clothes and colours last longer.

I do everything at 30 degrees and then use a cleaner periodically on a 60.
all my clothes and bedding are clean and fresh

30 degrees is actually quite hot if this weather is anything to go by 🥲

my towels say wash at 40 on them
i dont think i have towels that say 60 on them
so i dont do a 60

only use cold water eco wash - clothes are washed by a combination of water , detergent and agitation. Heat is normally not necessary and eco programs run longer and have a soaking period with helps detergent penetrate the fabric., i also have a drum clean option which is at 70 degrees so still kills bacteria without going as high as 90 degrees

I've always washed on 30C for underwear, clothes and bedding. Every month we'll do a 90C wash for the dog bedding with a bit of vamoosh to dissolve the pet hair.

I had tried to wash our clothes on cold recently, saving the planet an' all, but noticed underwear was not being cleaned properly (TMI- pregnant). So I definitely think a 30C wash is adequate having seen the difference.