Does washing at 30 degrees clean the clothes?

[krisskross]

Just wondering really. I normally wash colours and darks at 40 and whites at 60.

If I change all except whites to 30 will it make any difference?

boring thread if the day winner

I do it at 30
The key is a touch of white spirit vinegar in the pre wash which softens the water and allows the detergent to foam up better
Detergent is by nature antibacterial
Unless the washing is absolutely filthy this is fine

Thanks Kennington, v helpful!

I really don't think so.

I certainly wouldn't wash socks, underwear, gym gear, trousers, or anything that's been up against an armpit all day on 30. And certainly not sheets/towels.

So really its pretty pointless, I wash everything on 40, cottons on 60.

Same as Mintyy. Can't think of anything we'd wash at 30.

Ive just started washing at 30 because my clothes seem to look worn out fast and my quick wash is a 30, I was surprised everything seems just as clean. I always use biological powder tho I've heard liquids are less effective I dont know if thats true.

We wash everything at 30. It should work if you use Bio powder, but I think non-Bios work slightly better at 40.

Agree with Mintyy, but I can't use Bio powder due to allergies.

I should have mentioned that we use non bio.

I use bio for whites and non-bio for coloureds. Apart from towels which I wash at 60, I wash at 30. Soft water area. There is nothing which isn't clean or which isn't fresh after washing.

I wash everything on 30 with non bio liquid. Everything is clean and smells delightful .
If something is stained I soak in Biotex before washing. Works every time.

I do coloureds with fairy mon bio at 30 and everything seems fine. Whites at 40 with same detergent. Towels at 90 with bio. Bedding at 60 with bio.

I wash everything other than whites at 30°; whites at 40°.
I use bio/non bio/for colours randomly but always bio for whites (no logical reason!)
If stained then chuck in some Vanish. I don't have any problems and have been doing this for years.

quite apart from the clothes. cool washes encourage a sludge of soap, fabsoft and grease inside the washing machine, which breeds bacteria, hence the smell.

A good hot cycle with washing soda crystals helps dissolve the sludge and wash it away. If you have white cotton towels and flannels, do them on the hot wash as they will not be damaged by heat or fading.

If you have allowed a thick sludge to buid up, it may take several service washes to clear it, and the machine will smell more after you start to disturb it, until it is all cleaned away.

If you do a hot hot hot wash with washing soda crystals and no soap or fabsoft, you may see the water foam up and go grey. This is from the old soap sludge dissolving. Do it again until it stays clean.

You can also add the crystals to your regular wash, they help dissolve powder and soften the water. Some people say they make whites brighter, presumably by removing the residue.

The washer man who came to fix mine said that thus far, no washers are really effective at 40, let alone 30, especially if you use liquida/gels etc. He further icked me out by telling me of his recent training course where they looked at socks after being washed at 30 and there was more bacteria on them than before they went in.

Do people really worry about the levels of bacteria on their socks? Why?

it smells. On socks they feast on the grease and sweat.

Flannels are especially prone to getting smelly, so it helps to get them thoroughly clean rather than put them back into use when they are already full of bacteria.

Your washing machine will also smell if it is full of warm damp sludge that is teeming with mould and bacteria.

Because they still stink even after being washed I think was his point. Apply the idea to pants and you might think it's more valid!
I don't think much about bacteria but my clothes certainly aren't clean enough for me at 30. And as PJ says, the slime build up is minging.

I and my family seem to have survived very well so far, and for goodness sake, the bacteria on socks are normal flora for that individual unless they have a foot infection.
Today's obsession with bacteria and getting everything as 'germ free' as possible is pure hype dreamt up to make women anxious and manufacturers rich. Without bacteria mankind would die out pdq.
Obviously if someone has an infection you take extra care, but for day to day it's sheer bunkum imo.

Rant over.

And in nearly 40 years of married life I've never had a smelly washing machine either

Not at alla. The hype is from the detergent manufacturers marketing their products as efficient at low temps when the science shows they aren't.

I wouldn't wash anything at 30, let alone baby clothes. 40 minimum, 60 for anything heavily stained and possibly even hotter for anything with poo/wee/vomit on it.

30 degrees is fine for "worn once" adult clothes. After all, you haven't been crawling around on the floor, shiting yourself and spilling your dinner all down your front. At least, I hope you haven't. But you really need a hotter temperature for baby clothes.

Why do you assume "women" are anxious about washing their socks nonna? I think in this day and age most men can handle the laundry too.

I presume (perhaps wrongly) that it's women who get worked up about bacteria/what temperature rather than men?
Certainly adverts seem to be addressed at women where laundry is concerned so far as I can tell.

Bacteria is what causes the smell. When you can still faintly smell sweat in the armpit of a washed shirt - that is bacteria. Innit.

Exactly where is the slimey sludge in the machine supposed to be? Buried somewhere in the drum?