Tauwel.com is a full-time participant of the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
|
Thread Number: 91061
/ Tag: Detergents and Additives
Here we go again, the mantra of washing laundry in cold water |
[Down to Last] |  |
Post# 1155659 7/31/2022 at 20:34 (631 days old) by appnut  (TX) |
||
I still cannot buy into this. I recently bought some new 100% cotton big thick towels and again said wash in cold water.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO appnut's LINK | ||
|
|
Post# 1155660 , Reply# 1 7/31/2022 at 20:46 (631 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
||
I recently stepped down to using warm water (averages 105 degrees) instead of hot on all loads of whites and was stunned to find the detergent actually works better. I’m using Tide 10X Heavy Duty pods for large loads and Tide 4-in-1 with Oxi pods for smaller loads. I’ve also replaced my beloved Clorox bleach with a 30-minute manual soak. These are both significant changes in lifelong habits for me.
I experimented with using temp-controlled cold water for all loads back when Tide ColdWater first appeared, but eventually reverted back to my warm & hot water ways. I might be more tempted to wash loads of mixed colors in cold if I lived where the water at the tap rarely dips below 75 degrees, but the water here is refrigerator cold half the year. Not interested. We are decidedly old-school, Bob! LOL | ||
| Post# 1155667 , Reply# 3 7/31/2022 at 21:25 (631 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
Detergents heavily reliant on modern day enzymes do a better job removing stains at lowers temps, no arguments there. Where they fail, quite miserably I might add, is in the final sniff test right out of the washer. There's always a hint of sourness (bacteria?) when I washed a couple of dark towels I rarely use in 120F wash, spin rinse, and deep rinse temps using enzyme detergents. The white towels which are the daily drivers washed in 160F using detergents with little to no enzymes are 100% fresh smelling, all the time, every time. I started washing the darker towels with the whites at 160F and they immediately became just as fresh smelling the very first go around. Yeah, they fade a little every few washes but nobody sees them anyway and I can't take them with me into the next life, so blazing hot water washes it's!
| ||
|
Post# 1155674 , Reply# 4 7/31/2022 at 23:00 (631 days old) by warmsecondrinse (Fort Lee, NJ) |
||
|
Cold water? Sorry, don't buy it. I still wash everything in HOT. I must have dumbed down washers because even my ice silk Cockcon underwear comes through with no shrinkage or damage. | ||
| Post# 1155678 , Reply# 5 7/31/2022 at 23:16 (631 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
 | ||
| Post# 1155681 , Reply# 6 8/1/2022 at 01:57 (631 days old) by mielerod69 (Australia) | ||
Steam phase
I found that using a steam phase during a wash cycle really improves results. I have a Miele W1 and when I select AllergoWash, it does a steam phase for 20 to 30 minutes after the main wash depending on if I choose the short option. The washer spins out the wash water and then covers the element on the base of the drum to create steam.
I use this option if I'm washing dark-coloured towels at 40 degrees and at the end of the cycle the towels smell incredibly fresh and odour free. I've done this for white towels too washed at 60 degrees. I believe if you use steam for items that can't be washed hot, you can still achieve a good level of hygiene and odour removal. | ||
|
Post# 1155684 , Reply# 7 8/1/2022 at 03:33 (631 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
||
Posted a link to YT video in another thread where some scientist (or whatever) conducted tests on bio and non-bio detergents and stain removal at various water temperatures.
Bio detergents worked best in warm to moderate temps, performance fell off at higher temperatures. OTOH non-bio detergents were opposite, stain/soil removal was far better in hotter water. However distasteful some may find it. warm or cold water washing is not going away, and is being heavily pushed from many directions. Both in Europe and North America washing machine and laundry product makers have been given directly or indirectly their marching orders from government. Energy use must decrease but performance cannot suffer. Modern top shelf (and even some middle) laundry detergents work quite well in temps ranging from 86 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. This is largely attributed to new complex enzyme cocktails along with various other bits like polymers. | ||
|
Post# 1155687 , Reply# 8 8/1/2022 at 05:15 (630 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
||
I rarely do hot or cold wash. Cold only for delicate items.
It's cool, warm, and warm-hot washes and cold rinses. I always pre-wash dirty clothes, sheets, and towels. For detergent it's original Oxydol, Simply clean Tide, and Foca detergent (the stuff made out of baby seals. lol). And for most loads (not towels) a bit of april fresh Downy in the rinse.
View Full Size
| ||
|
Post# 1155697 , Reply# 9 8/1/2022 at 09:24 (630 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
||
|
Cold water washing is why all of the emphasis in the advertising is for products that make laundry smell fresh artificially, because it is not actually washed in a way that makes it OR THE MACHINE smell fresh and of course, people do not leave the door open to let the machine "air out" between uses. | ||
|
Post# 1155722 , Reply# 10 8/1/2022 at 15:08 (630 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
||
|
In all fairness, laundry done under ideal circumstances:
the proper amount of unscented detergent clean, filtered, softened water thorough cleaning in the machine the machine is clean with no lingering bacteria to get on clothes. Clothing is not a thing of wonderous fragrance. It is after all wet cotton mixed with other petroleum based threads of polyester and the like. The cheaper the clothes the more woven plastics. But yeah, if you ask a novice person how clean their laundry is they will most likely judge it based on the amount and type of perfume it's giving off. This implies that one could take a pile of dirty clothes, hose them down with perfume perhaps fold or hang the still dirty clothes and they would be fooled into thinking they were clean. | ||
|
Post# 1155747 , Reply# 12 8/1/2022 at 20:31 (630 days old) by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA) |
||
|
washing in cold water The only time I wash in cold water is when I wash my dark clothes. | ||
|
Post# 1155796 , Reply# 14 8/2/2022 at 10:11 (629 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL) |
||
I live in Mobile, AL | ||
| Post# 1155808 , Reply# 15 8/2/2022 at 16:42 (629 days old) by Good-Shepherd (New Jersey) | ||
|
Energy use must decrease but performance cannot suffer. And their tally of bricks shall not diminish. So let it be written, so let it be done. | ||
|
Post# 1155861 , Reply# 16 8/3/2022 at 09:20 (628 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI ) |
||
 In reference to Dan's earlier post about a hint of sourness when removing his dark towels from the washer, I see very little mention of people using ammonia as a deodorizer.
I've included a link to an old AW thread from 2015 where ammonia usage was discussed at length. CLICK HERE TO GO TO polkanut's LINK | ||
| Post# 1155873 , Reply# 17 8/3/2022 at 12:27 (628 days old) by Qsd-dan (West) | ||
|
| ||
|
Post# 1156306 , Reply# 18 8/8/2022 at 04:52 (623 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
||
 | ||
|
Post# 1156319 , Reply# 19 8/8/2022 at 12:25 (623 days old) by ryner1988 (Indianapolis) |
||
Warm water most of the time over here...
I wash most of our clothes and linens in warm water, don't use hot or cold very often. We have almost no whites so no real need to worry about dye transfer or anything like that. I don't really understand why most clothing labels say to wash in cold now, and on items that in my opinion aren't that special or fancy. For instance I bought a couple pairs of cotton track pants from Old Navy, just basic elastic pants, and they say to wash in cold. What the heck for? I've washed them on warm several times now and they've been just fine. Now I am pretty careful with the dryer, drying most things on low except towels, socks, and underwear. Hang drying really isn't much of an option here except for items that absolutely require it, because we have no yard and minimal space inside.
| ||
| Post# 1156577 , Reply# 20 8/11/2022 at 03:04 (621 days old) by Stan (Napa CA) | ||
Nasty 
Maybe I’m the only one in the free work that still hand washes dishes using a dishpan, but can you imagine what the dishpan would look like if one only used cold water?
Top or front loader washing machines are going to be gunked up with pure nastiness with constant use of cold water, liquid detergents and fabric softener! (I don’t use) Many of us here have taken washing machines apart and have seen what can build up on outer & inner tubs. Yes we all have to wash certain things in cold, but for everything? Nope | ||
|
Post# 1156603 , Reply# 21 8/11/2022 at 10:55 (620 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.) |
||
Stan My Friend
You aren’t alone in washing your dishes by hand. I’ve been washing the dishes by hand for over four years now. And I wouldn’t dream of using cold water to do it either. And BTW I can’t ever see myself going back to using the DW.
At the very least warm water needs to be used for doing most of the laundry, with the rare exception of certain fabrics that would be adversely effected by not washing them in cold water. Eddie | ||
| Post# 1156641 , Reply# 22 8/11/2022 at 17:32 (620 days old) by Stan (Napa CA) | ||
|
Hi Eddie | ||
|
Post# 1156650 , Reply# 23 8/11/2022 at 18:26 (620 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.) |
||
|
Stan,
In April 2018 I’d started the DW with a full load in the afternoon while I was getting dinner ready. When the cycle was complete I opened up the DW to put the clean dishes away. What I found was a dirty load of dishes with the food baked on them. The pump apparently had gone out and the water just sat at the bottom of the tub with the detergent undissolved because it hadn’t been recirculated with the water, and I’d used the heated dry option.
So in the middle of dinner prep I had to wash 3 days worth of dishes with baked on food and detergent by hand, and I wasn’t a happy camper. Since the DW was just under 1 year old and still under warranty I called Whirlpool to make a service appt. The soonest they could get someone out to repair it was over 3 weeks out. In the meantime I of course had to do the dishes by hand and I found that I actually liked doing them by hand better! I always had every pan, bowl and implement clean and ready for use whenever I wanted to use them. No more stopping to remove a dirty pan from the DW to wash it by hand. And no more having to unload and put away dishes an hour and a half after I’d finished dinner and have to disrupt my evening after getting comfortable watching a movie or show. Leaving them until the next morning doesn’t work for someone OCD like me, plus I don’t like to start my day with work, I want to read the paper while I have my breakfast and tea. And I found that the whole process of doing the dishes by hand was oddly calming. While waiting for the DW to be repaired we had family over for Easter dinner and even doing all the dishes for lots of people and a big holiday meal wasn’t a deterrent. After the DW was repaired I decided to just keep on doing the dishes by hand and I like it so much better! I wash and David dries and puts them away. Its a pleasant ritual that we both enjoy. And it takes all of 10 mins or less using about 2-3 gals of water. I don’t let the water run only turn it on very low to rinse and I let the rinse water go into the dishwashing side of the sink. By starting out with only 2” of hottest water in the sink washing the cutlery first, then the glassware, next plates and the bowls pot and pans this way I use a minimal amount of water to save water. When I’m finished there are maybe 6” of hot soapy dishwater in the sink, which I then use to clean the stove top and wipe down the counters. I save this water to wash the dessert, coffee and tea dishes later on to save water. I also took the garbage disposal out too a few years before starting to wash the dishes by hand, we compost instead. I use the DW to store the dish draining rack and drainboard and the coffee can we use for the compost, so I still use the DW, just not for its intended purpose. I know most members here think I’m crazy as a crap house rat. But at age 71 I’m entitled to my do it my way. Eddie | ||
| Post# 1156660 , Reply# 24 8/11/2022 at 19:02 (620 days old) by Stan (Napa CA) | ||
|
Eddie
After reading that I’m glad I never had one!
We kind of do the same thing but I just have one big old sink (reason for the dishpan) Dinner clean up is shared. When cooking I have dishpan filled with “hot” sudsy water and clean as I go. That way there’s not much to do after dinner. I try my best to save water too, but sounds like you have it down to exact Science. I don’t compost Per se Scraps are separated…some for the chickens and the rest go in news paper or whatever I can find and taken straight to the alley garbage can. The rats can have what’s left. LOL | ||
|
Post# 1156721 , Reply# 26 8/12/2022 at 10:53 (619 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.) |
||
|
Reply#25
I don’t blame you for not wanting to drink out of glasses with someone else's lip prints on the rim, thats nasty.
I use an old fashioned waffle weave cotton dish cloth when I wash the dishes, a fresh one daily. I go over EVERY surface of EACH item I’m washing with the dish cloth to be certain that nothing is missed. Since I grew up without a DW and didn’t have one until I was 36 years old I’m well schooled in proper dishwashing technique. Some younger people that have never been without a DW may not have the skill set to wash dishes properly by hand, but it can be learned. Everyones different, but I can assure you my kitchen and everything in it is spotless. I don’t like anything to be dirty. When I still used the DW I almost always had to hand wash at least one or two things that hadn’t gotten clean enough to suit me. Eddie This post was last edited 08/12/2022 at 11:09 | ||
|
Post# 1156790 , Reply# 27 8/13/2022 at 00:35 (619 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
||
|
I hate washing dishes.
Back in the 60's in SF, radio station KYA had a DJ named Ed Hider. His thing was to intersperse music with humorous clips he'd collected from God Knows Where. One of my favorites was the one with the sound of dishes breaking and a woman screaming, "I hate washing dishes!" over and over. Somewhere I might have a tape of that, but it might have been lost when I played it back in a funky recorder. But I did make a little loop of it to play in unusual locations. One such was in a set of caves we used to frequent. The tourist reactions were priceless. | ||
|
Post# 1157233 , Reply# 29 8/17/2022 at 21:07 (614 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
||
|
Sudsy bath towels
Yesterday I ran a load of bath sheets, and although I added far less detergent (Kirkland Ultra Plus liquid) than usual, the suds wouldn't go away. Finally I had to run almost 10 rinses in order to bring the suds down to a manageable level.
This is in a Neptune 7500. The next load I run (I wash ~ 1/2 the total number each time) I won't add any detergent. We'll see. | ||
|
Post# 1157343 , Reply# 30 8/19/2022 at 02:14 (613 days old) by CleanteamofNY ((Monroe, New York) |
||
What's best??? When to wash towels in cold, hot, or warm waterAs earlier stated, towels are meant to be washed in cold or warm water. But, does this mean that we are never to use hot water on our towels? Surely you must have come across a label on some towels that reads “hot water-friendly,” what then do they mean? There are specific times when you might have to choose a different water temperature like hot water for instance, over the ideal cold or warm. Hot water is perfect for your towels to get soaked in when they are extremely dirty and heavily infested with germs and bacteria. How do you know your towel is contaminated with germs? Various research has proven that a bath towel most especially, is home to over 80% of bacteria and disease-causing germs. The more you use a towel without washing it, the more germs you collate, and the more the towel fibers are rendered useless. When your towels get to this point, what it needs goes far beyond just a cold or warm water wash. At this point, the towels are actually yearning to be rejuvenated. Hot water helps in loosening the fibers by softening the ingrained dirt clogging the pores. Asides from that, it kills the bacteria and germs and expels that damp odor. On the other hand, cold water is perfect for a first wash and subsequent weekly wash. It is advised that you wash new towels before even using them. This you are to do with cold water and a very tiny amount of detergent. Cold water easily removes every form of dust or debris and wash towels clean. Warm water can be used to treat towels periodically and rid them of day-to-day bacteria.
Tide Hygienic Clean and Bounce every third washing.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO CleanteamofNY's LINK | ||
|
Post# 1157354 , Reply# 31 8/19/2022 at 08:39 (612 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
||
 Being that 99.9% of my towels are white or colorfast, there's no logical reason to wash them in a separate cold-water load when they can all go together with the accumulated load of all the kitchen cloths and towels, socks, and other white cottons in hot water. Less water usage is involved for a single LARGE load vs. multiple small loads. | ||
|
Post# 1157358 , Reply# 33 8/19/2022 at 09:39 (612 days old) by CleanteamofNY ((Monroe, New York) |
||
|
Tom, let's just say it is a third-party Amazon link. We must take this article with a grain of salt and march to our own drummer's beat.
Tauwel.com is a full-time participant of the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
| ||
|
Post# 1157375 , Reply# 34 8/19/2022 at 13:28 (612 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
||
|
The more plush a towel is, the more care one has to give them to keep them fluffy.
That tends to mean not using hot water, not using to much fabric softener, and making sure to dry them in a tumble dryer vs. air drying. Certain sheet set will quickly deteriorate if you wash in hot water...I've learned from experience. | ||
| Post# 1160371 , Reply# 35 9/25/2022 at 10:42 (575 days old) by bpetersxx (laf in on the banks of the Wabash River) | ||
more on this 
now I'm in the group
new T shirts I got have to be washed in cold water no fabric softener Are they kidding T shirts are worn next to the skin you have to wash them in warm or hot water or cold water and ludicrous amounts of detergent oxy clean snowy bleach or some such rubbish and wash them for ludicrous amounts of time | ||
|
Post# 1160373 , Reply# 36 9/25/2022 at 11:03 (575 days old) by appnut (TX) |
||
|
I've learned that most likely so much indicates being washed in cold water is to avoid liability due to shrinkage or other "damage" to fabrics. Most people don't give a tought about approaching laundry. They just toss clothes in the machine, throw in some chemicals, and push a button that gives them the same settings repeatedly. I recently bought a new set of towels. Instructions said wash cold; gentle cycle tumble dry low. I washed them in luke warm water dried on medium when I brought them home. After using them for the first time I upped the wash temp to about 130F and dried on medium high. the last time I washed them the hot temep was about 140. No issues whatsoever.
| ||
|
Post# 1160891 , Reply# 38 10/2/2022 at 07:25 (568 days old) by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA) |
||
|
cold washing Cold washing will never go away. Nothing has changed. | ||
| Post# 1161125 , Reply# 39 10/4/2022 at 15:38 (566 days old) by bpetersxx (laf in on the banks of the Wabash River) | ||
|
bump | ||
|
Post# 1172961 , Reply# 41 2/23/2023 at 22:33 (424 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
||
|
At the mother's place today. She was running the washer/dryer, again. I sometimes think she's washing just because she can't find anything else productive to do. Anyway. I peeped at the washer settings. Cold. Weather has been warm (80°Fs) and humid. The incoming cold water is cold enough that the cold supply tap and the hose were covered with condensation. I had a gentle discussion with her about it, reminding her of the photos of accumulated gookus in the disassembled Kenmore 90 that she used for six years. She said she uses cold because that's what the labels on the clothes instruct. I said that I wash this (pointing to my shirt) at 115°F to no ill effects. I may have convinced her to at least use the warm/cold setting (approx 95°F) at minimum. | ||
|
Post# 1172993 , Reply# 42 2/24/2023 at 13:58 (423 days old) by JustJunque (Western MA) |
||
I don't know why, but I just can't seem to bring myself to wash in cold.
Yes, we have several garments whose labels call for cold water wash. But, even then, I can only compromise by using the warm setting. I've never checked to see what the temperature of our "warm" is, but I'd describe it as "lukewarm". Certainly closer to cold than hot. When I want a warmer wash, I stand there while it's filling, and toggle the selector between warm and hot. Barry | ||
|
Post# 1173092 , Reply# 44 2/25/2023 at 17:45 (422 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 1173097 , Reply# 45 2/25/2023 at 18:26 (422 days old) by appnut (TX) |
||
|
Hell, I still use hot wash for some things. | ||
|
Post# 1173109 , Reply# 46 2/25/2023 at 21:07 (422 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 1173111 , Reply# 47 2/25/2023 at 21:10 (422 days old) by Dermacie (my forever home (Glenshaw, PA)) |
||
 | ||
|
Post# 1198933 , Reply# 48 2/9/2024 at 21:56 by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA) |
||
|
cold water The only thing I will wash in cold is a load of darks depending on the weather. Enough of this washing everything in cold water stupid crap! | ||
| Forum Index: |
| Other Forums: |
|
|
|
|
|
Comes to the Rescue!