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Laundry temperature

(61 Posts)
Newquay Sat 02-Nov-19 17:50:12

Just had a conversation with DD1-professional lady, mother of four-and she told me she does all her washing at 60*!
I use 30/40-what do you do?

LondonGranny Sat 02-Nov-19 17:54:47

I do towels at 60 degrees but a 30 degree wash is best for most things as a lot of stains get 'cooked in' at a higher temperature. Most mpodern detergents work best at 30 degrees. I occasionally do a 90 degree wash (again, with towels) as it kills germs in the machine.
I get blood out with a cold soak first, then a biological wash at 30 degrees.

Buffybee Sat 02-Nov-19 17:57:27

Towels and bedding at 60, clothes mostly at 40 and some times 30.
I also use quick washes 14 and 30 mins when clothes not really dirty.

LadyGracie Sat 02-Nov-19 17:59:26

Towels on 60 detergent and vinegar. DH pants and shirts on 60 with vanish, (he perspires!) detergent and fabric softener.

Everything else on 40. Any stains I add vanish.

Jomarie Sat 02-Nov-19 18:01:49

I'm with Buffybee - DH disagrees but then I like my whites white not grey!!!

Luckygirl Sat 02-Nov-19 18:02:16

I never use any cycle but the quick one - I just add in a fast spin. Everything done at 40, including towels.

Pantglas2 Sat 02-Nov-19 18:07:18

Bedding and dishcloths (white cotton) on 90, towels on 60, coloureds on 30.

Cherrytree59 Sat 02-Nov-19 18:17:16

White cotton sheets 90° with glo white thingy.

White towels 60°or 90°

Tea towels 60 or sometimes 90°

Everything else washed as per washing instruction labels.

So could be 30°, 40°, 60°
Or Hand-wash cycle.

Urmstongran Sat 02-Nov-19 18:29:01

At first Pantglas I thought ‘dishcloths! Who washes dishcloths?’ I just throw them out and buy a pack of cheap new ones.

Then I realised you probably meant teatowels ....
?

jura2 Sat 02-Nov-19 18:33:03

I wash dishcloths - for sure. With towels and teatowels, at 50C. Throwing them away to go in landfill is just so wasteful and polluting. yuk.

Bedding at 50C- rest at 30C. Short wash when refresh only.

kittylester Sat 02-Nov-19 18:51:00

I do all cleaning clothes, dishcloths, tea towels and towels at 60 degrees.

Everything else apart from wool and handwash at 40.

Sometimes on a quick wash but always with a colour run thingy but no conditioner.

LondonGranny Sat 02-Nov-19 18:51:07

I boil dishcloths in a pan of soapy water on the stove. It's what my gran & my mum did, and I do too. I'm talking the knitted cotton string type. I also use those spirally steel things but they go in the dishwasher on a long hot wash with pans and roasting tins etc.

EllanVannin Sat 02-Nov-19 18:57:42

Bedding, towels, tea-towels, dishcloths, vests, knickers at 60 degrees. The rest at 40.

BlueBelle Sat 02-Nov-19 19:33:23

I do everything at 30 if I was a manual worker I d do towels at more but I m not I shower every day and live alone how dirty do they get if washed regularly My knickers are changed every day only stay on my clean body 12 hours so why do they need boiling
I don’t use dishclthes , tea towels are used on washed and cleaned pots (so mainly just wet) aren’t they ?
All good

PamelaJ1 Sat 02-Nov-19 19:53:22

I read somewhere that you need a higher temperature than 30/40 for some bugs and it does your machine some good.
I still wash most things at the lower temperatures though.
I’m not sure what dish cloths are but I use cloths to clean the work surfaces. I heave loads and wash them almost after every use.

mumofmadboys Sat 02-Nov-19 20:36:28

I wash everything at 40 and we are all still here and healthy!( probably a good immune system!)

cornergran Sat 02-Nov-19 21:19:50

Towels at 60, bedding 50, white things 60, coloured clothes either 30 or 40.

SirChenjin Sat 02-Nov-19 21:41:48

Towels, dish towels, bedding, underwear and whites on 60, everything else on 40 or 30. I use the short cycles so between 45 and 90-odd minutes

Patsy70 Sat 02-Nov-19 21:41:53

I use mostly 40 & 30, 60 for bedding/towels, handwash/wool/silk cycle, occasionally a quickwash to refresh, and 90 once a month with vinegar to clean the machine. I've stopped using softener, as it clogs the drawer and leaves scum behind. I leave the drawer and door partially open after a wash cycle, preventing any unpleasant smells! Seems to work!

janeainsworth Sat 02-Nov-19 21:54:18

Mostly 30, occasionally 40 for sheets and towels, with some washing soda added to keep them white.
I don’t understand the obsession with killing ‘germs’. Unless someone in the family is suffering from an infectious disease, where are all these pathogens supposed to come from?

Tangerine Sat 02-Nov-19 21:55:24

Everything at 30.

Whitewavemark2 Sat 02-Nov-19 21:59:45

Bugs will not be killed below 60c

White linen needs the higher temperature of 95c

Everything else according to instructions.

janeainsworth Sat 02-Nov-19 22:03:33

What bugs, Whitewave?
Do you wash every single item of clothing every time you wear it? If not, why not?
If you’re not actually ill, what bugs are likely to be lurking on your clothes?
My family have survived 40 years of my doing laundry at 30 degrees.

annep1 Sat 02-Nov-19 22:04:18

Delicates 30, dark pants, t shirts etc 40, towels whites dish clothes 60
Sometimes I just put lightly soiled dark trousers, delicate knits through a rinse with fabric softener. The action cleanses them.

Often I soak my dish cloths in bleach then rinse before washing.

Hetty58 Sat 02-Nov-19 22:05:10

Mostly 30 with white towels and pillowcases at 40. White vinegar as fabric softener (allergies) and soap nuts as detergent. When I'm in NZ, though, I only use cold water (as everyone there seems to do).