A delicate wash cycle (or “delicates”) is the washing machine equivalent to handwashing. The difference between the hand wash vs delicate cycle is that this setting uses cold water with low agitation with a slow spin and is the shortest, gentlest cleaning cycle.
The Delicates Cycle
It's the shortest and most gentle cleaning cycle, and generally uses a low spin. If the machine defaults to warm water, we recommend you override this by selecting cold water.
A delicate wash cycle works by combining a low agitation wash with a low spin cycle, which provides the laundry with a gentle wash. Depending upon the washing machine and the size/weight of the load, a delicate wash cycle will generally take from 45 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes.
How long is a Delicate wash cycle? It takes between 45 minutes to an hour and twenty minutes to clean items like sheer fabrics, lingerie, sweaters, blouses, pants, jeans or anything recommending a “gentle” cycle on the tag.
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.
It's recommended to use the delicate wash cycle on your appliance when cleaning these and other items such as undergarments and delicate fabrics like lace. Use the normal wash cycle when cleaning moderately soiled cottons, linens and other mixed fabrics.
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.
DELICATES. This is ideal for wool, lingerie, or blouses that can be washed in the machine. This is a low agitation wash with a lower speed spin, that's suitable for lacy knickers or that silk blouse.
Delicates: Low heat, so drying time will be longer. It is best to use this setting to use for delicate fabrics. Permanent Press: Medium heat while drying and is best used for colored fabrics. Air Fluff: Not used for drying.
Normal. The normal cycle is a vigorous wash cycle due to its high agitation and lengthy cycle. This cycle uses warm water with a high spin speed for moderately soiled clothing made of cotton, linen, and other mixed fabrics. Depending on your machine, a normal cycle can run up to an hour.
Quick wash only takes up to an hour to do the laundry, which means it has a shorter spin cycle and won't always reach the same temperature as you would in a regular wash. To get the best results from quick wash: Only fill your machine up to 40% full. Only wash clothes with a low level of soiling.
If your washing cycle is massively exceeding this time, then there could be an issue that needs resolving. Overloading your washer is a big no no, and can negatively affect overall run time – make sure you've loaded your machine correctly. Similarly, only wash items of a similar density.
Many 30 degree wash programmes are designed for either delicate items, or for laundry that is very lightly soiled. Therefore they don't wash for long enough, agitate enough, or spin fast enough to properly wash any normal washing. They commonly only last about 30 minutes or even as low as 15 minutes.
Speed or Quick Wash
This cycle has a much shorter run-time than the normal setting and is ideal for small loads of laundry or if you have a load that needs to be rewashed after being forgotten in the washer overnight. Since this cycle is shorter, it is best for lightly soiled clothes.
Researchers at Newcastle University in the UK found that the delicate cycle, which uses about twice as much water as other settings, releases an average of 800,000 more plastic microfibers than lower-water volume settings.
In the washing machine, the delicates cycle corresponds to a cold wash and slow spin speeds. In the dryer, it relies on low heat so as to prevent agitating the soft fabrics.
The tag on an item will show whether the delicate setting should be used, but generally – as you'd guess – it's for delicate fabrics. 'Use the delicate setting on your tumble dryer on delicate fabrics such as silk, wool, lace, chiffon, etc,' says dry cleaning professional Dean Davies of Fantastic Services.
This is the one you want for most of your clothes and for your sheets. Delicate: The low-heat setting, which is sometimes obviously labeled "low-heat dry." Use it for items containing Spandex or other forms of elastic, as well as for delicate cottons and shrink-prone materials like wools and linen.
Use a delicate or gentle cycle
Denim may seem like a tough fabric, but that doesn't mean you should choose a heavy duty wash cycle. Instead, opt for a delicate or gentle cycle, and use cold water to avoid shrinking or fading.
But that's not a reason to default from normal to the delicate setting for everything just to play it safe, says Campbell. “Although gentle cycles are necessary for fragile fabrics and items with delicate decorations, they won't do a good job cleaning heavily soiled clothing and bedding,” she explains.
Generally, warm or hot water is recommended for washing towels. Use a cycle specifically for towels or a normal/regular cycle. A sanitizing cycle can also be used, but may not be recommended for every wash, depending on the towel fabric.
Bed sheets should be washed in the warmest water appropriate for the fabric, using a sheets cycle or the cycle recommended in your washer's use and care guide. If there isn't a cycle specified, a normal or regular cycle will usually suffice for cotton, polyester or linen sheets.
Adjust your washing machine to the delicate or gentle setting and wash with cold water. The high majority of t-shirts are made from either cotton or polyester, which means that they need to be washed in cold water in order to maintain their shape, size, and quality. Hot water will shrink the fabric.
Most laundry experts agree that silk, synthetics with polyester, lace, fine knits, chiffon, velvet and other lightweight fabrics should be categorized as delicates. From silk ties to lacy bras, these special fabrics require a different approach than you use to clean your other clothes.
Quick Wash and When to Use It
That depends on your brand of washing machine, but in general, a quick wash gets the job done in about half the time of a normal cycle, and it can run around 15 minutes to just under an hour. And, if you're unsure what is best for your items, make sure to check those fabric care labels.