Yes, a quick wash can clean lightly soiled clothes that need to be spruced up a touch in mere minutes. It's ideal at cleaning things like a relatively clean top or a school uniform you forgot to wash but need by the next day, for example.
The short wash time won't be enough to clean heavily soiled fabrics like underwear, bedding, and towels. Increase the dose of your detergent to quick wash for garments with tougher stains.
Proctor & Gamble tested its Ariel Gel for effectiveness and stain removal at 20C, while Which? magazine found in a test that an olive oil stain was the only one a 20C wash couldn't shift compared with a 40C wash. It's got to be worth a try.
By using less energy, a quick wash will also save you money, too. But a quick wash isn't the best option if you need to wash stained clothes. The temperature is too low to lift a stain properly, so always use a full wash for this.
A quick wash is the perfect setting when you need to do a spot of last-minute laundry. These quick wash programmes typically tend to be 30 minutes; however, some models can wash a load in as little as 15 minutes. To get the best from a quick wash cycle, only use them for small loads or slightly dirty items.
You Shouldn't Always Use It
The quick wash cycle should only be used for light stains and soiling, if your shirt smells a bit musty or has some light stains then a quick wash will do the job. But for more stubborn stains and bulky clothing, a quick wash simply won't do the job.
The fabric manufacturer recommends a 30 degree cycle. They don't get dirty so a quick 15 minute wash should suffice. Obviously we don't condone using the washing machine for just one or two lightweight towels, for environmental and financial reasons.
How Long is a Quick Wash Cycle? Typically selected for small, lightly soiled loads, the Quick Wash cycle takes between 15–40 minutes to complete depending on the model and brand. Quick Wash Cycle uses shorter periods of more intense washing to clean items quickly.
Soaking your clothes will help loosen up the dirt and dissolve fatty stains. Also, it helps soften your clothes, allowing you to use minimum force and prevent damaging them. Moreover, make sure not to soak your laundry for too long, or it might ruin the fabric.
How long is a wash cycle? A normal wash cycle usually takes between 50 minutes to an hour to complete. However, this time could be faster or slower depending on load size and the cycles or options you choose.
That depends on your washing machine's settings. Most washers need 32 to 38 minutes to clean your clothes, though some allow you to purchase an extra-long wash and/or rinse cycle. Alternatively, some washers are extremely efficient and give you the option to wash your clothes under 30 minutes.
Also, 15 minutes isn't long enough to clean a full load of washing, even if it isn't stained.
Wash with a cold cycle
Washing with a cold cycle can save you more than 80% of your energy consumption and cost. This is because most of the energy is used just to heat up the water in warm washes. Cold washes are just as clean as warm washes in most situation.
Is a 30-Minute Wash Enough? A 30-minute-long wash can clean clothes, but the laundry in question must not be very dirty to start off with. If the items in question are only lightly soiled, a 30-minute wash should be able to spruce these items up.
Washing on cold temperatures
Your washing machine will have the option to wash on cold water, which can be as low as 20°C, but most machines set their cold water settings on 30°C.
The 30-(or 44-minute) washing cycles are the most commonly used. The duration is still short, but it manages to eliminate the dirt better. Finally, some washing machines allow you to activate a 59-minute quick-wash, which surely is the one closest to a complete cycle.
When your washing machine isn't cleaning clothes, the most common reason is that it isn't draining properly, leaving dirt from the first wash in the drum so it's still there after the last rinse. This means you need to clear your washing machine's filter.
Scale Reduces Detergent Effectiveness
This prevents the detergent from washing the dirt and sweat and skin cells out of your clothes as the washing machine is supposed to do. This is why clothes washed in hard water might still smell sour or feel dirty.
“Laundry stripping is a soaking process where you're removing the built-up residue: excess laundry detergent, fabric softener, body oils, hard-water minerals,” says Lexie Sachs, textiles director at the Good Housekeeping Institute. “It's something you do on towels that are already clean, not dirty.”
A Delicate wash cycle (or “delicates”) is the washing machine equivalent to handwashing. This cycle uses warm or cold water with low or no spin and is the shortest and most gentle cleaning cycle. We recommend using this cycle to wash silk, wool, and the more delicate synthetic items you may have.
All of the agitation and soaking during a longer washing cycle doesn't chew up much electricity. But the rapid hot wash, in the dishwasher or washing machine, will devour more electricity, so a cold and long wash is still more efficient.
Try washing before 4 p.m. or after 7 p.m. – Many energy companies charge extra for electricity during their “peak hours,” which see increased energy usage. During the summer, run your washer early in the morning – energy use peaks on hot afternoons.
Tierno recommend washing bath towels every two or three days. Hold out longer than that, and all those microorganisms will make your towel grungy. “You may not get sick after using a towel for two weeks, but that's not the point,” says Dr. Tierno.
As a general rule, launder your bath towel (or swap in a clean one) at least once a week and your washcloth a couple times a week. Wash towels more frequently if you're sick to avoid reinfection.
A QUICK wash is convenient and easy, but many of us also choose the cycle as it's cheaper - and greener when it comes to the environment. However, a new study by Which? has debunked this theory, and suggests that a quick wash will actually cost you MORE money.