I think I'm getting a bit ridiculous about my laundry, what do you do please...

[sedgieloo]

With regards to 60 degree washes and things like pants, towels, bedding etc.

I am a bit of a germ freak it's true, but not ott. However I have started to get a bit hung up about laundry after having my son recently and an unexpected group b strep birth and all the intervention thats necessary with my newborn. Suddenly I'm using my synthetic 60 degree wash nearly all the time.

I can't imagine what this is doing to our bills, clothes and the environment. What is sensible please?

Home Hygiene article the original document not newspaper hype of the LSHTM study,
if you want a real link.

The way I read that it's saying to wash at high temps IF you have active known infection in the house or residents who are immuno-suppressed / otherwise vulnerable. Not saying "everyone must get their clothes hygienic" every time they wash. Particularly concerned with managing hygiene risks in places like care-homes & hospitals, not private homes. And in clearing out active known infections.

I love reading the fact that Japan has the custom of using leftover bathwater for next day's laundry!

From the last study...

"Overall, the study which is perhaps the most relevant, is the observational study published in 2001... examined the relationship between home hygiene practices and prevalence of infection amongst household members in 398 households in New York. Infections investigated were non-specific and were defined as 2 or more members of the same household with the same symptoms that included fever, cough, cold, diarrhoea, vomiting, sore throat, skin infection or other infection. Hygiene practices studied were mostly non-targeted cleaning practices such as daily personal bathing or showering, daily cleaning of bathrooms and toilets, frequent changing of dish-sponges, or use/non use of antimicrobial cleaning products. 2 specific ?targeted? practices, using a communal laundry and not using bleach in communal laundering, were predictive of increased risk of infection. For the remaining practices there was no evidence of an association with infection risk. "

In other words, for those households using commercial or communal laundries, extra hygiene standards seem to make a helpful difference to health outcomes. Otherwise, no observed health impact differences between lower and higher hygiene standards.

Guess what, we human beings can handle a bit of germs. Who knew?

Bedding/towels/bath mats/ rugs: 60°.
Everything else: 40°.
Anything really delicate (of which I own very little)/ handwash only: 30°.

Lljk - really helpful. The only stuff I found online seemed to confirm my concerns. However if I go to the trouble of doing my laundry, removing fecalBacteria in the process is a bit of a plus.

I may continue to favor some big loads at 60 if containing pants, towels bedding and the like but I will have a proper look at that link.

Normal coloured wash: 50°C.
Whites: 50 °C.
Towels,tea towes,sheets: 60 °C.
All with Ariel excel bio.
My DPs wash clothes at 30. They still smell.
(Clothes,not DPs )

I'm a bit obsessed with sorting washing so use a variety of different programmes. But most things go at 30, whites 40, cotton boxers/underwear/socks 60 and towels/bedding at 60. I don't always have a full load but my machine adjusts the water and length of the programme depending on the weight, so I don't worry about it being too wasteful.

I use cloth nappies- they get washed at 40° with a drop of tea tree oil. Once every few weeks they get washed at 60°.

Clothes and bedding at 30, towels at 30 and I use tea tree oil as an antibacterial.

I have a 9kg machine and clothes get chucked in together!

DS has eczema so we wash all his stuff at 60, 40 won't kill dust mites. Bedding and towels on 60 and mine and DH's stuff at 40

I have eczema and have been advised by the derm nurse to wash everything on 60c. Its not great for the environment but we dont have a dryer, dont have a car, dont holiday overseas, dont use detergent (use soap flakes), grow some of our own veg, are careful with the heating, run an eco-friendly business etc so think it is a minor eco infraction! Esp compared to ANOTHER course of antibs!

Though remember uf you are drying in high, ironing or drying in the sun that is going to zap some bugs too!

Sorry just to clarify I have eczema and resistant staph infection (now cleared up but being controlled with hygeine and anti bac topical treatment)

Hmmm... I am from Australia and when I was growing up, there was a popular washing detergent called Cold Power. You guessed it, it was made for washing in cold water. My mum always used it. When I moved out of home, I and my ex also used it. We washed it cold water. Actually, we always used a delicate cycle, less wear and tear on clothes. When I moved to the uk, I was always perplexed I couldn't get a cold washing cycle. Since environmental detergents have been available, I have always used them on a cold cycle. It wasn't until threads started appearing here that I have ventured to the 30 or 40 wash. So wee, poo, vomit on 40. Only separate for colours.

Do my clothes stay clean? They did before I had kids. I struggled to get stains out when the dcs arrive and I ink it is a combination of washing on cold water and using non bio detergent (kids with eczema).

Interesting in Australia there is no distinction between bio and non bio. Only 'sensitive'. IIRC, you can't get non bio in Australia (happy to be corrected on this). I wonder if the is a factor in cold washes being more popular?

I wash bedding, towels, tea towels on the 95c cycle.

Whites (tends to be underwear and baby clothes) at 40 using a non-bio and a bit of napisan.

Darks and colours using colour specific bleach free washing powder on 30.

Does the job for us :)

All this talk of washing underwear at 60C... I used cloth nappies for my three dc and washed their nappies at 40C most of the time, putting them on a 60 so rarely I don't think it even needs to be mentioned. They are all potty trained now so it clearly didn't damage them. I always thought the youngest was lucky to get them laundered at 40 as by then I had learnt to do everything else at 30. Even the clothes labels now say, if its not dirty wash at 30.

I put a bit of floral disinfectant (essential Waitrose, it cost about a pound and doesn't smell disinfectanty) in my washing if theres anything like pants in there and wash at 40 The towels and sheets I do at 60 to keep the washing machine fresh.

I started doing this when I read about doing pants and stuff separately because of the germs but don't know if it makes any difference, but puts my mind at rest.

Whites (bedding etc) 50,
light coloured 40,
dark coloured 40 - I just vary the wash time to suit how dirty they are. Occasionally a short 20 min 30 degree wash for odd items.
Use Ariel bio powder tablets for whites and any brand coloured powder tablets for everything else.
Never separated pants etc.
Been doing washing for 35 years - know my washing is cleaner than my mums used to be - she never even had a washing machine until I was about 15, then only a twin tub!

They reckon more people suffer from allergies etc as we are so clean obsessed these days children never fully develop their immune system.

Towels - 95C non bio, no fabric softener
Dark stuff - 40C non bio, fabric conditioner
White stuff - 40 or 60C depending if there's bras or not, non bio, fabric softener
Anything sicky or pooey - 60C, napisan prewash then non bio and fabric softener

Didn't used to separate whites until MIL complained about me not doing it.

I grew up in a dirt filled slatternly home and still got allergies. DS regularly occasionally eats what he finds on the floor and still had eczema.