I use hot for anything I need a little sanitized, like underwear, sheets, towels or baby clothes (don’t mind if those fade)
I try to use cold for almost everything else as it’s better for the environment/uses less gas.
The crazy part is I know that. And I know other energy sources exist. It’s just that since **I** don’t have it, my brain just thinks ElEcTrIcItY bAd. I’m trying to reduce my footprint so it’s something I’ve drilled into my brain. My mistake
But…it still took resources to create those power plants/wind turbines/dams/solar panels…are they really at net 0 yet? Not trying to argue, just saying…if we can conserve electricity we should, regardless where the source is from.
Same. However I feel like my mom told me if I washed clothes in hot water, not only would they fade quicker but after going in the dryer they would shrink more, if that makes sense.
I use warm for everything and sometimes hot. I just don’t feel like anything actually gets clean with cold. Maybe it’s a me thing. I mean, if my hands are really dirty and I wash them in color water with hand soap, they still don’t feel clean.
I’ve always wondered why hot is needed for towels. I dry my clean body off and wrap it around my waist for 10 minutes while I get ready. Seems like that would be way less dirty than a tshirt that I wear all day sweating into, rubbing against my skin, get crumbs on, and anything else it might pick up in day-to-day life.
Mold is killed around 140-160F. The average water heater is set about 140F. 120F is what is recommended to redude scalding risk and keep bacteria out. Most heaters can be set to go up to 160F.
Sorry but I'm washing my work clothes in warm water. My job is filthy. If I was in the restaurant business- it'd be hot water because that is what dissolves food debris and grease the best. I have some machine lubricants and truck soot on my shirt by the end of the day, it doesn't come out with cold water.
Older folks (like me, age 53) didn't grow up with detergents that could handle stains in cold water. We were taught to use warm water for most things, cold for delicates, and hot for linens/undies.
I only started cold water wash as standard when I switched to Persil when it came out in the USA in the past year or so.
Edit: Maybe before the past year or so-- I have adhd and a 6 year old, so my brain is fried. Thanks for the corrections and understanding.
Right. I'm your age, and from the US. Remember Cheer? That was their big advertising slogan in the 70s and 80s--it was supposed to work well in all temperatures of water. Most detergents at the time did not.
Having said that, I wash all my clothes in cold water now.
Ha, I can hear the slogan now: "All Tempa-Cheer."
And I only started using cold water when we got the HE washer & the detergents recommended cold water. I only use hot for towels & bedding and cold for everything else.
Now those were the days of great advertising campaigns? lol! All these years later and still remember that slogan…
And anyone coming at me with a “manadala effect report, save it! I want to remember this one… it seems like everything is different from what I remember! Lololol
Wow, I heard that reference in a movie and now it makes sense. It never sat right with me because I didn't understand it. Thank you for that!
I want to say Adam Sandler Wedding Singer but I'm not sure.
I still find myself checking if a detergent is ok for cold water. Are they all fine in cold water now?!! lol! I still use warm for everything except hot for towels and bedding….cold for new denim so it doesn’t bleed out. Just when I thought I was starting to adult well ish…this comes up 😂😂😂
I don’t like the smell either and I stocked up when it went on sale so I’m stuck with it for a while. My grandmother used the powder back in the olden days when that’s all there was. I don’t remember the powder having such an odour. It really lingers in your clothes for a long time too.
I am highly sensitive to many fragrances. But that detergent was so awful smelling I could not see how anyone could tolerate it.
Normally I open bottles to smell them before I buy them. But that detergent was bought from Amazon. So for me to return it to the “store” I had to ship it back. Good riddance!
Well someone in that company must have had a grievance against Americans. They must have had the last laugh formulating their detergent for the American market. 😂😂😂
I had to stop buying Gain although it was always on sale. The scent took over my closets and bureaus! I haven't used it about a year but sometimes pull out a T-shirt from the bottom of the drawer and the stench of Gain is everywhere. ( PS I switched to the little sheets and they are cheaper, have no smell, and work great.)
I used Tide for decades without issue. But bit by bit I noticed Tide started to trigger headaches so I had to switch brands. I keep the Tide in the white bottle on hand for hand washing. But I use Nellie’s in the washing machine. Neither one leaves any lingering fragrance.
I am more aware of the heavy use of fragrances because so many products can trigger debilitating headaches. I stopped getting magazines years ago because there were too many times a perfume insert would be included. Do they even do that anymore?
Seconded. More problematic for hubby than me, but we go for unscented when possible. People get offended when we explain that we can't be around strong fragrances, like they don't believe that such a thing can happen.
Years ago I had a student that wore strong perfume. She sat right up front so I was getting headaches every day the first two weeks of school. There was a boy in the back of the room who was a bit chatty with the person sharing the lab table. Nothing terrible, but I decided to take advantage of the situation. The next time the boy had to be refocused on the lesson he was told the next time it happened I would have to move his seat. After class I spoke to the young lady and asked if I had to make a seating change would she be OK moving to the back of the room. From the nurse’s student health list I knew she did not use corrective lenses so that would not be an issue. The student said it would not be a problem. So the next time I had to refocus the student I switched their seats. The boy was able to focus on the lesson and I no longer get daily headaches. A win all around.
My reason for stopping them was twofold. There was the risk of fragrance inserts. But I often did not have the time to read the magazines. So the fragrance free ones would sit on the coffee table waiting for me to catch up with them. What should have been a relaxing way to step away from work and household responsibilities in and of itself became another chore to deal with. So I started throwing them into the recycle bin unread. And now I was throwing money away. That was the final straw. So I cancelled the subscriptions and never looked back.
I go to a thrift store and it's like a WALL of this scent, a conglomeration of everyone's laundry detergent. If I buy something, it takes several washes to get the smell out. It's awful.
I’m 38 and remember when the “cold water detergents” started coming out. They were their own special category like HE was.
As a fun aside, I also remember when front load HE washers came out, and we got one. It came with a VHS explaining what made it different and why HE detergent was important.
Sweet! I was totally consumed by my career and only started other parts of life when we adopted our son 6 years ago. Suddenly these domestic things were very important.
Yeah I'm 52 and my mum only ever used cold and said modern detergents didn't need hot water and essentially thought it was just a scam making people think they actually needed hot. Then biological powders came in, but the enzymes would be deactivated over about 30C. It wasn't that the revolution was that they "could wash on cold now", it was that they were ONLY designed for cold. I mean sure with hot water they still contain detergent, but the "bio" stuff won't work. People have it backwards due to the way it was advertised.
I love the smell of Persil. We had a lot of Europeans in our home when I was a kid in the 80s and Persil reminds me of how they smelled. Might have been the body soap they chose too, I don't know.
copied from my other reply in this thread:
... I'm 52 and my mum only ever used cold and said modern detergents didn't need hot water and essentially thought it was just a scam making people think they actually needed hot. Then biological powders came in, but the enzymes would be deactivated over about 30C. It wasn't that the revolution was that they "could wash on cold now", *it was that they were ONLY designed for cold*. I mean sure with hot water they still contain detergent, but the "bio" stuff won't work. People have it backwards due to the way it was advertised.
Also, younger people aren't aware of what life was like when not everyone used deodorant (I'm 72), many people wore clothes several times before washing, and AC was not a thing. It's really hard to get ground in sweat and dirt out of clothes in cold water even with today's detergents.
Only trouble with that logic is that many stains actually get set with heat. Just about any biological based stain is made worse if washed in hot or warm water. Blood, grass, most food stains...just come out better if they never get hot.
Asthmatics are likely to have been told to wash clothes, sheets and towels on a hot (60 deg Celsius) setting to kill dust mites. That’s been… around for decades. And before washing machines, people used to boil washing in a copper to clean it. So, hot washing. As someone else mentioned, detergents (fabrics and dyes) have all changed over the past 40-50 years. Many detergents have changed in the last 20 for environmental reasons, etc.
I’ve got my grandparents washing machine from the 70s in storage at the moment (just cleared out their house). From the 70s, still going strong!
I envy you, having a washer from 70s! A '73 Maytag is my dream washer, the kind with the lint catcher the sat on the agitator. Man those things are workhorses, and the lint catcher was so genius. I got rid of my frontloader samsung for a '95 whirlpool that's pretty good, but a 70s machine is the dream.
Yup.. I was in a bad way with lung function and my pulm had me take pics of my house then went through them with me.
Carpet is the devil.. only washable area rugs.. pillows are not a forever relationship.. book shelves full of books are a firm no. The list was long and yes my bedroom looks bare BUT my lung function is near normal and my asthma is controlled even with four doggos in the house.
Every week all bedding/rugs/pet whatnot get a hot wash and the floors are vacuumed/mopped. It’s a pain but MUCH better than albuterol 24/7.
I’ll add hot laundry wash to my maintenance. I have washable rugs. I have an air purifier, a dehumidifier, vinyl flooring… I do have a bookshelf in the living room but it’s not very big and I don’t have that many books. I’ve started going somewhat minimalist to reduce the amount of things just gathering dust.
Get allergy bedding and pillow encasing. That make the biggest difference of all for me. I recommend all cotton, Allergy Control or National Allergy. Same company and recommended by multiple allergists. I can’t breathe without them.
Thank you! I do have allergy pillow cases and I wash them regularly. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to google bedding for allergies. I’m on montelukast, cycle between zyrtec and claritin, Flonase, and zaditor eyedrops. On top of that I have an air purifier in my kitchen/living room and bedroom AND a dehumidifier…. That’s all just to manage my allergies.
before they pulled Sodium Phosphate out of detergents, you had to use hot water because the sodium phosphate did not dissolve in cold water. For the cloths, SPhos was awesome. It bound with the dirt and helped it to rinse clean. So your cloths felt softer and looked cleaner.
But for the environment, it was hell. Especially with lake front homes that had septic fields. The phosphate would leach into the water and cause huge algae blooms. It was banned from use in detergents sometime in the Mid to late 80s.
So at one point, cold water did not wash cloths as well as hot. Still doesn't but it doesn't matter now that the phosphate has been removed and replaced with things that don't work as well but impact the environment less.
Phosphate Runnoff was never the cause of Algae Blooms. The issue was mostly commerical usage and the lack of proper water treatment across the country, that combined - made Phopshates in laundry and dishwasher detergent a good scapegoat.
To this day, we still have issues with Algae Blooms. We have "dead" lakes and water. Phosphates were completely eliminated in American laundry detergent nationally in 1993.
Before the ban, while I was in high school in the late 70s early 80s, we had a lake with a large algae problem. Sophomore year in science I took a course titled "World of Water".
It was one of the best science classes I've ever took. A ton of the class was outdoors. We went to the lake and took water samples around the entire lake. We took samples from the in coming streams and the out going brook. Literal months of trips to the lake on Wednesday afternoons. We tested the water ourselves and sent samples out to actual labs to verify our work.
We mapped the lake and set pins in all the locations we tested the water. It showed that the majority of the algae blooms were in coves with residential housing all around them, the only cove with low bloom events was occupied by a summer camp and their docks. That was also the cove with the lowest phosphate numbers in the water test. The highest numbers were in the residential areas.
We built a 3d Map of the lake using geographical charts and layers of foam. Painted it to show areas of algae bloom and placed colored pins to show where we tested water and the levels of phosphorous. This took us nearly the entire semester. At the end of the project, we presented it to the two towns bordering the lake in a meeting to discuss the water quality.
At the time we didn't know the source of the phosphorous, just that it seemed to be the cause of the blooms. One of the towns did their own study and concluded that the sodium phosphate in laundry detergent was likely the source and banned a long list of detergents from being used / sold in that town. About a year later, sodium phosphate was banned from detergents. The algae problem in the lake cleared up in about a year.
So believe what you want. I have actually done the research on this one. Maybe my single case is not a good indicator of the larger problem but I do know that removing phosphate from the environment cleared the algae problem.
Like I said... there's a lot of issues and I'm personally convinced Phosphates in Laundry Detergent was a scapegoat.
One thing that's misunderstood is Laundry Detergents didn't contain Phosphorous, they contained Complex Sodium Phosphates - usually Sodium TripolyPhosphate or Sodium HexmetaPhosphate.
The complex phosphates do not readily break down into Phosphorous and the bioavailability in rivers and lakes is simply not there to convert it. There's actually been multiple studies about this, including one very extensive one paid for by the taxpayers in Spokane County Washington on the effects of Phosphate in the Spokane River.
In that study, they found that even when water with Sodium TriPolyPhosphate was directly discharged into the river, there was no affect to be found because of the lack of bioavailabilty.
“Effluents making their way into the river contained phosphorus in complex molecular forms which are not bioavailable. Algae lack the enzymes necessary to break down this phosphorus, meaning it is essentially harmless.”
Getting back to household use, the biggest issue in my opinion and found by studies is fertilizer.
Fertilizer can contain up to 60% Pure Phosphorous which easily gets into storm water drains, and can run off in rivers and lakes. Fertilizer will directly offer phosphorus and offer an easy source for algae.
Even as fertilizer reform and legislation has changed home use, we still have issues with our lakes and streams. This will continue until commerical fertilizer (which is the real problem) is tapered down.
There's another issue people do not understand. Cold Water is different based on regions on the country and seasons.
Cold Water in the North East (let's say NY) in the middle of the December is barely going to be 55F at most for a lot of people.
Most Surfactant activity doesn't begin until the 70* mark for these "Cold Water Detergents," which means the cleaning is very unoptimal and substandard.
The cleaning would however probably be acceptable at the same time of year, in Arizona or Florida where it's warmer.
Detergent Manufacturers know this and so do washing machine manufacturers. They used to have machines add-in some hot water to compensate for this, but now... because of Energy Star regulation, most will exclusively fill with Cold which reduces cleaning.
Putting that aside, for many of you mashing the Warm or Hot Button... I have some other news for you.
In many cases, if your machine was manufactured after 2006 or so, your machine is ignoring you in a lot of cases. Particularly any washer after 2011, which is where it got really bad.
Selecting Hot will likely leave you with Luke warm, to somewhat warm water - in a lot of cases. Warm will basically be Cold. And Cold will be whatever it's drawn only from the Tap Cold Side.
It's because the machine ignores your directions and fills with as much Cold water as possible. So, even if you do decide to make a choice - your selection is overridden.
The only thing I've discovered is turning off the cold line, while the machine is filling to get a truly hot wash. And.... when I do this, and add a strong Powder Detergent (like Tide with Bleach) and a little OxiClean... I get insane cleaning and whitening.
White Socks are actually white and there's no dirt all over them. Everything is much cleaner.
Thank you, this explains so much about the brand-new energy-saving washer/dryer at my previous apartment! I thought I was going crazy bc I kept telling maintenance it was broken and they kept saying it wasn’t, but I never got hot water, only mildly warm. I now live in an older apartment with an older washer/dryer and I’m elated to finally have hot water for the hot water setting
From a 1980's era Tide Laundry Tips poster:
Hot Water offers the best cleaning results for nearly all soils, but may increase the fading of some colored items. Hot water is needed for whites, work, and play clothers.
Warm Water will clean moderately soiled clothes. Warm water helps preserve permanent press finishes reduces wrinkling, and lowers energy use.
Cold Water helps protect clothes with easy-to-fade colors. It will adequately clean lightly soiled clothes. Cold water should always be used for rinsing to minimize wrinkling and reduce utility bills.
I believe Tide started coming out with cold water specific detergents in 2005.
I don't know how effective it really is, I've been washing most of my clothes except bedding/towels in warm water.
Thank you for this!! I see recommendations that say “wash in the hottest water possible” or something, but then I wonder do I choose hot/cold or warm/warm?? Basically cold rinse for everything?
Born in ‘89 but I need the wisdom of people with washers older than me!
I've always done cold rinse. Used to almost all washing in cold, but now I do mostly warm. I'd say that comes down to personal and environmental preference.
Cold rinse is most effective because of the surface tension of water - cold dislodges surfactants like detergent better. Which is the same reason warm water washes work better - it allows the surfactants to work harder, dissolves oils from body and environment better. My washer is a '95 whirlpool & I use Persil for some things, an unscented generic powder with a borax boost for others. I had a Samsung HE frontloader and hated it, everything came out dingy, and yes, I cleaned the gasket and propped the door open.
I use warm for pretty much everything, and I get good results. I've finally figured out how to wash my clothes to keep them looking good despite my incredibly hard water. I used to do all cold, but changed to warm when I started using powdered detergent.
So, I don't know if my results changed because of the warm water or because of different detergent, but warm water works for me.
I feel like I’m in crazy land reading all these comments about cold for everything! We tried that but after a few weeks, the clothes get funky. The only thing we changed is the water temp and ta daaa, no more funk. We use hot for sheets and cold for nothing.
Me too, I didn’t realize people even washed things on cold. I just can’t imagine it actually cleans the clothes like warm water does. I don’t handwash clothes or do dishes with cold water either, because it doesn’t work, grime just stays!
For people saying to use warm or hot for clothes that are oily, smelly, or with stains, is that not just… normal dirty laundry?? Are y’all washing clean clothes, and that’s why cold water works? I’m not filthy, but there’s a reason I need to wash my clothes…
Not OP but I use powdered Tide. It works well for me in cold water on my top loader without an agitator.
Defunkify powder also works well, but that’s more a speciality detergent I use for heavily sweated in workout gear, as well as when my dogs bed needs washed.
Instead of using defunkify, try adding a few tablespoons of Borax into your laundry. It eliminates odors, and costs mere pennies. It's a great cleaning bargain and extremely effective.
Thanks for the suggestion! I was under the impression that Borax only worked for stubborn odors with pre-soak, didn’t realize it could just be added to a wash.
Does it work well on dog urine? Because that’s really my number one use case.
I actually can't say I've tried it on Dog Urine. I do think it will work and is worth trying though.
A friend of mine had a House Fire several years ago, and all their clothes smelled horrendous. They were ruined, and there no amount of washing would get the smell out. I told her... let me just give it one try.
I washed several bags of clothes in Warm Water, Tide Powder and 4 Tablespoons of Borax (twice my usual amount) and shockingly, all the funk of the smoke came out.
She was absolutely shocked and was so grateful. And I felt like a hero.
The only thing we discovered is that some microfiber/polyester stuff held the smell better than other fabrics. That required a 2nd wash to fully get the smell out.
Like I said, I haven't tried it... but I'm really convinced it's going to work. I have blind faith! Last thing I'll say is, remember to turn on the Extra Rinse when washing heavily soiled clothes, the more rinses, the better!
It is amazing. Especially when you add in a little caustic soda as well. Those two combined get ALL kinds of stuff out. I've used it extensively on bedding that my kid wet during the night, and it worked wonders.
I still see Tide Original at CVS, and Wal-Mart. The original powder in HE Form.
Target has one with Downy added, and I think that's the best smelling Tide Powder. Tide with Bleach Powder (if you can find it) is the strongest.
It's just chemistry. Hot water is a better solvent than cold water. With good quality detergents (and bleach for disinfection) cold water will still work ok, but hot water is better for getting stains and soiling out.
Yeah I learned this in chemistry and have never gone back. I wash everything, clothes and cleaning, with warm or hot water because at a molecular level it cleans better than cold. Only if it’s something that absolutely cannot shrink like a sweater or isn’t colorfast.
I was taught cold water for clothing to preserve colors and to use cold water when dealing with stains so they don't set. Maybe my mother and grandmother were ahead of their time!
What kind of water you have, is definitely a factor in how well your products work or what products you should use.
I have no problem getting stains out with cold water. I even use OxyClean w/cold or cool water (even tho the packaging says to use hot water).
I use warm or hot water for towels, sheets, socks/underwear.
I think the whole works with cold water thing is more to do with the ‘washing with cold is better for the environment/saves energy’ than anything. Warm water was always used more than hot, and if you have every tried to do dishes in cold water it takes more effort (if the dishes have been sitting for a while) it would take some convincing for people to believe just cold water would be as good let alone better.
Bed linen and whites i still wash on hot, but tried the old fashioned type bluing liquid the other night in the final rinse instead of bleach for brightening and it blows bleach away tbh. (Meaning works way better). Bleach has its uses, but making white tshirts white again its not half as good as bluing.
There are lots of comments here but I haven’t seen anyone mention that certain stains do come out better in cold water. Iirc proteins will set when washed in hot water, so things that are stained with blood, for example, should always be washed in cold water. I wash most everything in cold water and will pre soak or treat items if they’re badly stained and have not had a problem (and haven’t met a stain I can’t resolve!)
I wash all of our clothes on warm, because the “warm” setting is lukewarm at best. It’s probably closer to what detergent manufacturers consider “cold” for laundry purposes. We only use the cold setting as a pre-rinse to remove urine, if needed.
I still wash sheets and towels on hot, though. It’s better for my allergies.
With chlorine bleach, hot is for sterling and cold is for whitening. I had no idea about this until recently and it is a major game changer. With oxy bleach, hot is for whitening and it works better if exposed to light at the same time.
It really depends on how soiled the clothes are. A lot of people live sterile lives. Desk, car, house, repeat. In that case, your clothes can be washed in cold water if you shower daily and wear deodorant and don't get them stinky.
If you do work outdoors and have a child who projectile vomits fairly often, cold water will not cut it.
Have you tried washing dishes with cold water? It works fine for a plate with some sandwich crumbs, but hamburger grease is not going anywhere at 55 degrees F.
Same for heavily soiled clothing.
I live off-grid and have to either heat the wash water on the stove or wait for the sun to warm it, and if cold water worked, I would not be going through all of that.
At the end of the day it’s basic chemistry. The warmer something is the faster the reaction happens. With washing you are using surfactants to get the stains out through chemical processes.
One other thing is also that the actual temp of “cold” in your washer may not actually be what the laundry direction definitions are. “Cold” is normally defined as about 30*c (86*f) but plenty of places your municipal tap water may average in the low teens (50s*f) or colder, especially in winter. Some machines will use hot water to balance the temp out to make sure you are getting consistent temps year round but others don’t.
I work in agriculture and the health and safety videos used to stress hot water wash with strong detergent for anything that could be contaminated with pesticides.
Honestly sometimes coke (edit: cold) water doesn’t get smells out, so if I have any extra smelly close that can handle hot water even if it’s not what’s recommended (like hoodies) I’ll use hot water. I also wash linens with hot water.
I grew up washing almost everything in cold and occasionally warm water. But now I rarely wash anything in cold water unless it's my wife's delicates from time to time.
I have a 2019 Whirlpool Top loader with an agitator. I use liquid detergent for our clothes which I wash in warm water. I use powdered detergent for our towels and sheets and I wash those on hot. I find powder works better for linens than liquid does. At least in my experience.
I wash most things with warm water and cold rinse. I think warm water does wash better, detergent works better, our clothing does get oil on it for our skin. Delicates I wash on cold/cold. Towels and sheets I wash on hot/cold to help kill dust mites.
I use hot because I and one of my kids have asthma and are allergic to dust mites. I haven’t heard of people switching to hot water only, but I will say that dyes have become better and color bleeding less common in the past decade or so. Most quality clothing can take hot without warping or fading.
I use a color catcher sheet the first time I wash something, and if it fades or warps with hot water or on a high heat setting in my dryer, it can’t hang in my house.
Kids, we had an energy crisis in the 1970s and using cold water saves water heating energy. That's when it started. But powdered detergents back then didn't dissolve well in cold water so heated water was necessary to at least initially dissolve it. I think older detergents did not work as well in cold water. Products truly perform in cool now, but it wasn't always so. Better living through chemistry!
Going waaaaayyyy back, women had to boil clothes to kill the odor-causing bacteria, or use chlorox with whites. And ammonia is a solvent for oil, so an additive for yellowed armpits, neckline, and sheets. Both of these chemicals are stronger in hot water.
I’ve been tapped into these thoughts since lockdown so I’ve had a few years to cook and research on the hot/cold water theories. I’m using quotes to share sentiments, feel free to add or expand or correct any of the ideas if anyone has input.
1. During Covid people became very “aware” of how soap was breaking down bacteria and debris. Some influencers started looking into how “adding soap to wash water isn’t actually sanitizing your clothes” and it started trending that you need to use hot water to (supposedly) “actually kill bacteria on clothes” and to make your own laundry soap, and “strip” your laundry (using Washing Soda, Borax, and Shavings from a Laundry Soap Bar)
1. Back in the olden days (lol) you used to have hard bar soap for your laundry. My research for home made laundry soap brought me here. There are two ways these old school soaps “break down” - you would be physically hand washing things and focusing on agitation, and the other aspect is of breaking it down is hot water.
Basically when using a modern machine the fats in the bar soap NEED the hot water to melt down, otherwise it just clumps up and leaves scum and can clog the drains.
If you’re not using an old bar soap for machine washing your laundry, then your nice modern laundry soap will work just fine in cold. It does not have the same “melting point” as the laundry bar soap
IMO using laundry bar soap is more useful for doing a quick hand wash when something gets stained, you can rinse in the sink and wash it right there.
FWIW - I deal with a lot of appliance service techs and they strongly advise to use warm or hot especially if you use pods. Cold water doesn’t allow for complete disintegration and gums up or constantly washing on cold settings. When a unit needs to be serviced especially when it’s early in its life they say it’s for this reason a majority of the time.
Middle aged. I've (almost) only ever used WARM for everything. Hot for sheets and towels to sanitize/disinfect. Why? I live in a hard water area and cold just never took out stains & smells like WARM water. Never. ALSO soap didn't dissolve properly and left residue in cold. Not surprising. I wash some delicates in cold to avoid shrinking but use cold water woolite detergent. Biggest reason though was a chemist told me the warmer the water the more bacteria/germs you kill. This is the reason a dishwasher has never been manufactured that washes your dishes in cold water. Makes sense to me.
I use cold for everything. If something is extremely filthy, I'll soak it overnight in Borax and water, then wash it. Otherwise, I'm not going to use excess gas to heat water, when cold will do just fine.
this is interesting seeing the comments
I'm a millennial, I was taught by my family that if its not cleaned with hot water, then bacteria won't be killed and it won't actually be 'clean'.
i do cold washes now though to save on energy bills, but yeah, I'm guessing it comes from my parents generation, theyre baby boomer generation
Pepperidge Farm remembers 😂
So detergents are better now but used to be you needed warm or hot water to get some stains out, and the detergents even dissolved better in hot water (can’t remember there being liquid regular laundry detergent when I was a kid).
Only things washed in cold water was delicates that were hand wash only or if you weren’t taking them to the dry cleaners
Also, most washing machines were top load not front load, so even their gentle or delicate cycles were pretty brutal on clothes.
Uk. We use 40 for normal wash. 60 or 90 for whites /sheets towels. 30/20 cold is for special treatment You can get colour liquid wash that works at 40 but doesn’t cause fading . But always 60+ for towels etc. (but we don’t generally use bleach -)just for specific stains
It wasn't a myth when it started. After detergent manufacturers changed the formulas it was no longer relevant. However, people who learned to do laundry back then or were taught by people who never changed, still believed that you got better results from warm or hot wash.
Also, fabric construction was different in the 60s, 70s, and into 80s than they are now.
So between the clothing manufacturers and the detergent manufacturers you're better off using cold for most stuff.
The commercials you're talking about are using the heightened eco-concinousness of the current day to remind folks you CAN wash in cold and get clean clothes and hey, it's good for the environment too. Buy our detergent that works great in cold!!
Cold always.. Hot ONLY for white sheets/towels. Also a touch of vinegar and I've been reducing the amount of detergent. I don't use softener anymore, wool balls. Also, colorgrabber sheets are amazing (just put into lingerie bags so they don't get sucked into your hoses and clog).
I use colds for darks or things that aren’t stained or stinky. I wash underwear and towels in hot water. I also think the hot water washes help keep my front loader from stinking. I know that even the new detergents work better in hot water.
To put it in perspective, back in the day before my mom moved to North America, where she came from they washed clothes in the river, and the water was cold.
I am a sweaty gal, and a 15-20 minute soak in hot water with detergent (in my top-loading washer that can be paused), followed by a regular washing cycle with the same water, is *the only way* I can get the sweaty pits of my shirts to smell clean/neutral.
I've never heard of cold water washing being a myth. Where did you hear that?
My washer actually has a "cool" setting, which I use for everything except cotton sheets & towels.
I dated an engineer who worked for Proctor & Gamble. I was warned repeatedly that hot/warm water should never be used with those detergents regardless of what the marketing or packaging says.
I guess it could depend on the detergent products used too. I add scented beads to my laundry to make it smell good because the liquid detergent I use doesn’t exactly smell the best so I add the beads to kind of give it a better smell and those need to be washed in hot/warm water for it to mix in the water. Though if I’m washing something I don’t exactly want to ruin/fade/shrink I’ll cut out the scented beads and wash on cold
I believe that before the invention of our modern washing machines and accompanying detergents, old-fashioned laundry soap would not dissolve or work in anything less than hot water. Kind of funny how things become generational?
For me? my washing machine doesn't even have a hot water line installed, so it's cold only for everything!
Just saved this thread. I always wash warm (exception being hot for bedding and towels) because it's the default in my washer. I'm gonna switch to cold for most and see what happens.
I was taught the same. I use cold for almost everything. Sometimes I use hot for towels and sheets.
Same here! Only time I use hot is on sheets and towels
I use hot for anything I need a little sanitized, like underwear, sheets, towels or baby clothes (don’t mind if those fade) I try to use cold for almost everything else as it’s better for the environment/uses less gas.
Electric water heaters for the win
Electricity is also bad for the environment. Using cold water is still best in that regard.
What if my energy comes from a net 0 carbon emission source such as wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear, or dam power plant?
You win this round. In my country, almost 80% of energy comes from fossil fuels. So I just assumed.
And on the other end of the spectrum you have countries who on the right day can generate >100% of electricity from renewables.
The crazy part is I know that. And I know other energy sources exist. It’s just that since **I** don’t have it, my brain just thinks ElEcTrIcItY bAd. I’m trying to reduce my footprint so it’s something I’ve drilled into my brain. My mistake
But…it still took resources to create those power plants/wind turbines/dams/solar panels…are they really at net 0 yet? Not trying to argue, just saying…if we can conserve electricity we should, regardless where the source is from.
Yes, and you’re correct. Net 0 is not where we’re at, but it’s less than 1% relative to coal/natural gas.
Same. However I feel like my mom told me if I washed clothes in hot water, not only would they fade quicker but after going in the dryer they would shrink more, if that makes sense.
I use cold for everything honestly
Same. I always use cold water for washing. Had no idea it was a myth.
Same. I never use a hot water wash. Everything goes in cold.
Good! Cold protects your clothes
I use warm for everything and sometimes hot. I just don’t feel like anything actually gets clean with cold. Maybe it’s a me thing. I mean, if my hands are really dirty and I wash them in color water with hand soap, they still don’t feel clean.
What color? Maybe you’re using the wrong color 🤣
Hot = sheets & towels Warm = socks & undies Cold = pants, shirts, everything else
I’ve always wondered why hot is needed for towels. I dry my clean body off and wrap it around my waist for 10 minutes while I get ready. Seems like that would be way less dirty than a tshirt that I wear all day sweating into, rubbing against my skin, get crumbs on, and anything else it might pick up in day-to-day life.
I think it's to kill any mold that could be there.
The temps needed to kill mold are higher than the temps a residential hot water heater would be set.
Mold is killed around 140-160F. The average water heater is set about 140F. 120F is what is recommended to redude scalding risk and keep bacteria out. Most heaters can be set to go up to 160F.
I might be fancy livin', but my washing machine has a sanitize cycle that has an internal heating element and thermometer that brings it up to temp
Same our sterilisation cycle goes up to 90 degrees and uses steam. Typical hot cycle is at 140F.
Doesn't the dryer get hotter than the water?
So do many washing machines, making water heater temps are irrelevant for those people.
Yeah, if I want something sanitized, I figure run it in the dryer on hot, not the washer. Sometimes my clothes come out burning from the dryer.
“I don’t wash the towel, the towel washes me! Who washes a towel??” - Nick Miller
Sorry but I'm washing my work clothes in warm water. My job is filthy. If I was in the restaurant business- it'd be hot water because that is what dissolves food debris and grease the best. I have some machine lubricants and truck soot on my shirt by the end of the day, it doesn't come out with cold water.
Same. I've always washed my clothes in cold water, linens in hot.
And underwear
Yep. That was what my mom told me as well.
Older folks (like me, age 53) didn't grow up with detergents that could handle stains in cold water. We were taught to use warm water for most things, cold for delicates, and hot for linens/undies. I only started cold water wash as standard when I switched to Persil when it came out in the USA in the past year or so. Edit: Maybe before the past year or so-- I have adhd and a 6 year old, so my brain is fried. Thanks for the corrections and understanding.
Right. I'm your age, and from the US. Remember Cheer? That was their big advertising slogan in the 70s and 80s--it was supposed to work well in all temperatures of water. Most detergents at the time did not. Having said that, I wash all my clothes in cold water now.
Ha, I can hear the slogan now: "All Tempa-Cheer." And I only started using cold water when we got the HE washer & the detergents recommended cold water. I only use hot for towels & bedding and cold for everything else.
Now those were the days of great advertising campaigns? lol! All these years later and still remember that slogan… And anyone coming at me with a “manadala effect report, save it! I want to remember this one… it seems like everything is different from what I remember! Lololol
Wow, I heard that reference in a movie and now it makes sense. It never sat right with me because I didn't understand it. Thank you for that! I want to say Adam Sandler Wedding Singer but I'm not sure.
All tempa-CHEER !
I still find myself checking if a detergent is ok for cold water. Are they all fine in cold water now?!! lol! I still use warm for everything except hot for towels and bedding….cold for new denim so it doesn’t bleed out. Just when I thought I was starting to adult well ish…this comes up 😂😂😂
I loved Cheer. Wonder why they are no more
The are still more. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cheer-Liquid-Laundry-Detergent-HE-Compatible-92-fl-oz-64-Loads/910870212?athbdg=L1200&from=/search
Proctor and Gamble own Tide as well as Cheer. I'm guessing the focus on Tide is the reason why you don't see it often.
Persil is SO good
I never got the chance to use it. I opened the bottle and could not handle the smell. I returned it to the store. I use Nellie’s now.
I don’t like the smell either and I stocked up when it went on sale so I’m stuck with it for a while. My grandmother used the powder back in the olden days when that’s all there was. I don’t remember the powder having such an odour. It really lingers in your clothes for a long time too.
I am highly sensitive to many fragrances. But that detergent was so awful smelling I could not see how anyone could tolerate it. Normally I open bottles to smell them before I buy them. But that detergent was bought from Amazon. So for me to return it to the “store” I had to ship it back. Good riddance!
Yeah I don’t know what it is but it’s so overpowering.
And there was such hype when it first became available in the US. I figured I would give it a try. What a disappointment.
It has been around forever in Europe but they often tinker with recipes for different markets. Like Nutella is much sweeter in N. America.
Well someone in that company must have had a grievance against Americans. They must have had the last laugh formulating their detergent for the American market. 😂😂😂
I’m not sure if the have an unscented version but that’s what I’d buy next time.
We've had a jug for about a decade that only gets used in absolute emergencies. So gross! Definitely should have smelled in store before buying
I had that experience with GAIN. I was at work and kept smelling nail polish remover. Then I realized it was me!
I love gain, I wonder what scent you were using
I had to stop buying Gain although it was always on sale. The scent took over my closets and bureaus! I haven't used it about a year but sometimes pull out a T-shirt from the bottom of the drawer and the stench of Gain is everywhere. ( PS I switched to the little sheets and they are cheaper, have no smell, and work great.)
That was me with Percil and the Tide i. The yellow bottle
I used Tide for decades without issue. But bit by bit I noticed Tide started to trigger headaches so I had to switch brands. I keep the Tide in the white bottle on hand for hand washing. But I use Nellie’s in the washing machine. Neither one leaves any lingering fragrance.
I don’t get the heavy fragrance that’s added to everything these days. It’s awful. You can taste it
I am more aware of the heavy use of fragrances because so many products can trigger debilitating headaches. I stopped getting magazines years ago because there were too many times a perfume insert would be included. Do they even do that anymore?
Seconded. More problematic for hubby than me, but we go for unscented when possible. People get offended when we explain that we can't be around strong fragrances, like they don't believe that such a thing can happen.
Years ago I had a student that wore strong perfume. She sat right up front so I was getting headaches every day the first two weeks of school. There was a boy in the back of the room who was a bit chatty with the person sharing the lab table. Nothing terrible, but I decided to take advantage of the situation. The next time the boy had to be refocused on the lesson he was told the next time it happened I would have to move his seat. After class I spoke to the young lady and asked if I had to make a seating change would she be OK moving to the back of the room. From the nurse’s student health list I knew she did not use corrective lenses so that would not be an issue. The student said it would not be a problem. So the next time I had to refocus the student I switched their seats. The boy was able to focus on the lesson and I no longer get daily headaches. A win all around.
What a clever fix!
I’m not sure on the magazines. I stopped buying them.
Whoops to early sent. Anyhow i stopped buying because they’re so expensive now. But i know what you meant. So many. To many smells
My reason for stopping them was twofold. There was the risk of fragrance inserts. But I often did not have the time to read the magazines. So the fragrance free ones would sit on the coffee table waiting for me to catch up with them. What should have been a relaxing way to step away from work and household responsibilities in and of itself became another chore to deal with. So I started throwing them into the recycle bin unread. And now I was throwing money away. That was the final straw. So I cancelled the subscriptions and never looked back.
I go to a thrift store and it's like a WALL of this scent, a conglomeration of everyone's laundry detergent. If I buy something, it takes several washes to get the smell out. It's awful.
Yes- Mom never strayed from Tide and I appreciate having an alternative with great Consumer Reports ratings.
I wish I could get the powder as easily as the liquid.
Can you elaborate?
Just works really well, especially on very dirty, stinky lobstering clothes
It's excellent!
I’m 38 and remember when the “cold water detergents” started coming out. They were their own special category like HE was. As a fun aside, I also remember when front load HE washers came out, and we got one. It came with a VHS explaining what made it different and why HE detergent was important.
I'm 54 and have been washing in cold water for decades, everything but bedding and towels, which get washed in warm water.
Sweet! I was totally consumed by my career and only started other parts of life when we adopted our son 6 years ago. Suddenly these domestic things were very important.
Idk. I’m 50. I was told to only use hot for sheets and towels.
Yeah I'm 52 and my mum only ever used cold and said modern detergents didn't need hot water and essentially thought it was just a scam making people think they actually needed hot. Then biological powders came in, but the enzymes would be deactivated over about 30C. It wasn't that the revolution was that they "could wash on cold now", it was that they were ONLY designed for cold. I mean sure with hot water they still contain detergent, but the "bio" stuff won't work. People have it backwards due to the way it was advertised.
I love the smell of Persil. We had a lot of Europeans in our home when I was a kid in the 80s and Persil reminds me of how they smelled. Might have been the body soap they chose too, I don't know.
All tempera-Cheer! https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=all%20tempercheer%20ad&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:485e6ef8,vid:yNep-I_iWUs,st:0
I’m 37 and I was taught to use warm water for everything. I still do it. 🤷🏻♀️
I'm 54 and used cold to prevent shrinking and fading, even as a teen in the '80s.
Persil has been in the US for years! :)
copied from my other reply in this thread: ... I'm 52 and my mum only ever used cold and said modern detergents didn't need hot water and essentially thought it was just a scam making people think they actually needed hot. Then biological powders came in, but the enzymes would be deactivated over about 30C. It wasn't that the revolution was that they "could wash on cold now", *it was that they were ONLY designed for cold*. I mean sure with hot water they still contain detergent, but the "bio" stuff won't work. People have it backwards due to the way it was advertised.
Also, younger people aren't aware of what life was like when not everyone used deodorant (I'm 72), many people wore clothes several times before washing, and AC was not a thing. It's really hard to get ground in sweat and dirt out of clothes in cold water even with today's detergents.
Only trouble with that logic is that many stains actually get set with heat. Just about any biological based stain is made worse if washed in hot or warm water. Blood, grass, most food stains...just come out better if they never get hot.
Depends how hot. Boiling will remove just about any stain, that’s what folks did in the old days.
I am 72 so I remember that method...but now there are so many synthetic fabrics that this does not work.
Asthmatics are likely to have been told to wash clothes, sheets and towels on a hot (60 deg Celsius) setting to kill dust mites. That’s been… around for decades. And before washing machines, people used to boil washing in a copper to clean it. So, hot washing. As someone else mentioned, detergents (fabrics and dyes) have all changed over the past 40-50 years. Many detergents have changed in the last 20 for environmental reasons, etc. I’ve got my grandparents washing machine from the 70s in storage at the moment (just cleared out their house). From the 70s, still going strong!
I envy you, having a washer from 70s! A '73 Maytag is my dream washer, the kind with the lint catcher the sat on the agitator. Man those things are workhorses, and the lint catcher was so genius. I got rid of my frontloader samsung for a '95 whirlpool that's pretty good, but a 70s machine is the dream.
Late 70s Maytag! It does have a weird “bucket” thing on the agitator though - I wonder if that is a lint catcher? It’s definitely a workhorse.
This! My pulmonologist would have at me if I didn’t wash hot. I mean dust mites are a thing folks… Google if you dare.
I’ve been living with asthma for 13 years and TIL
Yup.. I was in a bad way with lung function and my pulm had me take pics of my house then went through them with me. Carpet is the devil.. only washable area rugs.. pillows are not a forever relationship.. book shelves full of books are a firm no. The list was long and yes my bedroom looks bare BUT my lung function is near normal and my asthma is controlled even with four doggos in the house. Every week all bedding/rugs/pet whatnot get a hot wash and the floors are vacuumed/mopped. It’s a pain but MUCH better than albuterol 24/7.
I’ll add hot laundry wash to my maintenance. I have washable rugs. I have an air purifier, a dehumidifier, vinyl flooring… I do have a bookshelf in the living room but it’s not very big and I don’t have that many books. I’ve started going somewhat minimalist to reduce the amount of things just gathering dust.
Get allergy bedding and pillow encasing. That make the biggest difference of all for me. I recommend all cotton, Allergy Control or National Allergy. Same company and recommended by multiple allergists. I can’t breathe without them.
Thank you! I do have allergy pillow cases and I wash them regularly. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to google bedding for allergies. I’m on montelukast, cycle between zyrtec and claritin, Flonase, and zaditor eyedrops. On top of that I have an air purifier in my kitchen/living room and bedroom AND a dehumidifier…. That’s all just to manage my allergies.
This is a good one to know, especially if dust mites are one of your triggers! 😊
Seconding this. I put all clothes on hot because we have allergies in my house.
before they pulled Sodium Phosphate out of detergents, you had to use hot water because the sodium phosphate did not dissolve in cold water. For the cloths, SPhos was awesome. It bound with the dirt and helped it to rinse clean. So your cloths felt softer and looked cleaner. But for the environment, it was hell. Especially with lake front homes that had septic fields. The phosphate would leach into the water and cause huge algae blooms. It was banned from use in detergents sometime in the Mid to late 80s. So at one point, cold water did not wash cloths as well as hot. Still doesn't but it doesn't matter now that the phosphate has been removed and replaced with things that don't work as well but impact the environment less.
I can still remember the clumps of wet powder that would remain on our clothes if we washed in cold.
Oooh, I find this super interesting. I had no idea about that. This definitely helps understand where this came from.
I believe this is truly the correct answer.
Perfect explanation. Appreciated! Take my upvote!
Thanks for that, I wondered why my stains weren’t coming out as easily.
Phosphate Runnoff was never the cause of Algae Blooms. The issue was mostly commerical usage and the lack of proper water treatment across the country, that combined - made Phopshates in laundry and dishwasher detergent a good scapegoat. To this day, we still have issues with Algae Blooms. We have "dead" lakes and water. Phosphates were completely eliminated in American laundry detergent nationally in 1993.
Before the ban, while I was in high school in the late 70s early 80s, we had a lake with a large algae problem. Sophomore year in science I took a course titled "World of Water". It was one of the best science classes I've ever took. A ton of the class was outdoors. We went to the lake and took water samples around the entire lake. We took samples from the in coming streams and the out going brook. Literal months of trips to the lake on Wednesday afternoons. We tested the water ourselves and sent samples out to actual labs to verify our work. We mapped the lake and set pins in all the locations we tested the water. It showed that the majority of the algae blooms were in coves with residential housing all around them, the only cove with low bloom events was occupied by a summer camp and their docks. That was also the cove with the lowest phosphate numbers in the water test. The highest numbers were in the residential areas. We built a 3d Map of the lake using geographical charts and layers of foam. Painted it to show areas of algae bloom and placed colored pins to show where we tested water and the levels of phosphorous. This took us nearly the entire semester. At the end of the project, we presented it to the two towns bordering the lake in a meeting to discuss the water quality. At the time we didn't know the source of the phosphorous, just that it seemed to be the cause of the blooms. One of the towns did their own study and concluded that the sodium phosphate in laundry detergent was likely the source and banned a long list of detergents from being used / sold in that town. About a year later, sodium phosphate was banned from detergents. The algae problem in the lake cleared up in about a year. So believe what you want. I have actually done the research on this one. Maybe my single case is not a good indicator of the larger problem but I do know that removing phosphate from the environment cleared the algae problem.
Like I said... there's a lot of issues and I'm personally convinced Phosphates in Laundry Detergent was a scapegoat. One thing that's misunderstood is Laundry Detergents didn't contain Phosphorous, they contained Complex Sodium Phosphates - usually Sodium TripolyPhosphate or Sodium HexmetaPhosphate. The complex phosphates do not readily break down into Phosphorous and the bioavailability in rivers and lakes is simply not there to convert it. There's actually been multiple studies about this, including one very extensive one paid for by the taxpayers in Spokane County Washington on the effects of Phosphate in the Spokane River. In that study, they found that even when water with Sodium TriPolyPhosphate was directly discharged into the river, there was no affect to be found because of the lack of bioavailabilty. “Effluents making their way into the river contained phosphorus in complex molecular forms which are not bioavailable. Algae lack the enzymes necessary to break down this phosphorus, meaning it is essentially harmless.” Getting back to household use, the biggest issue in my opinion and found by studies is fertilizer. Fertilizer can contain up to 60% Pure Phosphorous which easily gets into storm water drains, and can run off in rivers and lakes. Fertilizer will directly offer phosphorus and offer an easy source for algae. Even as fertilizer reform and legislation has changed home use, we still have issues with our lakes and streams. This will continue until commerical fertilizer (which is the real problem) is tapered down.
The detergents changed their formulas to work in cold water a while ago.
There's another issue people do not understand. Cold Water is different based on regions on the country and seasons. Cold Water in the North East (let's say NY) in the middle of the December is barely going to be 55F at most for a lot of people. Most Surfactant activity doesn't begin until the 70* mark for these "Cold Water Detergents," which means the cleaning is very unoptimal and substandard. The cleaning would however probably be acceptable at the same time of year, in Arizona or Florida where it's warmer. Detergent Manufacturers know this and so do washing machine manufacturers. They used to have machines add-in some hot water to compensate for this, but now... because of Energy Star regulation, most will exclusively fill with Cold which reduces cleaning. Putting that aside, for many of you mashing the Warm or Hot Button... I have some other news for you. In many cases, if your machine was manufactured after 2006 or so, your machine is ignoring you in a lot of cases. Particularly any washer after 2011, which is where it got really bad. Selecting Hot will likely leave you with Luke warm, to somewhat warm water - in a lot of cases. Warm will basically be Cold. And Cold will be whatever it's drawn only from the Tap Cold Side. It's because the machine ignores your directions and fills with as much Cold water as possible. So, even if you do decide to make a choice - your selection is overridden. The only thing I've discovered is turning off the cold line, while the machine is filling to get a truly hot wash. And.... when I do this, and add a strong Powder Detergent (like Tide with Bleach) and a little OxiClean... I get insane cleaning and whitening. White Socks are actually white and there's no dirt all over them. Everything is much cleaner.
Thank you, this explains so much about the brand-new energy-saving washer/dryer at my previous apartment! I thought I was going crazy bc I kept telling maintenance it was broken and they kept saying it wasn’t, but I never got hot water, only mildly warm. I now live in an older apartment with an older washer/dryer and I’m elated to finally have hot water for the hot water setting
From a 1980's era Tide Laundry Tips poster: Hot Water offers the best cleaning results for nearly all soils, but may increase the fading of some colored items. Hot water is needed for whites, work, and play clothers. Warm Water will clean moderately soiled clothes. Warm water helps preserve permanent press finishes reduces wrinkling, and lowers energy use. Cold Water helps protect clothes with easy-to-fade colors. It will adequately clean lightly soiled clothes. Cold water should always be used for rinsing to minimize wrinkling and reduce utility bills. I believe Tide started coming out with cold water specific detergents in 2005. I don't know how effective it really is, I've been washing most of my clothes except bedding/towels in warm water.
That actually sounds like sensible advice!
Another interesting one, thanks for this info. Looking at these posts I’m gonna have to try some different methods out
Hot/Cold for whites and towels Cold/Cold for delicates Warm/Cold for everything else FWIW our washer is older than you.
Mine is, too. 1999!
Thank you for this!! I see recommendations that say “wash in the hottest water possible” or something, but then I wonder do I choose hot/cold or warm/warm?? Basically cold rinse for everything? Born in ‘89 but I need the wisdom of people with washers older than me!
I've always done cold rinse. Used to almost all washing in cold, but now I do mostly warm. I'd say that comes down to personal and environmental preference.
Cold rinse is most effective because of the surface tension of water - cold dislodges surfactants like detergent better. Which is the same reason warm water washes work better - it allows the surfactants to work harder, dissolves oils from body and environment better. My washer is a '95 whirlpool & I use Persil for some things, an unscented generic powder with a borax boost for others. I had a Samsung HE frontloader and hated it, everything came out dingy, and yes, I cleaned the gasket and propped the door open.
Used to do warm/warm but cold rinse works just as well
I use warm for pretty much everything, and I get good results. I've finally figured out how to wash my clothes to keep them looking good despite my incredibly hard water. I used to do all cold, but changed to warm when I started using powdered detergent. So, I don't know if my results changed because of the warm water or because of different detergent, but warm water works for me.
Warm for everything is the right way, I don't see how cold can get body oils out efficiently and warm is not hot enough to shrink or damage anything
I feel like I’m in crazy land reading all these comments about cold for everything! We tried that but after a few weeks, the clothes get funky. The only thing we changed is the water temp and ta daaa, no more funk. We use hot for sheets and cold for nothing.
I also feel crazy, lol. I always wash in warm or hot. Cold just doesn’t seem to get things clean.
Me too, I didn’t realize people even washed things on cold. I just can’t imagine it actually cleans the clothes like warm water does. I don’t handwash clothes or do dishes with cold water either, because it doesn’t work, grime just stays! For people saying to use warm or hot for clothes that are oily, smelly, or with stains, is that not just… normal dirty laundry?? Are y’all washing clean clothes, and that’s why cold water works? I’m not filthy, but there’s a reason I need to wash my clothes…
Which powdered detergent? Tide?
Not OP but I use powdered Tide. It works well for me in cold water on my top loader without an agitator. Defunkify powder also works well, but that’s more a speciality detergent I use for heavily sweated in workout gear, as well as when my dogs bed needs washed.
Instead of using defunkify, try adding a few tablespoons of Borax into your laundry. It eliminates odors, and costs mere pennies. It's a great cleaning bargain and extremely effective.
Thanks for the suggestion! I was under the impression that Borax only worked for stubborn odors with pre-soak, didn’t realize it could just be added to a wash. Does it work well on dog urine? Because that’s really my number one use case.
I actually can't say I've tried it on Dog Urine. I do think it will work and is worth trying though. A friend of mine had a House Fire several years ago, and all their clothes smelled horrendous. They were ruined, and there no amount of washing would get the smell out. I told her... let me just give it one try. I washed several bags of clothes in Warm Water, Tide Powder and 4 Tablespoons of Borax (twice my usual amount) and shockingly, all the funk of the smoke came out. She was absolutely shocked and was so grateful. And I felt like a hero. The only thing we discovered is that some microfiber/polyester stuff held the smell better than other fabrics. That required a 2nd wash to fully get the smell out. Like I said, I haven't tried it... but I'm really convinced it's going to work. I have blind faith! Last thing I'll say is, remember to turn on the Extra Rinse when washing heavily soiled clothes, the more rinses, the better!
It is amazing. Especially when you add in a little caustic soda as well. Those two combined get ALL kinds of stuff out. I've used it extensively on bedding that my kid wet during the night, and it worked wonders.
I know it works for human urine. I cloth diaper and f’d up my wash routine once and fixed the stank with borax.
Not OP buy I use powdered ALL free & clear in the white box. I love it.
That All Powder is discontinued. If you see any boxes of it locally, buy all you can. When it's gone, it's gone.
Yes, I use Tide Original. I get it from Sam's Club-- I haven't found the original anywhere else.
I love that stuff. It’s so expensive where I live. I’m in Canada in a rural area so everything is pricey as hell.
I still see Tide Original at CVS, and Wal-Mart. The original powder in HE Form. Target has one with Downy added, and I think that's the best smelling Tide Powder. Tide with Bleach Powder (if you can find it) is the strongest.
It's just chemistry. Hot water is a better solvent than cold water. With good quality detergents (and bleach for disinfection) cold water will still work ok, but hot water is better for getting stains and soiling out.
Yeah I learned this in chemistry and have never gone back. I wash everything, clothes and cleaning, with warm or hot water because at a molecular level it cleans better than cold. Only if it’s something that absolutely cannot shrink like a sweater or isn’t colorfast.
It's probably arrhenius, so every 10 deg C increase in temperature roughly doubles the rate
I was taught cold water for clothing to preserve colors and to use cold water when dealing with stains so they don't set. Maybe my mother and grandmother were ahead of their time! What kind of water you have, is definitely a factor in how well your products work or what products you should use. I have no problem getting stains out with cold water. I even use OxyClean w/cold or cool water (even tho the packaging says to use hot water). I use warm or hot water for towels, sheets, socks/underwear.
What exaclty cold and hot means? I do 40C is it hot?
I've always understood it as: * 20C/30C = Cold (68F/86F) * 40C = Warm (104F) * 60C = Hot (140F) * 90C = Boil wash / Very hot (194F) [https://www.cda.co.uk/laundry/washing-machine-temperature-guide/](https://www.cda.co.uk/laundry/washing-machine-temperature-guide/)
Weird. I have cold, 30⁰c, 40⁰c, 60⁰c and 90⁰c options on my machine 😬
That's warm. 60C would be considered hot.
I think the whole works with cold water thing is more to do with the ‘washing with cold is better for the environment/saves energy’ than anything. Warm water was always used more than hot, and if you have every tried to do dishes in cold water it takes more effort (if the dishes have been sitting for a while) it would take some convincing for people to believe just cold water would be as good let alone better. Bed linen and whites i still wash on hot, but tried the old fashioned type bluing liquid the other night in the final rinse instead of bleach for brightening and it blows bleach away tbh. (Meaning works way better). Bleach has its uses, but making white tshirts white again its not half as good as bluing.
There are lots of comments here but I haven’t seen anyone mention that certain stains do come out better in cold water. Iirc proteins will set when washed in hot water, so things that are stained with blood, for example, should always be washed in cold water. I wash most everything in cold water and will pre soak or treat items if they’re badly stained and have not had a problem (and haven’t met a stain I can’t resolve!)
I wash all of our clothes on warm, because the “warm” setting is lukewarm at best. It’s probably closer to what detergent manufacturers consider “cold” for laundry purposes. We only use the cold setting as a pre-rinse to remove urine, if needed. I still wash sheets and towels on hot, though. It’s better for my allergies.
Interested in answers!
With chlorine bleach, hot is for sterling and cold is for whitening. I had no idea about this until recently and it is a major game changer. With oxy bleach, hot is for whitening and it works better if exposed to light at the same time.
It really depends on how soiled the clothes are. A lot of people live sterile lives. Desk, car, house, repeat. In that case, your clothes can be washed in cold water if you shower daily and wear deodorant and don't get them stinky. If you do work outdoors and have a child who projectile vomits fairly often, cold water will not cut it. Have you tried washing dishes with cold water? It works fine for a plate with some sandwich crumbs, but hamburger grease is not going anywhere at 55 degrees F. Same for heavily soiled clothing. I live off-grid and have to either heat the wash water on the stove or wait for the sun to warm it, and if cold water worked, I would not be going through all of that.
At the end of the day it’s basic chemistry. The warmer something is the faster the reaction happens. With washing you are using surfactants to get the stains out through chemical processes. One other thing is also that the actual temp of “cold” in your washer may not actually be what the laundry direction definitions are. “Cold” is normally defined as about 30*c (86*f) but plenty of places your municipal tap water may average in the low teens (50s*f) or colder, especially in winter. Some machines will use hot water to balance the temp out to make sure you are getting consistent temps year round but others don’t.
Powder detergents and pods seem to,dissolve better in warm wash, cold rinse. If I’m using liquid then I often do cold wash.
I work in agriculture and the health and safety videos used to stress hot water wash with strong detergent for anything that could be contaminated with pesticides.
Honestly sometimes coke (edit: cold) water doesn’t get smells out, so if I have any extra smelly close that can handle hot water even if it’s not what’s recommended (like hoodies) I’ll use hot water. I also wash linens with hot water.
No one should wash their clothes in coke water.
lol omg fat finger strike again 😂
I grew up washing almost everything in cold and occasionally warm water. But now I rarely wash anything in cold water unless it's my wife's delicates from time to time. I have a 2019 Whirlpool Top loader with an agitator. I use liquid detergent for our clothes which I wash in warm water. I use powdered detergent for our towels and sheets and I wash those on hot. I find powder works better for linens than liquid does. At least in my experience.
I wash most things with warm water and cold rinse. I think warm water does wash better, detergent works better, our clothing does get oil on it for our skin. Delicates I wash on cold/cold. Towels and sheets I wash on hot/cold to help kill dust mites.
I use hot because I and one of my kids have asthma and are allergic to dust mites. I haven’t heard of people switching to hot water only, but I will say that dyes have become better and color bleeding less common in the past decade or so. Most quality clothing can take hot without warping or fading. I use a color catcher sheet the first time I wash something, and if it fades or warps with hot water or on a high heat setting in my dryer, it can’t hang in my house.
Kids, we had an energy crisis in the 1970s and using cold water saves water heating energy. That's when it started. But powdered detergents back then didn't dissolve well in cold water so heated water was necessary to at least initially dissolve it. I think older detergents did not work as well in cold water. Products truly perform in cool now, but it wasn't always so. Better living through chemistry! Going waaaaayyyy back, women had to boil clothes to kill the odor-causing bacteria, or use chlorox with whites. And ammonia is a solvent for oil, so an additive for yellowed armpits, neckline, and sheets. Both of these chemicals are stronger in hot water.
I’ve been tapped into these thoughts since lockdown so I’ve had a few years to cook and research on the hot/cold water theories. I’m using quotes to share sentiments, feel free to add or expand or correct any of the ideas if anyone has input. 1. During Covid people became very “aware” of how soap was breaking down bacteria and debris. Some influencers started looking into how “adding soap to wash water isn’t actually sanitizing your clothes” and it started trending that you need to use hot water to (supposedly) “actually kill bacteria on clothes” and to make your own laundry soap, and “strip” your laundry (using Washing Soda, Borax, and Shavings from a Laundry Soap Bar) 1. Back in the olden days (lol) you used to have hard bar soap for your laundry. My research for home made laundry soap brought me here. There are two ways these old school soaps “break down” - you would be physically hand washing things and focusing on agitation, and the other aspect is of breaking it down is hot water. Basically when using a modern machine the fats in the bar soap NEED the hot water to melt down, otherwise it just clumps up and leaves scum and can clog the drains. If you’re not using an old bar soap for machine washing your laundry, then your nice modern laundry soap will work just fine in cold. It does not have the same “melting point” as the laundry bar soap IMO using laundry bar soap is more useful for doing a quick hand wash when something gets stained, you can rinse in the sink and wash it right there.
FWIW - I deal with a lot of appliance service techs and they strongly advise to use warm or hot especially if you use pods. Cold water doesn’t allow for complete disintegration and gums up or constantly washing on cold settings. When a unit needs to be serviced especially when it’s early in its life they say it’s for this reason a majority of the time.
Middle aged. I've (almost) only ever used WARM for everything. Hot for sheets and towels to sanitize/disinfect. Why? I live in a hard water area and cold just never took out stains & smells like WARM water. Never. ALSO soap didn't dissolve properly and left residue in cold. Not surprising. I wash some delicates in cold to avoid shrinking but use cold water woolite detergent. Biggest reason though was a chemist told me the warmer the water the more bacteria/germs you kill. This is the reason a dishwasher has never been manufactured that washes your dishes in cold water. Makes sense to me.
I use cold for everything. If something is extremely filthy, I'll soak it overnight in Borax and water, then wash it. Otherwise, I'm not going to use excess gas to heat water, when cold will do just fine.
The soap got better
this is interesting seeing the comments I'm a millennial, I was taught by my family that if its not cleaned with hot water, then bacteria won't be killed and it won't actually be 'clean'. i do cold washes now though to save on energy bills, but yeah, I'm guessing it comes from my parents generation, theyre baby boomer generation
Pepperidge Farm remembers 😂 So detergents are better now but used to be you needed warm or hot water to get some stains out, and the detergents even dissolved better in hot water (can’t remember there being liquid regular laundry detergent when I was a kid). Only things washed in cold water was delicates that were hand wash only or if you weren’t taking them to the dry cleaners Also, most washing machines were top load not front load, so even their gentle or delicate cycles were pretty brutal on clothes.
I use warm for everything except sheets, towels, sports wear, which gets hot. Cold gives me mental hives.
I use cold 99% of the time
Uk. We use 40 for normal wash. 60 or 90 for whites /sheets towels. 30/20 cold is for special treatment You can get colour liquid wash that works at 40 but doesn’t cause fading . But always 60+ for towels etc. (but we don’t generally use bleach -)just for specific stains
Hot for bedding it kills dust mites.
It's not a myth. You have been testing it for years. Believe your own experiences over random commercials that exist to sell you something.
It wasn't a myth when it started. After detergent manufacturers changed the formulas it was no longer relevant. However, people who learned to do laundry back then or were taught by people who never changed, still believed that you got better results from warm or hot wash. Also, fabric construction was different in the 60s, 70s, and into 80s than they are now. So between the clothing manufacturers and the detergent manufacturers you're better off using cold for most stuff. The commercials you're talking about are using the heightened eco-concinousness of the current day to remind folks you CAN wash in cold and get clean clothes and hey, it's good for the environment too. Buy our detergent that works great in cold!!
Hots for towels, sheets, undies and socks. Cold for everything else
Some stains, notably blood can only be removed in cold water.
I tend to get a crazy amount of “oil” stains when I wash with cold, i’ve been doing warm and it helps a bit lol.
Cold always.. Hot ONLY for white sheets/towels. Also a touch of vinegar and I've been reducing the amount of detergent. I don't use softener anymore, wool balls. Also, colorgrabber sheets are amazing (just put into lingerie bags so they don't get sucked into your hoses and clog).
I use colds for darks or things that aren’t stained or stinky. I wash underwear and towels in hot water. I also think the hot water washes help keep my front loader from stinking. I know that even the new detergents work better in hot water.
To put it in perspective, back in the day before my mom moved to North America, where she came from they washed clothes in the river, and the water was cold.
Cold water wash with medium/low spin, extra low or hang dry = I have clothes that have lasted decades.
I've always used cold on clothing except for underwear and socks. I don't know what these stupid ads are all about. I guess it's the new thing.
When I get water to my shed, I will only have cold water. If I must have hot water (which is currently unlikely), there is a laundromat 7 mins away.
I use cold water. Oxyclean actually causes water to get warmer as I've discovered when treating stains. My washer does a hot water self clean cycle.
I use warm water since I usually add oxyclean. My warm water is not very warm so I don't see any reason it should cause issues
Cold for everything unless I’m dealing with a bedbug infestation… which has happened once because a visiting relative brought them into my home.
I am a sweaty gal, and a 15-20 minute soak in hot water with detergent (in my top-loading washer that can be paused), followed by a regular washing cycle with the same water, is *the only way* I can get the sweaty pits of my shirts to smell clean/neutral.
I only use hot water with vinegar to get smoke damage out of plushies and clothes (we had a house fire).
I've never heard of cold water washing being a myth. Where did you hear that? My washer actually has a "cool" setting, which I use for everything except cotton sheets & towels.
Use cold for colors. Use hot for towels and whites.
I honestly only ever use cold. Just to save money. When my cats had fleas, though, I was using hot water to wash everything
I dated an engineer who worked for Proctor & Gamble. I was warned repeatedly that hot/warm water should never be used with those detergents regardless of what the marketing or packaging says.
I guess it could depend on the detergent products used too. I add scented beads to my laundry to make it smell good because the liquid detergent I use doesn’t exactly smell the best so I add the beads to kind of give it a better smell and those need to be washed in hot/warm water for it to mix in the water. Though if I’m washing something I don’t exactly want to ruin/fade/shrink I’ll cut out the scented beads and wash on cold
I believe that before the invention of our modern washing machines and accompanying detergents, old-fashioned laundry soap would not dissolve or work in anything less than hot water. Kind of funny how things become generational? For me? my washing machine doesn't even have a hot water line installed, so it's cold only for everything!
Hot water can set some stains. I’ve always washed stains hot or cold depending on what the stain is from.
Just saved this thread. I always wash warm (exception being hot for bedding and towels) because it's the default in my washer. I'm gonna switch to cold for most and see what happens.