Does anyone's really dirty laundry come clean at 40?

[elvislives]

I've got a new washing machine. I use Vanish in-wash powder. I have tried every powder/ liquid/ capsules/ gel/ tablets on the market. I don't overload the drum. But still my DD's tops, socks and knickers come out stained.

I'm sure they need to be washed at 50 (like in the olden days) but my modern machine only has 30 40 or 60.

Does anybody manage to get really dirty clothes clean, without having to do a lot of soaking/ prewashing or treating?

Not at 40, no.
I do filthy stuff at 60.

Nope, not much comes out at 40. Generally I wash at 40 anyway and we all wear stained clothes. I do wash whites at 60.

And environmentally speaking it's better to wash at 60 and get it clean, then wash at 40, curse the machine, and do a second wash at 60

Oh dear. I hoped I was doing something wrong

This week we've had poster paint on shirt, that won't come out; socks with filthy bottoms and stained knickers (DD's, not mine)

Ours seem to get clean all right. Maybe I just have lower standards

I use Surf and that seems to work at 40. I do the vast majority of our washing at 40. I only do towels and sheets higher.

Hmm, I was always told that higher temperatures are more likely to set stains.

Best stain removal technique I have found is to put things outside for a while, it works best in bright sunlight, but also works in the shade, when it is snowing, raining or cloudy, or overnight.

This works best on organic type stains though like bodily fluids or food stains (apart from banana)

How long is the wash? I found this with the short was on our new machine, just didn't get anything out. Switched to bio, and switched to the long 40 wash, and everything is shiny clean now

Oh yes I always use biological powder, non-bio just doesn't get stuff clean. Nobody has sensitive skin in this house though.

I'm using the intensive programme which is longer than usual and I never use non-bio powder. Everything gets line-dried, which does get rid of some of the stains, but not the socks.

We always wash at 30 degrees. You need Arial biological. Someone here recommended it and they were so right. Everything, even whites, looks fine. We do hang out in the sun, though.

agreeeeed...

Persil bio is like magic powder though. will get everything at 40deg

I find ecover bio does a good job as well. for really bad stains I brush with ecover stain remover before washing. works a treat even at 40°c

Ido virtually all my laundry at 40, except for bedlinen and towels ( hotter), or silk n wool (cooler). The only pretreatment I do is to spray stains with vanish oxi stuff. I use Fairy non bio. Everything generally comes out clean. Certain stains, like ground-mud or grass, are very difficult to shift without a lot of preatreatment (soaking in stuff). Others, typically poo, strawberries, chocolate and fat, need to be pretreated and washed ASAP, before they dry and set.

I wash dhs boilersuits at 40 using non bio and they come up fine. Once in a blue moon I give them a 60.
I do use the longer 40 wash though.

I think it depends on the detergent.
Dash (here in Italy, is it Daz in the UK?)is the dog's bollocks though. Costs twice as much as the others, but is fab. I add a bit of that Vanicsh stuff (in the tubs) for whites.

No, if it's really dirty I have to do it at 60. Most of our clothes do ok on a 40 though as they don't get too bad.

I can't understand how detergent manufacturers get away with claiming stains like grass stains and tomato sauce and baby bibs will come out clean at 30. It doesn't for me. I use Bold 2:1 gel (the one that the ads say do all that)

I soak the dcs stained clothing in a bio powder solution, then rinse (in the machine) and then wash in non-bio at 40.

And I line dry wherever possible and agree the sun is like magic for getting out things like tomato stains.

I think pre-soaking is the answer.We use Ecover non-bio. Anything stained is pre-treated with an ecover stain stick before washing, almost everything except towels and sheets goes in at 30C. Higher temperatures do indeed tend to set stains, so try leaving really dirty clothes in a bucket of tepid water with some stain remover added for a couple of hours.
Seems to work on bike grease, mud, tomato juice etc. Never tried it on paint.

I apologise for going off-topic, but every time I see this thread title I have to remind myself that it's temperature, not years.

I'm afraid I think vanish in wash powder is rubbish. I use the old fashioned Vanish Stick to pretreat and if it's really bad an overnight soak in Bio Tex gets out nearly everything. So it looks like it's pretreating and soaking for the tough stuff. I choose my laundry detergent for the smell though so it's Persil for me

I use a vanish pre wash spray on really bad stains, but other than that nearly everything gets washed at 30 or 40.

I will wash everything on the quick 30 wash one week, and longer 40 wash the next. Sometimes use Persil non bio liquid, sometimes BOLD 2 in 1 powder. Stains generally come out nearly all the time, even at 30. And my machine is 6 years old now, so not the best performing.

I use shout stain remover spray then do a shirt wash at 40 with non bio. It gets out everything included crusted on food from a day at nursery.

I do the overwhelming majority of things at 30 or 40, pretreating if necessary, and then do things that have gone horribly wrong at 60 (currently have a mildewed dust sheet in at 60...)

I have never been able to understand these adverts that say they do magic. I have never got things clean on 30 or 40. I firmly believe it is a government ploy to hoodwink us into using a lower temp!
I only wash at 60 and bedding at 90 (kills the bedbugs!)