We pretty much always wash our clothes in cold water, no matter what material or color they are. However, every once in awhile we're almost persuaded by the label on a new shirt that reads: "Machine Wash Warm," or really stinky gym clothes.
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Comments (14)
the hot water line to our washer is broken, so it has been shut off for three years. Only ever cold washes for us...
I used to wash with hot water, and use alot of detergent. now I use cold water, and use a small amount of seventh generation detergent, and... I cant even tell the difference
The gym clothes get washed on cold. Between the soap and the washing soda, there's no smell when they're done.
Regular clothes get washed on warm. Towels and sheets get washed on hot.
About 2/3 of the loads get air-dried. Towels, sheets, and things that are heavy go in the dryer.
only cold for me - i have a high efficiency washer and use great detergent. warm/hot water seems so wasteful!
I end up doing a warm water wash every now and then when it involves pet bedding that's really stinky and gross. Warm wash, but cold rinse.
Other than that, it's always a cold wash.
piffdos stole my post ;-)
I'm about to start line-drying now that the weather is nice. So that will be even better!
I have to admit that I occasionally soak loads in vinegar, but that's still a cold-water soak. I wonder if our hot line is even connected.....
http://embritadesign.blogspot.com
Warm wash for the white towels and for clothes, any, it's cold!
I use hot water on undergarments and socks, but everything else gets the cold treatment. Also, I use about half what the laundry manufacturer tells me to use in detergent. It really helps my portable washer get things clean!
In addition to using cold most of the time (with the exception of the doggy wee wee pads, which I wash in warm water), I also use the "light" wash function to save energy and water.
I use cold for everything. It's all air dried and gets 10 min in the drier after, to remove the copious cat hair.
Things will have to change when the baby comes tho, as I plan on using cloth diapers.
cold water is better for your clothes, anyway. I never noticed any difference (and so many detergents are now made for cold water). but then again, I never get my clothes that dirty/smelly.
All clothes are washed cold, but I wash my bedding in hot, as recommended by my allergist to kill dust mites.
Cold for clothes (hung dry), warm or hot with cold rinse for sheets, towels, cleaning rags, underwear, etc. - germy gets the heat.
I've got an HE machine, so the amount of water used is greatly diminished. Even with regular commercial detergents, white sheets and towels just don't get as white and clean in my machine with cold water.
I have the perfect solution to stinky gym clothes. I take a bit of detergent powder and let it bubble up by filling the bucket with warm water. I the soak each one of the clothes in and leave them in the bucket for at least half a day, more depending on the "fragrance strength" and then i topple the entire load soaking water et al into the machine for the regular wash cycle. I do ofcourse add some extra powder and do the wash on a slightly higher water level than actually required. Washing this way lets me do all my washes with regular cold water and regular, non fancy-shmancy detergents.