Washing at 30 degrees

[MissingMyDadAlready]

I've always washed clothes at 40 degrees, bedding & towels at 60 degrees and had one or two items that need to be done at 30.

I've noticed more and more clothes now say 30 degrees - DH work shirts, teen boy t-shirts, dresses, even jeans.

My washing system is now all over the place as instead of doing 1 machine load of DH's shirts, I'm doing 2 part-full loads, one of 30 degrees, one of 40. Its driving me crazy as the washing machine is on more often and it feels like more effort. A lot of the teen 30 degree stuff is strong colours which I worry about coming off on DH's shirts. I have accidentally washed some of the 30 degree teen stuff at 40, with the result that the colours ran.

Anyone else noticing this is becoming more of an issue?

I wash it all at 30. Other than really dirty or smelly crunchy sox etc

I wouldn’t bother with two part loads, just put it all on at 30 unless particularly dirty.

Re the garments that say wash at 30, are they made of synthetics?

I do all my washing at 30 and it comes out clean.

Unless your family gets their clothing absolutely filthy from work, sport or playing …

I wash whites, towels bedding etc on 40 degrees.

I wash colors on 30 degrees.

Sometimes I sort out a “light colours” wash like tee-shirts or summer clothing and they go on at 40 degrees.

I never use 60 degrees, ever. In my house it’s unnecessary but I appreciate others’ might need to occasionally but I think 60 degrees is a con bred from insecurity.

I treat stains pre-wash. (Grease on a tee-shirt for example.)
My washing is line dried.
My washing doesn’t smell.
I use Aldi powders
I rarely use fabric conditioner.

My washing machine doesn’t smell because I wipe out the rubber door seal regularly and leave the door open to air it.

Gosh was just saying this the other day. Dds school polo shirts always had 40 degrees and I doubled checked old ones which had 40 and the new ones have 30 degrees, the 30 doesn't clean them. One of ds works trousers are now 30 degrees were always 40, the 30 definitely doesn't clean them. There's quite a few things that have reduced in temperatures, white shirts that were always 40 degrees just don't look clean, the collar looks grubby and the armpits have deodorant stains and don't smell as clean, never had that, the mix between 30 and 40 is much more hassle and much more washing loads, then you have wools and colours, it just seems endless, the amount of water I'm using now is mad with all these changes. I use to fill the drum bung in a colour run sheet and wash at 40 but I'm having to check every label as old stuff says 40 most of new things 30.

I have noticed that washing temperatures are often too low and many items that I would have tumble dried now say not suitable.
I wonder if it is a form of political correctness by clothing manufacturers to make themselves look "greener"
I still wash most stuff at 40 regardless of the label and tumble dry things I think I might get away with

I just do 30 apart from gym and horse gear

I was thinking this myself, I thought also has the quality decreased that much that washing at 40 degrees would affect the item, I was afraid to continue washing at the 40 degrees with the new items but I think I will be a rebel and chance it, can't be doing with all this washing. 😁

I do all clothes at 30 and they come out very clean. I only do towels at 60 and bedding at 40.

I always do 40. After a while at 30 your machine will smell.

I'd also wondered if it was a form of political correctness - but after I'd spoiled a maroon hoodie with white writing by washing at 40, I started paying more attention. I've also noticed a couple of teen boy items saying don't tumble dry them. I do TD most things most of the time, so non-TD clothes are a real pain.

I do find that shirts didn't come out looking that clean before, so I'm not optimistic about these new 30 degree shirts. I've just switched to using bio powder so I'm hoping that might help that side of things a bit.

I'm currently washing some 30 degree jeans that got covered with mud yesterday and I'm a bit apprehensive about how a 30 degree wash will deal with the dirt. I think mud will he okay, but grass stains are more of a problem.

Came on to say exactly what @Wonderknicks said!

I tried for a while but it didn't work after a while. I now wash everything at 40 and then give towels flannels etc an occasional long 60 - more for the machine really. I use powder and very occasionally liquid because I like the smell

I still do everything at 40 other than towels and bedding at 60. Plus I use dettol laundry sanitiser because without it I didn’t think the gym clothes ever smelt properly clean. We have a lot of gym and football stuff to wash so 40 it is.

You are wrong. 60 degrees plus is the effective temperature to kill dust mites and bed bugs. Hopefully no one has bed bugs but dust mites are normally found in bedding and not killed at 30 degrees . . .

Unless they are made of something like wool or silk, I completely ignore that and wash everything at 40.

There is basically no point to a 30 degree cycle, it's not hot enough to do anything so you might as well wash at 20/cold, if you want to save energy and your clothes get clean enough like that.

40 is warm enough to have a beneficial effect on dirt (most modern machines the 40 degree cycle won't be at 40C for the whole time anyway)

Then anything you need to actually sanitise or dissolve oily residue, like bedding or tea towels, 60C.

For shirts as well I would never wash at low temperatures especially if they are worn all day by teenagers or men! Sunlight and bio powder with a squirt of ace for whites keeps them sparking. Even if I do say so myself 😂

but then again I do iron them so maybe that's influencing descions as well?

I also tumble dry everything apart from I try to keep swimming costumes out of there, and anything made of that synthetic fleece because it becomes a static bomb. (If I can be bothered to track down the dryer balls, then I can put the static-attracting things in).

Teen DS does have some clothes which he insists must only be washed at 30 and not tumble dried, as a result he does his own washing I just buy whatever pods are on offer for him to use. I prefer powder but he likes the ease of a pod. DH uses the pods too if he does a wash load.

I only wash sports synthetic items at 30 (with laundry sanitiser), otherwise 40 for pretty much everything, but towels and bedding at 60.

I wash everything at 40 whatever it says on the label, there are only two of us and washing would hang around for ages if I split it into umpteen different lots.

eta, apart from bedding at 60 each week because of DHs excess of grease, if it was just me 40 would be fine

Some are synthetics but some are 100% cotton (eg DH shirts). I'm wondering about experimenting with one of those at 40. I'm just wary because they're new and expensive.

I was previously using soap nuts, but am now using those only for 60 degrees, and bio powder for 40 and under. I use vinegar instead of fabric conditioner and add soda crystals to every wash as we have very hard water. I use eco oxygen based bleach for whites.

40 degrees is lukewarm. I don't think a 100% cotton garment is going to have any issue with being washed at 40. Even at 60 they are usually fine. The only thing is if they have starched collars or structured collars, perhaps?

I wash most things at 30degrees as usually have sports gear in there. But use a lot of Dettol Antibacterial liquid on most washes. And vanish if they are whites.
Cloths, sheets (every few washes) and towels still at 60.

I wash almost everything at 30 degrees. Bold capsules with Dettol antibacterial laundry liquid and for DH work gear Dr Beckmann Odour liquid.
Everything is clean and fresh.