Does a 30 degree wash work?

[Madwelshwoman]

Just found out my new washer has a temp button which can reduce the temp of the wash programme right down to 25 degrees if you want and it also reduces the time of the wash cycle too . Question is do the clothes still get clean at a 30 degree wash? Not brave enough to try a 25 degree one. I normally use either Ecover or Tesco naturally liquid or the bio powder for the whites/nappies. Quite chuffed I found this out (even though I've had the washer for 2 months) as I'm on a bot of an energy saving crusade after some horrendous leccy bills over winter.

Ta xx

ours have it too but im too scared to do anything other than our usual 40 wash!

Yes.

I wash all our clothes on 30° and it works perfectly. For really soiled baby things, I used to soak them first for a bit.

Don't be scared, it'll do wonders for your bills (and the environment...)

dh swears it has to be at least 60 degrees to kill the bugs that make it smelly. He is adament that if it is less than that his clothes start getting wiffy about halfway through the day.

I - however, happily wash things at 50 (his included) and he has never noticed (or at least not told me !).

i have done a few 30 washes.

I find that stuff gets clean enough but a few times there have been marks left on my clothes that im sure wouldnt normally have been there.

use it occassionally have no mega probs with it but to kill any bugs an bacteria you need 70-80c i generally wash on 40c or 60c depends on the state of it ie dp's socks 90c

My mother's washing machine broke down and the repair man said the low temp washes such as 40 and less mean there's more chance for gunge and lime to build up and ruin the machine, also she has allergies so would be better off doing bedding at 60 anyhow! I'm sure the Ariel ads telling us to wash at 30 is because they get a rake off from new washing machine sales and there must be loads of extra marine life killing chemicals to make it effective, or is that too passe now global warming is the big issue?

shocked at this
i try to do all my washes at 30 now
bedding will be higher.....
you better not breathe lest you should get a bug

well i have an eczemic dp, and 2 kids with wierd skin so bedding has to be 60deg. as do nappies

i use 40deg on everything else thouh, and 30 deg on things like swimming gear and stuff that only need a rinse out as opposed to a proper wash

yes it does.

work that is.

I do most of my washes at 30degree
wash bedding at 60degrees
I try to pre treat any stains and that seems to work.

me too ggirl

yes, but when using Ecover and a cool wash, my washing starts to smell if I don't occasionally zapp it with persil and/or a hot wash. The machine starts to smell, too.

Aha - Joe90's post explains all!

what really kills machines (according to my repair man) is putting the powder/liquid in the dispenser drawer. It clogs up in th etubes, best place for it is in the drum. He too said do occasional v hot washes without powder to clean it out. There is often so much residue that it really washes well anyway so great for your bedding/towels/nappy wash.

I had a phase of 30 degree washes but I found that nothing was clean (sorry) and I was washing it all again....not really very green.

So now I do 40 and hardly anything at 60 maybe towels everey few weeks.

And that I can also spell every

Where I live you can only buy washing machines which wash with cold water. I live in a tropical country and am not in the least bit grubby or smelly

I do everything at 30 with no problems.

I do one wash at 90 (handy for DH's workshirts), once a week or roughly 1 in 7 washes, after a chat with an engineer. That one hot wash is enough to solve the problem Joe90 mentioned.

Posted this on a tumble drying thread, but it's actually about washing in cold water and how it doesn't really work so well for getting rid of allergens and things.

ok thats fine - wash clothes at 30 and bedding 60

I think it depends on what kind of machine you have, and the powder.

Bio powder and a meaty washing machine (e.g., American top loader) no problem getting clean at 30 or even colder, I find.

Bio powder bleaches colour out of clothes so I say no thanks to it. And our machine uses little water -- SO, only 40 degrees+ for us.

I mostly wash at 30 with a non bio powder and use half the recommeneded ampount of soap and it all comes out ok , use a bit of ecover stain remover on big stains if needed.my clothes don't smell and if the machine gets smelly you can do a hot wash empty with a cup of bleach and it removes and smell mould etc ( my mum told me this and it does work!) and I would say 3-4 times a year is enough.Not doing nappies but lots of washing as 4 kids. I'm sure for my eczematous ds using less powder not hotter washes makes the most difference and think of the electric you will save!