I’ve been a “throw everything in and wash on cold” person forever, but I started to notice certain things such as towels that typically require hot or warm water didn’t feel right anymore. Once I switched back they came out feeling soft and fluffy as usual. Why does it matter?
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Hot water breaks down oil barriers, which helps get odors and stains out of cloths.
However, the downside to this is that heat expands fabrics, which will mess up weaves/stichtings/etc. that hold clothes together, no to mention it could dillute the dyes that make up the color of the clothes.
So by default you probably want to use cold, unless you need the heat. Bedding and towels don’t matter to look as good as clothes, so some people just use heat all the time with those, but unless there is a specific stain or odor you’re trying to get out, I would use cold on everything else.
Everything shrinks in cold, and expands in warm, is a think that is generally accepted as the way most things work.
It also depends on what material you are washing and what temps.
Not only that, but you should do a max warmth wash, empty or not, once a week or once a month, cause when was the last time you washed your washing machine? Warm water is probably the best way outside of actually hiring someone to clean it for you, by opening it up.
So, warm water is great for any oily residue, such as sweat, and sweaty clothes ya wanna wash at warm, as well as underwear, towels, bedding, since like i said, it removes oils and shit better, as well as killing germs and bacteria thanks to heat
But warm water can shrink some fabrics if its too warm, wool being a classic, which is funny cause many woolen articles does not need washing, at least not often, or without it being actually soiled or dirty in someway, since its self cleaning to a degree.
White cotton you allgedly should wash, I am not sure, since I do not own any white articles of clothing, I know colors are said to fade, but thats not true since clothing is dyed in a different manner, heck washing red and whites does not give you pinks, trust me I tried, and was very disapointed I had to buy a red dying solution in the end.
As for cold washing, well its cheaper, and you dont need to warm up water, so you can claim to be greener, even thought it has no practical effect, and i guess clothes dont shrink. Like, its fine for say you change clothes every day, never wear anythingg for more then 24 hours at a ttime, most of it will be low levels of sweat, and skin residue, which is easy to clean, uh certain frabircs like lace and silk are supposedly preferable to use cold wash with.
Like, this is kinda anecdotal, but much of what we know is based on anecdotal evidence really, great grandma who hand washed clothes for 60 years knows more about clothes then some fancysmancy washing machine vendor.
As for the towel thing, I am not sure, since towels are seen as dirty, they was usually washed at max temperature,.
Just to throw some cold water on this subject: Most of our clothes are really not very dirty. For 90% of our clothes, throwing them in a cold water wash for 5 minutes with 20% of the suggested soap will result in perfectly usable clean clothes.
If you are a farmer, things are different. We are being upsold by the laundry companies to buy fancier washers and use far more soap than actually required.
At the very least, materials become more pliable when warm. Try shoveling warm mud vs cold mud for example. It’s easier to remove something from clothing that’s warm.
Also, chemical reactions tend to be sped up when the temperature is higher. Since there are at least some reactions happening between the detergent and the dirt, it would help that way as well.
Grease hardens in cold temperature and loosens at warm ones. While detergents have actions in them that partially makes water temperature irrelevant, I can’t imagine it doesn’t help to have 30-40 degree Celsius water when washing a shirt covered in cooking oil.
I just stick to warm water.
Hot will shrink some types of materials.
Cold won’t wash some very well.
A couple YouTubers have tried to only shower in ice cold water for a month. They noticed improvements in vascular health. However none of their soap shampoo choices would get them clean with ice cold water . Every three days they had to bring it into the warm zone to actually get hygienic clean.
It depends on the detergent and/or fabric softener.
Some detergents (especially older brands, and powdered detergents) don’t dissolve as well in cold(er) water, so they can leave a residue.
Fabric softeners tend to be wax-based – they work by coating the fabric fibers in wax, basically. Wax also requires heat to melt/emulsify properly.
Laundry is as much a chemical reaction as it is mechanical agitation. A warmer chemical bath means superior cleaning action.
And as a frequently filthy trades guy, I am in the warm or hot laundry camp. Even with a modern efficient front loader you just aren’t killing off all that bacteria or dissolving stains with cold water.
If you don’t believe me, forget to put that laundry in the dryer and come back in 4-6 hours. The stuff you washed on warm will smell fine. The stuff you washed on cold will stink.
I will usually use the hot/cold setting. Intial wash is hot then first rinse is cold water. Also add a swig of vinegar to my loads and clothes seem to have a better feel.
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