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

Sort, should have said only socks and underwear changed daily.

Ive washed at 30 for years and have just started washing on the eco wash, which is not heated at all (and kids clothes arent as dirty. )I use a non bio powder. My clothes are dried on the line and always smell and look fresh and clean. It wasnt long not that fussy about 'whiter than white' and the kids clothes were always fine on 30...it wasnt that long before theyd either grown out of them or spoiled them in another way. You have to change your mindset in today's world.

i dont even sort colours i just grab the lot and wash at 30. then into the dyer. once in a blue moon i might do a white wash with bleach.

haven't read all this, but yes - Oz and NZ do wash in cold water using special detergents. Also lots of top loaders (in the hostels and motels, anyway) which are very quick but mince clothes!

don't care about germs because I have a healthy immune system, but it was noticeable that clothes got a lot cleaner back in the UK. Although when you are living out of a backpack most stuff is fit for the bin in a few months anyway.

but now off to do a maintenance wash with washing soda - thanks for reminder.

I don't think so, tbh.
I wouldn't probably notice it with clothes so much, but I needed to wash one of DS1's soft toys once, a cloth Buzz Lightyear, so mostly white. Did it at 30 deg to try not to ruin it - it came out pretty much the same colour it went in. Did it again at 40 - perfectly clean.

don't care about germs because I have a healthy immune system, but it was noticeable that clothes got a lot cleaner back in the UK. Although when you are living out of a backpack most stuff is fit for the bin in a few months anyway

From memory, the top loaders in launderettes/hostels etc are very shit.

My waahing machines in Australia (and my mum's lovely one now) always got the clothes sparkly in cold/at 30 for certain things, using the right detergent. My mum's a total germophobe but she'd only ever wash above 30 if someone had been sick.

If people are just relying on the heat of the water to get their clothes clean, I'd suggest a rethink...

I wash colours at 40 and whites at 60.
Occasionally I do a maintenance wash at 90 to keep the machine in good order.
I wash woollens and delicates at 30/quick wash.

I wash most things on a totally cold wash. I line dry all year round. The combination of UV light from the sun and cold air is enough to kill bacteria.
If there is illness in the house ( usually just the odd cold) I chuck in a capful of disinfectant into the drum.

Agree about the NZ ans AUs thing- my sister lives in Australia and thinks we are nuts doing hot washes.

cremeeggthief- gives me peace of mind. for what?

I wash everything at 30 with non bio. I do the vinegar in the pre wash that was mentioned in a pp. Nothing comes out smelling, all marks get washed out, and we're not at death's door so I figure it's okay to do.

I am off to print and nail this thread to my mum's head. She is insists on washing EVERYTHING (including towels) on 30c and is in complete denial that the clothes smell :(

I wash everything at 30 except towels which I wash at 60 once a week. Use non-bio Ecover powder. Everything come out fine, although if there are, say, some bad grass stains then I will rub in a little liquid detergent before it goes in. Even ds's very muddy rugby kit comes out fine.

Use vinegar when I remember which isn't often. I do have a good machine - a Miele - so this may make a difference.

Dry on the line when weather is good, inside when not. very rarely tumble dry - maybe a double duvet cover if it's too wet to go on the line and need it quickly.

We are all healthy and wear clean clothes all the time. Nothing smells. And it gives me peace of mind too because I know I am not wasting energy and carbon emissions.

I do know not to judge on hostel washing facilities, given what gets put in them!

back in the UK most stuff at 40, the occasional towel that has been left too long at 60. I have to use washing liquid because powder is a risk to the tank, and I admit I use the budget bio stuff. No dryer so everything dried outside on sunny days, which I think makes a big difference.

still, stuff seems clean and non-smelly so assume I've got it right!

I wash everyday stuff-tops, jeans, tshirts-on a 50.
Underwear, towels and socks, however, go on a 60 or sometimes a 70. I read somewhere that to kill bacteria you need to wash clothes on a 60 or above. So anything that is used to wipe mouths/faces/bodies, goes near armpits, sweaty feet or genital areas go on a 60!

Why the obsession with bacteria?

We are not living in typhoid ravaged places thank goodness.
My OHs face spends quite a bit of time at my groin and he doesn't wash his face at 60 degrees.

I have washed clothes on cold water for over 30 years and I don't think we get ill more than anyone else.

I don't think that's correct, hookie. Maybe if you weren't using detergent?

I found this interesting.

How hot is the water you wash your hands in?

I wash all our clothes at 30 with bio powder and they come out perfectly clean and fresh, socks, sports gear & all. I line dry as much as possible & don't use fabric conditioner as we live in a soft water area. I wash towels & bedlinen at 60.

Oh forgot to say that I'm in Australia as well and my Bosch has temp range from cold through to 90; but it is a front loader.
I wouldn't have a top loader if you paid me - my MIL's top loader put me off forever! But it did have a range of temperatures - cold, medium and hot. She had it set to medium most of the time (so probably about 40 deg, but I wouldn't know for sure).

I wash everything at 30 apart from bed linen which goes in at 60. Feel I'm doing my bit for the environment washing at 30. We use non Bio and add a scoop of Napisan to every wash. Since babies came along 9 years ago that stuff has changed my life! It's germicide anti bacterial skin friendly stuff, keeps your whites sparkly white, looks after your colours and makes everything smell divine with it oxygen bubbling magic. Highly recommended!

What is the obsession with top loaders? I have seen nothing but contempt for them on MN but other countries seem to love them? I know someone on an American site a while ago said they had once "made the mistake" of buying a European style front loader and never again.

Why do we think they are so rubbish and they think they are so good? I mean there must be some advantages, right?

Wash relatively clean things on 30 or 40, and often on a 30 minute quick wash. Towels get an occasional 60 degree blast. In 25 years of marriage and child raising, haven't killed anyone yet and I don't think we are particularly smelly!

The main advantages (as far as I know from US friends) are:

• they are big
• you can add stuff part way through the wash

-you don't have to bend down to load them

• as you will inevitably be transferring to a tumble dryer, that is easier.

The disadvantage is that there is a beater physically in with your clothes. Clothes can wrap round it and stretch and distort far more easily. It's also harder on clothes than a front loader. You may not notice this if you routinely tumble as that will knacker them fast too.

I think the main advantages ar that top loaders are generally cheaper ( although not in the UK) they also last a lot longer.
A front loader is always working against gravity ( which makes the washing process faster and more efficient) but makes wear and tear on the machine much higher.

"Why the obsession with bacteria?"

Well for one thing, bacteria causes bad smells!

But for me, it seems obvious that washing at 30 is pretty rancid.

Imagine being stuck in a stuffy office all day wearing a shirt/blouse, the armpits aren't pleasant when you get home, not to mention underwear. All the bacteria that comes from your sweat and around your personal bits transfers onto the clothes.

Then you throw those clothes into your washer on a 30 degree wash. Now, bear in mind that body temperature is 37 degrees, so logically you will need a temperature hotter than that to get rid of the bacteria that have built up on your clothes.

Fair enough, they won't kill you and won't make you sick in such small amounts. But if you're washing everything on 30 - towels, tea towels, dish cloths, underwear etc - all the bacteria that has built up on all those items goes into a nice warm, damp drum and it multiplies in excess. You're creating a bacteria breeding ground within the washer, which then spreads all over the rest of your clothes and cloths etc. It's cross-contaminiation. You might as well come out of the bath and dry yourself with a dirty dishcloth or sleep wrapped up in your own dirty underwear.

Imagine doing that for weeks, even years, on end...how much bacteria will have built up inside your washer? Dirty clothes and other items go in, bacteria multiply, spread across the laundry. Constantly.

This is even more of an issue when using liquid detergents, which have absolutely no antibacterial properties at all. How many threads have we seen on here with Mumsnetters complaining of mouldy/smelly washing machines and the answer is always "ditch the liquids, switch to powders, stop washing at low temps and do regular maintenance washes".

Being perfectly honest, the thought of washing my bedsheets, underwear and towels on 30 degrees makes me feel sick.

I don't imagine 30 degree washing is a problem for day to day clothes - jeans and t-shirts etc. But when you're washing absolutely everything on 30 degrees, it's pretty rank.

I don't wash at 30 degrees- much colder. Mains tap water, which can be 5 degrees in winter. That in itself kills bacteria.
I also line dry all year around. UV light and fresh cold air kills bacteria.
My clothes don't smell.