Anyone else heard this thing about washing below 60 degrees in the machine is unhygenic?

[electra]

I always wash towels at 60 and clothes at 40.

Apparently knickers in particular should always be washed at at least 60.

Doesn't this spoil the clothes though?

No lizcat but I keep meaning to. That's nearly as good, surely?

Missingfriendsandsad the third thing is the amount of water used. My costa rican washing machine uses much more water, but it is totally cold water, gets everything really clean. I think if you used totally cold water in a UK front loader, stuff would probably still come out grubby.

I used to wash bedding etc at 60 until we moved to our current flat where the washing machine only takes small loads and the 60 programme takes hours meaning it would take the whole weekend just to wash all our bedding and towels. So now everything is washed at 40.

Cloths for cleaning, tea towels and dish cloths, I soak in a bleach solution once a week before washing - which is prob worse for the environment than a long 60 wash

You can also freeze stuff to kill bacteria if you are really worried about it (and have freezer space / live in freezing temperatures)

the once a month at 90 thing is rubbish and is used by people who missunderstand life cycles and chains of infection

but yes 60 (actually ideal temp to kill most things is 75) is more hygienic

its for containing common household things like yeast/fungus infections, not just bacteria.

There are lots of things I do on a 30 fast wash like coats/scarfs etc, but towels, bedding, underware, socks and work clothes, nursery clothes go on at 70

freesing does not kill bacteria, its just pauses its reproduction

When my washing machine wasn't heating the water I got mould in it.

Quick and Cool for most.

60 for soiled stuff and underwear.

AFAIK, bacteria/germs thrive at the body's normal temperature (37.5 degrees?) and they are extremely sensitive to any change in temperature (which is why when you're ill you get a raised temperature - it's the body's natural defence against the bugs). Apparently this is why you should always wash at 40 degrees rather than 30 because it kills considerably more bugs at a hotter temperature.

I've always lived by this theory (GCSE science ) and thankfully we're not dead yet, but I quite expect someone far smarter to come along and say that the above is BS!

sorry - wash at AT LEAST 40 degrees (brain cell is beginning to shut down for the night!)

I wash most stuff, incl undies at 40. towels and sheets at 60.
sometimes dh's shirts at 60 because they are smelly.
30 just doesn't shift the dirt.
hated the toploader when I lived in the us, never got anything clean.

The act of washing with a detergent has two effects, one is too loosen any bacteria and dirt from the clothes, and the second is to dilute it out hugely into the water, where the spin/rinse cycles take it away. Modern washing powders do this effectively enough at 30C. Biological washing powders contain an enzyme that further attacks bacteria by "digesting" or breaking up their outer coats.

This process will not sterilise your wash, but will reduce the bacterial and dirt load sufficiently that your clothes are clean by current social standards (not obviously grimy/smelly etc).

You will probably add more bacteria to them when you use your (definitely well bacteria covered) hands to get them out of the drum than you leave from the washing process.

Missing - they were settled Travellers. HTH!

30 for most things on a quick wash.
40 for towels and bedding.

Lizcat I do! It really helps, as was getting white marks on some things from the powder. I think it must help with limescale etc as well.

I was wondering about all this tbh - I'd rather wash bedclothes & undies at 60, but most of mine say acriylics wash, which is 40! Won't it ruin them? Cotton sheets etc are fine, but a lot of my bedding has satiny type bits on them.

I wash most things at 90 I thought the hotter the better, towels, sheets, jeans and cottons. Am I single handedly enlarging the ozone?

Oh no! Another whole new world of paranoia. I wash most things at 30 and sometimes some things at 40 but never hotter, and I don't know if I can remember cleaning the dishwasher. I have never to my knowledge become ill as a result.

But then I don't lick my laundry.

(Maybe it's just luck with the dishwasher though)

PS perfumedlife, high energy use isn't anything to do with the ozone. But you're probably single handedly causing drought, floods, famines and tsunamis. Probably earthquakes too.

I wash everything at 30, and we are perfectly healthy.

Oh dear. I already use loads of gas to heat the house due to health condition. Now water and electricity. Still, I seldom fly or drive these days, does that cancel anything out?

Bed bugs live in your walls, skirting boards & mattresses, so unless you plan to wash those things at 90... They have to be fumigated out, really.

Except vomitty stuff, I wash at 30 with Bio powder. Exactly what problems is that supposed to cause? Please supply a list. I expect we don't have any of it.

I wash the towels at 90 twice a month

Bedding/towels at 60.

Rest at 40/30

I expect so

I wash everything at 30, except bed linen- 40. Nappies used to go on 40. Everything is always clean and we are all healthy!

I occasionally wash at 40, but really just wash at 30, the only thing I separate out is whites which do got their own wash.

In any other 30 wash I might have, tea towels, pants, washing up cloths, bathroom cloths, rat bedding, sanitary towels and clothes.

We are all healthy.

unless you are planning to eat your laundry, ie, ingest the bugs, I really wouldn't worry about it

I put my white knickers in with sheets and white towels, so they do get done at 60.

I only wash woollens at 30.
Most clothes at 40.
Dh's shirts at 50.
The dc white polo shirts, socks, vests and white undies at 50.
Towels, flannels, tea towels and bedding at 60.

I am very particular about my washing!