Adding hot water to washing machine.

[Belindabelle]

I was half listening to the radio yesterday and people were giving tips to save money.
One idea, if you have gas central heating/water, was to add a few buckets of hot water to your washing machine drum before turning it on. Apparently this means you use less electricity as heating up the water is the most expensive part of using a washing machine.

Do you think this would work? Can you think of any drawbacks to doing this?

I remember years ago looking into hot filled washing machines but there was only one make available and it was expensive and often out of stock so I did t bother.

I doubt this would make any difference, you can barely add any water with the door open - you can get the clothes wet but nothing meaningful enough to reduce the amount it fills itself by. You’re better off just washing at a lower temperature.

Mine always starts by draining I think so wouldn't it be a pointless exercise?

I think this would only work with a top loader and as far as I'm aware, top loaders don't heat water anyway, they're hooked up to the hot water tap.

My MIL did this for decades. She had a watering can without the nozzle. She'd fill it up from the hot tap, open the soap drawer and pour a watering can of very hot water in. She swore by it for reducing bills and getting clothes really clean.

I used washable nappies and one of the hints was to add extra water via the drawer as they were so absorbent I often do it now for big loads and towels. I guess you could do a cooler wash and add hot water via the drawer but I don’t know how the energy costs compare.

I’m just peed off that washing machines are cold fill only these days-it was much better when you could draw off your hot water supply (god I’m old!)

My washing machine is a varied 1-10kg so it weighs the drum to know how much water to add. If I added hot water before hand it would assume there was more clothes and then add in extra water (I think) so it would have the opposite effect for my machine.

I don’t have a smart meter so I can’t check if this would use less electricity or not. Seems like a bit of a faff but if it saved a significant amount of money maybe I could be persuaded.

Apparently you wait a couple of minutes until your machine drains the initial water away then add hot water using the drawer.

Are you using the eco programmes on your machine? I know they are much-hated on MN because they take longer than the 30 minutes everyone seems to want to do a wash in, but that would be a better way to save money on washing. For all the reasons stated already, I can't see that adding hot water would make any difference.
Maybe people will also start washing things less often rather than every wear - another easy way to save.

If you're already doing both those things, then you're probably taking the best route to most efficient use of your washing machine.

Funnily enough after having this machine for years I dug out the instructions and have now become very familiar with the ECO function. It adds hours onto the time. I just need to get better organised with putting my washing on earlier in the day.

I actually think it also has a time delay feature so I can set it up at night. That can be my homework for next week as this week I am getting to grips with the new air fryer and my menopausal brain can’t deal with too much technical info.

I am trying to wash less often and at lower temperature too. I will see how it goes.

I do this when I wash at 30, only a couple of jugs full. Don’t know if it saves, but if I’ve got hot water in tank, I would rather put in washing machine than waste it.

No. It’s a stupid idea. Because it would cost more not less due to the laws of physics.

The energy to heat x amount of water up to say 30C is the same whether boiler or washing machine doing it.

But if you run the hot water tap until the water comes out hot enough, fill up a container and then transfer to a washing machine, you are literally heating way more water because for the water to come out of the tap hot enough it has to travel from the boiler through the pipes and out your tap (if not an on demand system, also through a hot water tank). This means when you shut the tap off, there is all that hot water still sitting in the pipes between the tap and the boiler, slowly cooling off and heated up for nothing. Water also loses heat as it travels through pipes from the boiler so to get 30C water out the tap, it’s got to leave the boiler at a higher temperature. You’d also lose a degree or two filling up the cool container and pouring it into the washing machine.

The washer takes in cold water, heats it on the spot so no extra water is heated up for nothing and water is only heated to exact temperature needed. It’s the most efficient way.

I’ve started washing in the evening on eco so it can be hung out in the morning. I’m not always good at remembering after a lifetime of washing in the morning, but getting there!

Yep - eco functions are longer. It's often the cause of a LOT of debate here, because people simply don't believe a longer programme can use less energy. But it can, and it does.

If you (not just you, anyone!) want to save money then the washing machine companies have provided a ready-made solution. Of course there's a compromise to be made, which is time, but in using a short programme you are literally paying for the convenience.

If people start being a bit more critical/self aware of their laundry habits then a lot of time and energy (and therefore money) can be saved. Washing many items of clothes after one 'normal' wear simply isn't necessary, but people have just got into the habit of doing it.

I think the idea is that the washer uses electricity to heat the water, the water out of the tap is heated by gas which is cheaper.

My latest washing machine was the first one in 40 years that was cold fill only. I couldn't bear the thought of icy cold water going in, then using electricity to heat it up, so my DP rigged me up a short piece of hose to fix on the tap to top up the wash with hot water.

I let the programme start, as it always drains first, let the cold water take the powder down (yes, I still use washing powder), then connect the hose and add extra hot water. Viola!

I’m not!
My washer is in the bathroom above the kitchen, and my old hot-fill one brought the kitchen ceiling down one night when the washer in the hose failed and hot water ran for hours.
Was a horrible mess.
I suppose it’s ok if you always shut the water off after each wash but do people do that?

The difference in price is much less than it used to be plus the heating of water within the machine to the exact temperature and in the exact quantity required means that there is no waste of energy.

When I had a condenser dryer that collected water, I used to love pouring the hot collected water straight into the washing machine detergent drawer to top it up. I would only top up after it had filled, as I always thought it washed in very little water.

This only worked at weekends when I was running several loads back to back. Although, I also topped up even if the collected water was cool - but timed it so that it would be heated. This was before the energy crisis and wouldn't have saved me electricity, but I thought it helped make the clothes cleaner and gave me a way to reuse the condensed water.

It's not necessary to use hot water to wash clothes.

The UK is strangely obsessed with hot clothes washes.

Billions of people in the world wear perfectly clean clothes washed only in cold water.

I've started doing this - we have a solid fuel Rayburn so when it's on I have unlimited hot water whether I need it or not, so it may as well be utilised.

@TheClitterati. I have put on a wash at 20’c today (lowest my machine goes on a cotton/mix load) to see how it deals with my teenagers clothes.

I have also used the eco function and it is going to take 3hours 40 mins!

This is what I wanted to say.

I have a front loader now, only due to space really, but most people here prefer a top loader (or even the good old twin tub), which only take it cold water and has no heat pump. I grew up with cold washed clothes, my mum would get a bucket from the bath if something was really in need of an extra hot soak.

Most of those billions use biological detergent, and either tumble dry or line dry in brilliant sunshine which helps kill bacteria.

The sunshine also removes many stains that cold water washing doesn't.

We are also probably one of the only countries that has a weird obsession with non-bio, which again doesn't help with bacteria.

Washing in cold water, with non-bio and drying indoors on an airer is unlikely to result in "perfectly clean" laundry.

ive done the add water for a couple of years
1,as i dont think a normal fill cleans as well
2,use up the warm water nightly after showers etc

with the sanll amount a machine puts in imo dont think it cleans as much as a fuller water machine,of course it will cost a little more in water but i think its worth it

my machine is next to the sink so easy to fill,just cut a small piece of hose pipe and one end hold by the tap i use warm water and the other end in the powder dispenser and shut the draw to hold the hose in place,start the machine and wait 5 mins so it fills as nomal then add by the hose pipe,takes a couple of mins and dont add to much as my machine will self drain if water added goes to more than half the machine,you can stop the machine to see how much you have in there