What is a quick wash setting? As the name suggests, it's a quick wash! It usually takes around 15 mins to an hour, depending on your washing machine. It uses less water and energy than a standard cycle and will spin for less time as well.
Quick wash has a shorter spin time and uses cooler water – which means you're saving on your energy bills. According to washing experts Ariel, quick wash uses 60% less energy and 40% less water when compared to a regular cotton cycle. That's great news for the environment.
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.
Does eco mode on dishwasher save electricity? Good question. The answer is actually quite simple - with the longer wash-cycle, the water doesn't require heating up as much when compared to shorter programs. This allows the appliance to use less energy when compared to the auto program, for example.
Wash at 30°.
Give preference to longer but more economical eco programmes (30 to 45% energy saving). If your laundry is not really dirty and your machine allows it, you can also use the 'fast', 'express' or '15 minutes' programme. The shorter duration of this programme offsets the electricity consumption.
Washing clothes at 30 degrees rather than higher temperatures will save around 40% of the energy used each year.
Generally, top-load washing machines consume less electricity than front-load units since their wash cycles are relatively shorter. On the other hand, front-load washers require less water consumption than top-load varieties, as they only use enough water to soak the clothes.
The quick wash isn't just quicker than the regular wash, though. You can quickly wash a few clothes without using a lot of energy, in fact, a quick wash can save up to 60% of energy* compared to a regular cotton cycle, and that's not all.
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.
Also, 15 minutes isn't long enough to clean a full load of washing, even if it isn't stained.
Washer & Dryer Electricity Costs
An average cycle for a washing machine is 30 minutes. This appliance, which is a widely used Energy Star model, needs 500 watts per hour to run, which means it requires 250 Wh, or 2.25 kWh, to run for 30 minutes.
The eco cycle uses less water and less energy to wash your clothes, therefore cutting the cost on laundry. However while many of us will have seen the function on our washing machines it's often left untouched due to rumours of the quality of the wash being inferior, and confusion over the length of the wash.
How can a programme like the Eco mode save energy when it takes longer? It's surprisingly simple: with the longer wash-cycle, the water doesn't need heating up as much when compared to shorter programmes.
While it may be tempting to use the quick-wash cycle every time you need to clean a load of laundry, it should really only be used for freshening up garments. An example would be items such as a blouse and pants that are only lightly soiled and that you want to wear last-minute.
On that note, a quick wash cycle is generally very good at washing lightly soiled clothes, but you should be wary of washing heavily soiled items on a cycle like this (unless instructed to do so).
Helping your clothes stay vibrant and last longer - Washing with a warm water temperature − on cycles at 40°C or higher – is more suitable for heavy soiling, but can come with a few downsides such as colours fading and shrinking fabrics. Washing at 30 degrees can help keep your colours vibrant an minimise shrinking.
The answer depends on what you are looking for. If you want a deep clean, then washing at a higher temperature is the way to go. However, if you are looking to save money and energy, or preserve your clothing, washing at a lower temperature is probably the better option.
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.
The colder the cycle the better
Washing your clothes at cooler temperatures, and for less time, can greatly increase your machine's energy efficiency - a 30 degree cycle can cut your washing machine's energy use in half, in comparison to a 40-60 degree cycle.
A colder cycle is better
For example, a 30-degree cycle can cut your washing machine's energy use in half, in comparison to a 40- to 60-degree cycle.
Experts at the Energy Saving Trust agree and say washing at 30 degrees uses around 40% less electricity over a year than washing at higher temperatures. And research by Which? found turning down the temperature on your washing machine from 40 degrees to 20 degrees reduces running costs by an average 62%.
On average, washers use 400 to 1,400 watts of electricity – this number is highly dependent on the model you have. Using a washing machine 3 times a week will use about 140.4 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. It costs an average of $1.66 to run a washer for a month, and $19.92 to run for a year.
Washing machines use an average of 0.793 kWh per use. This means they will cost £0.26 to run per cycle based on averages UK electricity prices for the Energy Price Guarantee period ending 30 June 2023.