laundry poll, sorry bit boring but need to know!

[bundlebelly]

Sorry this is a bit boring and mumsy, but it is getting to me.
There seems to be pressure to wash at 30 now, to save the planet and the polar bears. But I find it just doesn't get things properly clean. Especially towels etc. I am tempted to wash them at old fashioned 60. Is this evil? What does everyone else do?!

I wash towels and bedding at 60 degrees

Everything else is at a lower temp

I don't think it is evil

Delicates at 30, whites and darks at 40, sheets at 60.

Split your washing into actually dirty, and not really dirty. Wash towels at 90 every 2-3 washes. Well, towels I always hot wash.... You will prob. find most your clothes are pretty much clean, just weed out the actually dirty ones and bung in with the towels/bedding.

Towels and bedding can harbour germs/bacteria that can only be killed by heat. So either wash them at 60 degrees minimum, or a lower temp with tumble-dry afterwards.
Use biological washing powder for whites, it is the only thing that will keep them very white.
For all colours, wash at 30 or max 40 degrees with a liquid detergent. Liquid detergents do not contain any bleach so they will not fade your clothes. Turn dark things inside out.
Fabric conditioners will protect colours fading for up to 25% longer than a detergent alone. And they make ironing easier too because they contain silicone!
Any other laundry questions, send them to me....

Towels & bedding at 60. Sometimes chuck some whites in with the sheets too.

Main bulk of laundry at 40. Odd few things at 30.

No fabric softener (don't like the smell) and don't iron

30° is definitely not hot enough other than for occasional washes of very lightly soiled clothing.

towels and bedding at 60
dh's smelly shirts at 40
everything else at 30
pre soak stained stuff in water/biological powder
the mashine needs an occasional hot wash or it will start to smell.

Mousy - agree on the smelly aspect..leave your door and drawer open as often as possible so the machine has a chance to dry out between washes also

Towels and bedding at 60, everything else at 40.

I was chatting to the man who came to repair my washer dryer a few years ago as I then washed clothes at 30 on a 30 minute was cycle but didn't feel that they were getting completely clean. He said that cleaning properly is all about temperature, amount of detergent and length of wash and a 30 wash for 30 minutes would only freshen clothes, not wash them properly. Since then I've washed at 40 on a 40 or 60 minute wash, as he recommended, and have been perfectly happy.

I had a phase of washing underwear at 60 to get the invisible poo germs out (something I read somewhere) but they all went grey so I went back to washing at 40 (and we live with the poo germs!)

Napisan in with the wash will kill germs at low temps and help wiht muck

Yes, any bleach-containing additive will kill germs at low temps - Vanish, Napisan etc.
However they will also bleach your clothes.

Towels at the eco60 setting
Nappies at 40 with a pre-wash
Everything else at 30 although after reading the above I guess I should do my sheets hotter...

Bedding, towels, tea-towels all at 60
Everything else at 40

Delicates are done at 30
Most things at 40
Martial Arts suits done at 60 every so often.

I'm not too bothered about wanting the heat of the machine to kill bacteria, line drying in sunshine will help do that.

Bedding, towels and whites at 60.

Colours at 40.

Ocassional wash at 90 of towels plus add a good slug of Napisan. I did this today and found it strangely satifying. Whole wash cycle took 2hrs 25mins and they towels are positively glowing.

Sorry, the towels.

What germs live in towels and bedding?

More importantly... what sunshine?

You see, I've been washing just about everything on a quick, 30dg wash for more than three years now, and it's been fine. I definitely don't smell, neither do my clothes and we don't have peculiar infections, even though my husband has a compromised immune system. I can't remember when I last ran a hot wash. I'm happy to google for any germs you care to name.

I do towels, bedding, nappies and muslins, baby white stuff at 60.

General colours and darker at 40.

I know its prob an eco crime but I just can't believe that stuff gets properly clean at 30. It's like those detergent replacement ball thingies. I'm sure they work but I can't bring myself not to use detergent.

I do whites at 40 and dark clothes at 30 (if they are still a bit grubby you can't see it)

The only things I was at under 40 degrees are woolens, silks and delicates.

Thanks heaps everyone. Happy washing!

Towels and bedding are washed at 60 here.

General clothes at 40

Delicates and jumpers at 30

All the info on germs is here: abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/washing-machines-loaded-bacteria-dirty-clothes/story?id=10751420