Good if you just want to refresh your laundry or deal with light soiling. A quick wash naturally won't clean as thoroughly as a full cycle. However, it would still be a good alternative if you just want to refresh your clothes or don't deal with heavy stains.
The biggest advantages to using the quick-wash feature are that it saves time, energy, and money. However, it's important to remember that this cycle was designed only to be effective when washing lightly soiled, small amounts of clothing – not a load that's accumulated over the past week.
Save More Than Just Time with Quick Wash
Not only does this cycle wash clothes fast, but you'll also save water thanks to the shorter running time. Plus, when you pair the quick cycle with a cold wash temperature, you'll use five times less energy versus the average normal cycle on a warm setting!
These researchers conclude that the best wash cycle is a modified Leviathan: gentler, colder, and shorter. By reducing time and temperature, they say, we can reduce the amount of microfiber pollution released into the general water cycle, the amount of waste soap, and the carbon footprint of our washer activity.
A shorter cycle helps you save energy. Quick washes use less water and less detergent, making them kinder to 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.
Use shorter cycles for less soiled and delicate clothing, and longer cycles for heavily soiled and bulky items. Always opt for the shortest possible cycle to get the job done; the less time garments spend being spun around in the wash, the longer they'll last.
A quick cycle will clean your clothes if you don't overload the washer and adjust the amount of detergent you use, as smaller loads require less detergent. High-grade commercial washing machines at a laundromat have the efficiency to deep clean clothes in shorter wash cycles.
If the wash cycle is longer, the water doesn't need to be heated up as much as shorter programmes. There is no standard for appliance eco modes, however – every brand and appliance will have a different combination of time, temperature and water parameters to achieve those additional energy savings.
Cold wash (30°C or less)
If your clothes are “lightly to moderately soiled” (i.e. don't appear particularly dirty), this is a good to setting to have them on. It'll save you energy and money and is greener too.
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.
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.
No, you cannot use a quick wash to clean all of your laundry. A quick wash cycle should only be used to clean lightly soiled items of clothing. If you have very dirty clothes, or items that are stained, they should be washed on a normal wash setting, whereby the cycle length is longer and the water is warmer.
Also, 15 minutes isn't long enough to clean a full load of washing, even if it isn't stained.
Science Says Washing Your Clothes in Colder, Shorter Cycles Is Best — A Cleaning Expert Weighs in. Finding the right time and temperature combo is key to making your clothes last longer.
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.
Wash with cold water.
Using warm water instead of hot can cut a load's energy use in half, and using cold water will save even more. Cold water detergents can be helpful to ensure items get clean, and high-efficiency detergents (indicated by the "he" symbol) should be used when required by the manufacturer.
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.
That's half the usual time of a 30-40 minute wash. It is also slightly gentler than the average cleaning cycle. So, the question is, does this setting still clean clothes? The answer is yes.
As a general rule, washing clothes in cold, gentle cycles with low-heat drying can help prevent your garments from shrinking.
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.
Most people should wash their sheets once per week. If you don't sleep on your mattress every day, you may be able to stretch this to once every two weeks or so.
Use longer cycles for heavily soiled and bulky items, and shorter cycles for less soiled or delicate items. Cycle speed refers to the speed and force at which laundry is agitated in the washing machine; use slower speeds for delicate items and faster ones for bulkier or more heavily soiled items.