Doing Laundry with cold water.

Years ago I had a machine with hot and cold fill which really makes sense if you can use surplus hot water from the tank at the end of the days. Warm water also rinses better than cold. Only problem would be if the water was too hot, but as another writer said, there is normally a pipe full of cold water first.
My new dishwasher can be hot or cold fill which seems sensible it's been graded as "A" for eco efficiency.

I find that towels and face cloths accumulate soap deposits, if these don't come out in the wash it causes them to smell. A good squirt of white vinegar breaks down soap deposits and there's no need for a very hot wash either.

Only use non- bio liquid. Use the rinse program for my cold wash but also use hotter ones if I deem necessary. Never use conditioner. Sold an oldish machine last year but when in storage the door was shut and of course opened it eventually. Smelt “ sweet”. So all ok. Use washing up liquid to dab on stains.

@Nannytopsy hang the stained garment on the line the sunlight will get rid of the srain

Surely we have to use some kind of detergent or use hot enough water to kill COVID what might be on the clothes these days?I can not use bio detergents as youngest son allergic, so i use non bio, and a 40 degree wash on most things, (30 if its special fabrics) i also use a dash of either laundry cleanser or zoflora or similar to the wash.

Yes, i agree a dab of fairy liquid rubbed slightly in a stain, especially a greasy one, before washing as normal will usually remove a stain.?

Thank you Pepper 59. I feel the same !
Wandering round Hong Kong markets a few years back I saw BUCKETS of dried seahorse s !………..(& the rest )……
&&& nearly every household in the US uses a tumble drier all the time
We do our bit but compared to the rest of the world ?‍♀️

Its recommended bedding is done at 60 as well- but with modern fabrics its not always possible, so a 50 or 40 with detergent & laundry cleanser/zoflora (capful) does the trick if not cottons.

I wash most items at 30° and if lightly soiled use a quick wash for 19 minutes. Any messy stains are treated with BioTex before shoving in the washing machine.

MeowWow yes I turn everything inside out including underwear. It really does stop clothes fading. Especially coloured t-shirts.
Granmarderby10, I stopped buying the blue Comfort fabric conditioner for that same reason. It made my washing machine smell. My machine's not that old.
I buy the white pure one now and no problems since.
I wash everything on a 40 degree wash. I couldn't bring myself to wash on a cold wash. I wouldn't feel the washing got clean and nothing less than an hour and half cycle.

I usually wash at 30 degrees, and use half the amount of detergent. Neither of us lime the smell of fabric conditioner, but I find vinegar does not leave the clothes as soft as I would like.
Now and then I do a hot wash at 60- towels, bedding. The plumber says it helps to keep the machine clean too.

I watched Plebs, where they're in early BC Rome, and the laundry lady asks for the urine from their toilets in pub next door for the washing, she says its for the ammonia in it.??

If you use fabric conditioner on towels it makes them less absorbant.

Kalu

I have only ever used vinegar Baggs as I’m not very keen on fabric softeners. Absolutely no after smell. ?

Thank you, kalu. I will become a vinegar convert in that case ?

I wash clothes at 30 degrees on a quick 14 mins cycle unless really dirty, like gardening clothes, etc. I've 2 clothes horses, although do love line dried clothes in the better weather.

My washing machine washes on most programmes at 40° . I wouldn't think of doing anything else. I do use a washing product that is recommended for washing at this temperature.

In my experience it depends on what you are washing and how dirty it is.

I was taught as a girl always to wash curtains and anything else that was dusty rather than dirty in cold water, rather than hot.

Soiled clothes, tea towels, bed linen etc. may and probably will harbour germs, both bacteria an vira as well as not becoming clean if only washed in cold water, so in the interests of hygeine either continue to wash them in hot water or scald them after washing.

Most things will come clean in cold water if you use liquid washing soap - but washing powder won't dissolve properly in cold water.

On board our motor boat I washed clothes by putting them in a square plastic box in cold water and liquid soap then puting the lid on the box. The motion of the boat while we were sailing shoogled the clothes back and forward in much the same manner as a washing-machine of the older variety did and the result was clean clothes, that had to be rinsed and wrung.

I honestly cannot see that you save water this way, but you are saving electricity for heating the water.

Well said Pepper59.

MeowWow
I too turn clothing inside out and I also put mine in mesh bags which protects them well.
If I wash cardigans or very delicate items then I double bag them.
Very few, if any, need ironing as they don't get screwed up like they do if put in loose.
I live in a very hard water area but have a water softener which means less detergent being required. It also means that I don't need to spend much on cleaning products for the bathroom, shower room and kitchen. My skin and hair are so much better with the softened water. A real bonus all round.

Both being retired and no really dirty clothes …. I wash at 30* and use a laundry egg. Very efficient. Died clothes get washing powder and a higher temp.

I generally wash at 30 degrees and use non-bio liquid which is refillable. I strongly believe that fabric conditioner is bad environmentally so never use it. There are many sites that explain this - this is but one
ethicalunicorn.com/2018/11/06/you-dont-need-fabric-softener-heres-why-its-useless-bad-for-the-planet/

I find 30 ok for lightly used jeans etc .max50 for towels to ensure bacteria throttled.no more than 40 for any polyesters as higher temps alters the structure and causes pilling, although I don't have any poly nowadays , that was a tip!
30for wools/mix and use Woolite never ever bio Detergent As it destroys the fibre. Amazingly I have machine washable Cashmere! I know! Who would ever have thought it possible!!? But it works! Generally everything is 40deg at number 4 on an eco wash that saves time

Ex-Hotpoint and always recommended to use hottest wash occasionally with white vinegar instead of detergent to clean machine if normally using cool washes. This degunks the machine.

My son is a bike mechanic so gets quite grubby I do my washing on a 20 wash with Dettol .aundry disinfectant a Surf pod and softener.If anything looks particularly grubby I use Vanish as well.I never seem to have any problems.

I can't see the point of washing at a lower temperature, and then adding in extra (plastic packed) things to the wash.
How can it be more envoironmentally sound friendly?

It's just consumerism, to my mind.