What is the benefit of washing clothes in warm water? Can’t they all be washed cold and still come out clean?
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*As for water temperature, in general you want to use cold water for darks and hot or warm water for lights, though increasingly there’s a movement toward using cold water for everything. If you’re interested in going that route, look for detergents that are formulated for use in a cold water wash cycle, which more and more manufacturers are producing to keep up with interest in reducing energy levels and costs.*
*In addition to considering water temperature in relation to the color of your launderables, you want to be aware of the fabrics you’re washing. If you’ve got items that are prone to shrinking in hot water, like wool, cashmere, or fine cotton, you should use cold water only.*
*There are two reasons to separate your lights from your darks and launder them separately: (1) so that the dark colors don’t bleed onto your lighter items and (2) because darks do better in a cold water washing situation, which helps to prevent the colors from fading, while whites tend to like hot water, which will help to keep them really bright white.*
Source: [My boyfriend barfed in my handbag . . . and other things you can’t ask Martha](https://a.co/d/78Ve57h) / Jolie Kerr, ISBN 9780142196939
This book covers *fucking everything,* from laundry to floors, walls, ceilings, kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms, even up to removing lube stains from sheets.
You’re welcome.
There’s an old “chemistry rule of thumb” that every 10degrees hotter, the rate of reactions doubles. So water and soap should work better dissolving any contaminant at higher temperatures. Besides that, most bacteria and fungi (thanks The Last of Us for the rabbit hole!) don’t survive at hotter temperatures.
Ain’t washing no teenage boys’ sweaty gym socks, underwear, and bed sheets in no cold water. Plus the dog sleeps with him.
Most detergents have enzymes in them to help the soap cleaning specific dirt from your clothes. There are enzymes that target proteins (eg a bloody rugby jersey), cellulose (eg grass stains) Fats (eg potato chip stains or chocolate stains) and starches (eg dropped mashed potato or baby food).
Enzymes work best at warmer temperatures. Most enzymes will work at tap water temperature but will work a lot faster at 30C/85F. 30C/85F is not considered warm water because it’s colder than you are, but it’s warmer than what comes out your tap.
Washing machines work on a timer so all the cleaning needs to happen within a certain time period, before rinsing starts. Warmer temperatures (but still colder than your body temperature) just allow the enzymes to get their work done in this time-limited environment.
Normally there is a cocktail of enzymes in any one brand of detergent depending on the expected problems the end user will have. So, families with kids that play a lot of sports and BBQ a lot in the backyard will need a different cocktail of enzymes to a young professional couple that gym a lot and eat out in restaurants or eat ready cooked meals.
I wash all my clothes on cold and they come out clean. I even dry on as low as it goes. Heat ruins most clothes.
sustained temperatures over 50 degrees C (122 F) kill bed bugs and dust mites: [https://www.sleepadvisor.org/dust-mites-in-bed](https://www.sleepadvisor.org/dust-mites-in-bed/)/
Chemical reactions double in speed e wry 7 degrees C or so. Heat knocks things together, basically.
Clean(no smell/stains) more than likely but germ free? probably not
Warm will clean better. But it will also wear out your clothes faster. Cold water increases clothing lifespan and cleans well enough
If your clothes are generally clean, and just need to get eid of smell and sweat, use cold water.
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