Not all stains respond to warmer water. For example, blood and sweat can actually set into fabric in hot water. Also, hot water tends to shrink, fade, and wrinkle certain fabrics. By not heating the water in your washing machine, you may reduce your energy costs with every load.
There's a big reason the tub cleaning cycle uses HOT water to clean, hot water dissolves accumulated filth out of the machine. Constant hot water on all your clothes will wear out the fibers, over time. Hot water temperatures that range from 135-150F plus, will wear out the colors and fibers in your clothes.
Hot water is more damaging to clothing fibers, leading to them wearing out faster and shedding more microfiber particles. Washing in cold helps protect your fabrics to keep them looker newer longer. Extending the life of clothing can also help reduce the amount of textiles being added to landfills.
Washing Dark Colors
Cold water is best for preventing fading, so stick to a cold setting on your dark loads. (This is why it's important to separate your clothes into light and dark laundry loads.) While white items do best in hot water, cold water prevents fading in your dark items.
When to Use Warm Water – For man-made fibers, knits and jeans, use warm water (90°F). Most of your clothes can be washed in warm water. It offers good cleaning without significant fading or shrinking. When to Use Cold Water – For dark or bright colors that bleed or delicate fabrics, use cold water (80°F).
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.
Use cold water and a delicate cycle to wash dark clothes
The shorter cycle and cold water temperature minimize the agitation to your clothing and help prevent the dyes from bleeding. For more laundering tips, learn how to wash dark and light-colored clothing with this handy guide.
60°C is the perfect temperature for killing bacteria, viruses and removing stains. This wash setting is also highly recommended for washing towels and bedding, but obviously this setting is going to increase running costs as the higher the temperature the higher the cost.
Wash jeans in warm water: Most of the time when you have something that you want to wash gently you wash it in cold water. But that's not the case when you are washing denim jeans. Warm water will help the color stay in the jeans and help keep the jeans from shrinking. Hot water is too hot and can destroy the fabric.
If you overload the drum, there will be less water available for the detergent to dissolve in as the clothes will soak this up. We therefore recommend that you leave a hands width gap at the top of the washing machine drum when loading. This roughly equates to filling 3/4 of the drum.
Con: Hot Water Can Damage Delicate Fabrics
Hot water can set stains on delicate fabrics and can cause them to shrink, fade, and permanently wrinkle. These fabrics are sensitive to temperature and cleaning solutions, so use a detergent made for delicates.
For household washing machines, the best temperature to wash towels at is at around 40 degrees. Washing at 40 degrees will ensure your towels stay feeling and looking their best for longer, whilst removing most of the germs that breed there.
What temperature water do I mix it with? OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover works in any temperature water, but best in warm to hot water.
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Dead skin cells, bacteria, and even sweat can accumulate quickly on your towels, so using a fresh one about every three days is a simple rule of thumb—for all kinds of towels.
Wash with the hottest water temperature setting listed on the care label. Polyester blends are best washed using warm water, while cotton can toleratehot water. Hotter water kills most germs and also takes care of dust mites that thrive in bedding. Wash at least once every other week.
Always wash darks and lights separately, and wash your towels on a different cycle to your clothing or bed linen. Be sure not to use too much detergent, fabric softener or other liquids in the wash and keep it at a low temperature.
Silk and other delicate fabrics
And along with your bras and silk underwear, it's best you don't put any other lingerie or stockings in the dryer either. These materials may shrink or become wrinkly because of the high temperatures inside the dryer, and it's next to impossible to reverse such damage.
Sheets should be washed at a warm temperature to kill bacteria. A good temperature to wash bed sheets is 40 degrees but a 60-degree wash will be better at killing germs and should be used if someone in the house has been ill. As always, it's best to consult your bedding care labels for guidance on temperature.
The washing process can agitate or loosen dyes and hot water temperatures are typically known for causing color bleeding. Turning your clothes inside out before washing can help to reduce fading.