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

What is the obsession with top loaders?

The US and Australia are much bigger countries than the UK with more space. They're also newer than we are, thus the houses are newer. In the UK, we have a lot of people in a small place and houses are much smaller and older, many pre-date the existence of washing machines.

In the US and Australia, most houses are built with utility room/laundry rooms or big basements to put big top loading machines in. Remember, traditionally in the UK, washers were kept in the kitchen and went under the worktop to save space, purely because there was nowhere else to put it.

In mainland Europe, washers can usually be found in the bathroom rather than the kitchen, but the same principal applies. All our old houses were never built with such appliances in mind because they didn't exist.

Top loaders do wash a lot quicker, but they're much harshers on clothes, use way too much water (hence they're quicker) and don't spin as fast. The maximum spin you can get on a US toploader is 850rpm, whereas frontloaders go up to 1600rpm.

Ah okay, that makes more sense :)

I tend to wash on 40 as the 30 option on my machine doesn't spin as fast and everything comes out wet rather than just damp.

I do an occasional wash at 60 but I'm worried I will damage my clothes if I do most of them on that.

PigletJohn, sorry to pick your brains with the question you must get asked all the time, but if you live in a high limescale area (for me higher than anywhere I've lived in UK) is it worth using calgon (or aldi equivalent!) or are they a bit of a gimmick? We haven't bothered but we are currently using our landlady's old machine but we are moving soon and will have our own so I'd like to keep it in as good condition as possible, as it will be the first brand new one I'll ever get.

(Thinking of going for a Beko - are they as good as the reviews suggest?)

I wash mostly everything at 30.

I wash my uniform at 60 because I don't want MRSA and C-Diff around the house plus, it is in the rules that they need to be washed at 60 and then heat treated with either the tumble or iron, preferably both.

Everything comes out clean and smelling nice at 30. I assume that because my washer is also a tumble that when I put that on it takes care of any lingering bacteria. If it didn't I don't think I would care much anyway.

I think it's more hygienic to wash on cold than 30 degrees. Bugs that live on bodies hate cold.

BertieBotts, Calgon are a bit of a rip off. You can usually get supermarket own brand water softening tablets which do the same thing for half the price. They're worth as it you won't need to use as much detergent, so will save you a few pennies in the long run.

Re: Beko - we had a Beko before our Miele. It was very cheap and cheerful. Bog standard, 1000rpm spin. We were desperate for a washer after our horrendous Hotpoint died (which I was kind of pleased about) and the Beko was all we could afford at the time. I didn't expect much and thought we'd replace it in a year or so, but it lasted us 6 years of constant use and washed very well. It was much better than the far more expensive Hotpoint that it replaced.

The only problem with it was that it took ages to do a wash, but I see the newer models have "daily quick" cycles which do a full load in 45 minutes with a full spin.

U2hastheedge, the 60 wash you do for your work uniform will also be keeping the washing machine clean and germ free, massively reducing any risk of cross-contamination from loads, so you shouldn't have an issue.

As I mentioned, 30 is likely fine for day to day stuff (although all our stuff goes on 40 minimum) when used in conjunction with regular hot washes for heavilly used items, but when it's used exclusively, you can end up with a washer that's a health risk.

I love my BEKO! It was about £150 and has everything you need. Conversely, my mum has an all singing and dancing hotpoint which she says is like programming the space shuttle!

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

Any science to back this up, or just gut feeling?

I keep asking this one - what temp do you wash your hands at? Given, y'know, your hands go near your mouth and therefore bacteria is a greater risk? Or does hand soap have magic properties that laundry detergent doesn't? Honestly curious - I can understand how perceptions can become entrenched, but struggle with how strongly people cling to them.

goblin I hope you wash your fanjo at 60 degrees before dh puts his face anywhere near it! .
On a slightly different tack, how many of you don't have tumble driers. We don't, and never have had, but have managed to raise 3 dcs in rainy Scotland. It seems as if everyone tumble dries but whenever I've used one in holiday lets I just shrink everything.
Mind you, I also don't have a microwave, a dishwasher, an ensuite,a utility room or a hairdryer......

All the hygiene advice I read tells me to wash hands at as hot a temperature as is comfortable ie well over 30 (which is quite cold).

I'll point out at this point that the temperatures given by the machines are maximum and not minimum. It has been shown that most don't reach the target temperature.

any risk of cross-contamination from loads,

I have to say it's not something that keeps me awake at night.

Top loaders are definitely harder on clothes than front loaders - I lost more clothes in the 6w we lived at MIL's from using her top loader than I had in years!

How hot is the water I wash my hands in? Well it's usually about 40-44 degrees, although when I worked in a hospital lab, it could get up to 60 degrees, they did warn us about that so we didn't scald ourselves regularly.

I had fun once, working in a lab environment, with a vat of liquid and a thermocouple - I worked out that the hottest temperature of liquid I could comfortable keep my hand in for any length of time was around 47 deg C. By 50 deg C, I couldn't even touch it without pain. But everyone's temperature tolerance is slightly different. I do know that water at 36-37 degrees C doesn't feel warm or cold, or even wet really because you can't tell you're hand is in water, because there is no temperature change.

demented - when I lived in the UK I never had a tumble drier and never needed one because my house was centrally heated, so everything just got hung up to dry. But out here, I had to get one because the house has no central heating, and no airing cupboard - things would be on the airer for days and still be damp! (Laundry room has concrete floor). I still hang everything to dry first, then tumble it just to finish it off - stops it from shrinking, saves on energy and means nothing goes mildewy.

To be fair, hand washing is a bit different. We use our hands all the time, and skin is constantly falling off and regrowing, it's not the same as an enclosed metal pipe in a damp environment.

We don't have a hot water tap in our kitchen (long story...) and the drain gets really stinky and gunky if I don't chuck a kettle load of hot water down there every once in a while. Obviously we don't put food down the sink but the remains from washing up, pouring excess milk, draining veg/pasta etc down do build up and make a kind of slime (this is also where fruit flies breed in the summer). So it makes sense to me that the same would be happening in a washing machine, washing traces of sweat and food and grease out of clothes, if you constantly wash at 30 and never hotter.

I don't think it means that you have to wash at high temps all the time but it's a good idea to do a hot wash periodically.

Demented - I don't have a dryer or a microwave or an en suit. I do have a hairdryer and a dishwasher though

I don't like tumble dryers. Only good for finishing off that last bit on towels to fluff them and emergencies. I do have a heated airer and an obsession with the washing line though.

I too second the washing line as a brilliant device.
If clothes are dried outside the the whole issue of washing temperature is insignificant.

Changed from 40 to 30 for all cotton clothing about a year ago. Works fine. Even teenage DS's socks come out no longer smelling. Washing machine doesn't smell either. And clothes fare far better at 30 I've found.

I've read something recently that says most machines struggle to get to the set temperatures anyway, so it's trial and error with each and every machine really. Nobody here can compare as each machine's in/capacity to heat is different to the setting. Probably not those lucky enough to own a Miele though.

"what temp do you wash your hands at?"

That's kind of an irrelevant argument, because most people wash their hands in as hotter water as is bearable, which will vary from person to person. Also, most liquid soaps are now antibacterial, so that adds another hygeiene aspect. Also, as BertieBotts pointed out, our skin is constantly shedding. You don't remove a layer of fibres every time you do a washing load. Plus, clothes are completely permeable, skin is only semi-permeable one way, so bacteria can only get into the layers of your skin if you have a wound. Not the case with clothes.

"any science to back this up?"

www.thehygienedoctor.co.uk/dont-get-your-knickers-in-a-twist/

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2400567/How-eco-friendly-cool-wash-infest-clothes-GERMS.html

" However, tests carried out by the Good Housekeeping Institute found that a 30C wash - which is fine for washing lightly soiled items - wouldn’t remove heavy stains and was not hot enough to thoroughly clean towels, Ms Schofield said.

"For bedding and towels stick to a higher temperature wash, such as 60C and a powder detergent that contains a bleach to kill any lurking bacteria. This is particularly important if you have family members with reduced immunity, such as the elderly and patients recently discharged from hospital. Also if you want to be sure of killing dust mites you will need to wash at 60C." "

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/money-saving-tips/10187880/Is-it-really-cheaper-to-wash-clothes-at-30C-rather-than-60C.html

And a little clip from The One Show about what's lurking in your mattress - also recommends washing bedding on 60 degrees.

Should I go on?

most liquid soaps are now antibacterial

Not in my home. Triclosan is disgusting, found in water courses and even cows mils and breast milk.

You severely miss the point if you think that clothes are a good substrate for culturing human pathogens.

"If clothes are dried outside the the whole issue of washing temperature is insignificant."

What a crock.

BertieBotts

last I heard, Which had been unable to identify any economic benefit from using Calgon and unsuccessully asked the makers to justify it. IIRC they said that it would take 6 to 8 years to make a noticeable difference, and by then the money you had spent on Calgon would cover the cost, not just of a repair, but of a new machine.

Washing Soda crystals work fine for softening hard water and make soap and grease dissolve better (about £1 per kg)

My own preference is for a water softener, which has multiple benefits.

We wash most things at 30, nothing comes out dirty and clothes definitely stay new looking longer.

I wash everything at 40 or 60, depending on how im feeling. Apart from dd1s school kilts, they cant be washed above 30 because of the leather.

I also put everything in the dryer, apart from the kilts because they cant go in. They take forever to dry. I hate those kilts.

I don't think it means that you have to wash at high temps all the time but it's a good idea to do a hot wash periodically.

Not disputing that a maintenance wash is a good idea, as is having a good idea of the hardness of your water and how you might need to compensate.

But that said, I think I'll give slightly more credence to the Smithsonian than to Good Housekeeping , which points out that the quality of your detergent is a key factor. But here's the NIH and the Norwegian University for Science and Tech for good measure - plenty more articles out there.

On hands - most folk I've seen in this country seem to use the cold tap, or the hot tap before it heats up. I will leave the question of why the national obsession with separate taps for when one of those threads comes up (and argue it out with DH in the meantime as we choose new bathroom fittings).

Do people really wash hands at the highest possible temperature?

I always wash with cold water and it's fine. What a waste of gas or electricity.
Except after handling something like handling raw chicken.