laundry question, hot water needed?

[NetWareHead]

GF and I are having a debate. I use hot water for whites. Warm water for colors/permanent press. Cold water for delicates. She uses cold water for everything saying hot water is not needed anymore. I'm just going by what mom and grandma taught me. ATOT says?

 

[woodie1]

I think if you use detergent designed for cold water you can wash any color in cold water now.

 

[Merad]

GF wins. Cold water.

http://gizmodo.com/5841415/its-time-to-stop-washing-your-clothes-hot-water
www.nytimes.com/2011/09/17/business/cold-water-detergents-get-a-chilly-reception.html

 

[Itchrelief]

I thought only the dryer was used for bills?

 

[nanette1985]

GF is right. It's easy enough to test this - run a few loads thru.

 

[Brainonska511]

Depends on your detergent. Some older formulations will work better in hot water, but newer formulas (probably anything purchased in the last 3 years) of detergent should be just fine in cold water.

 

[calvinbiss]

Cold water is better for clothes longevity anyway.

 

[sixone]

You should always follow the tag instructions on clothing.

And read this.

You may have been relying on your detergent to get rid of all the dirt and germs, but if you're not using bleach or very hot water, you're not killing the bacteria -- they're getting on your hands and staying in the washing machine.

"Most of the hot water people use is not hot enough. You need water that's between 140 and 150 degrees to kill germs," said Tierno.

If you're using cold water, Gerba recommends washing your hands after you handle wet clothes, especially if you're washing children's clothes.

 

[BW86]

I only use cold water

 

[Zargon]

You should always follow the tag instructions on clothing.

And read this.

oh noes germs I need to bathe in sanitizer now!!

 

[wirednuts]

gf is wrong-

But in trying to create Tide Coldwater, Procter’s scientists were confronted with a problem: hot water does help get clothes cleaner. In fact, thermal energy is one of three secrets to cleaning clothes, along with mechanical energy and chemicals.

you have to buy cold water formulated detergent, so it will cost more, and it seems tide is the only ones who did it right (go fig) and so that leaves you with a good argument to just keep using hot water.

i would use cold if i paid for the heat... i use coin laundry though so it doesnt effect me. i do use tide though, i dont think anything works as good.

 

[pontifex]

i use cold water for everything so far. haven't had any issues

 

[Tommy2000GT]

I use hot or warm water because of stubborn pee stains on my undwear

 

[sixone]

I use hot or warm water because of stubborn pee stains on my undwear

Warm water sets stains. You should wash them in cold first, then hot.

 

[Saint Nick]

Warm water sets stains. You should wash them in cold first, then hot.

Oh wow, really? Crap mom never taught me that I wonder why taht is

 

[Soundmanred]

hot water is not needed anymore

 

[Cerb]

From one of the first links:
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/20070521/hot-water-removes-allergens-best

FU cold water!

 

[lxskllr]

I do everything warm wash, cold rinse. Anything delicate I hand wash in cold water.

 

[jupiter57]

Been doing my own laundry for over 15 years (at least WAS, until I got remarried).
I used warm wash, cold rinse, but all my clothing is colored, so.

Wife washes exclusively in cold water, using Tide.
She still separates, but she likes a little bleach in her whites.

 

[Aikouka]

I used to separate, but now I just use cold water. I've noticed pretty much no difference, and it lets me be lazy!

 

[Cerb]

Hot wash, cold rinse, and I've never separated colors. New clothes need to be washed to get rid of excess dyes. Then, I only separate by fuzzy and not (IE, colors and whites are OK to mix, but towels and shorts are not, because the finer cloth always gets lint that stays through the dryer).

 

[Kadarin]

I wash everything in cold, separating whites and colors into different loads. My g/f on the other hand has whole systems for doing everything, including separating out reds, using liquid fabric softeners, different settings for delicates, etc. Presumably she uses different temperatures as well.

 

[Anubis]

ive been running cold only for 10+ years
separate whites and colors

pretty much the only thing i wash hot is rags and towels

 

[linuxboy]

It depends on your clothes soil level and type, and how well your surfactant, water conditioner, and enzymatic blend in the detergent works for the water type. Generally, modern formulations will work reasonably well in cold water. But all other things being equal, hot or warm water is more effective, especially with higher clothes soil levels because there is greater enzymatic activation, and surfactant capacity increases due to faster rate of reaction.

In lightly soiled clothes, it wouldn't make much of a difference even in older detergent formulations.

 

[DrPizza]

You should always follow the tag instructions on clothing.

And read this.

If you had one of those kids who lived in a bubble, or we're worried about transferring an infectious disease (like chicken pox), then this might apply. But 99%of the people that article was directed at are the irrational germophobes who actually are increasing problems like asthma in kids because they go to unnecessary extremes.