Hot: Heavily stained or soiled items are successfully disinfected and cleaned at hot temperatures of 130 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. Warm: Warm settings generally fall between 90 degrees and 110 degrees Fahrenheit and work well when dealing with lightly stained fabrics.
Hot water removes stains by breaking down and dissolving the stain-causing substances. Cold water has a different mechanism – it prevents the binding between proteins from the stain and the fabric, making it better for protein-based stains like baby food or blood.
The best temperature to use when doing laundry can depend on the type of clothing or materials you're washing—and how clean you need them to get. Hot water (130 degrees Fahrenheit or above) is most effective in removing dirt and stains.
The heavy-duty or stain removal cycle works best for tough stains. If your washer has a pre-wash or steam function, use it for added cleaning power. Hot water settings are ideal for greasy stains, while cold water helps with protein-based stains. For delicate fabrics, stick to a gentle cycle to avoid damage.
Cold water is your friend for organic stains of all kinds - poop, blood, coffee, tomato sauce, etc. Hot water can make them set in more. So keep that in mind as you stain treat!
Protein stains such as dairy, blood, egg, glue, and white deodorant marks should always be washed in cold water. Hot water can actually cook the protein, causing it to absorb into the clothing fibres, and making it almost impossible to remove.
Pre-treat or soak in a product containing sodium perborate bleach. Apply a commercial pre-wash spot and stain remover to stain, front and back. Wait 1 minute. Wash in heavy-duty liquid detergent and sodium perborate bleach.
Launder according to the fabric care instructions. Regular stains should come out in cold water but for extra dirty clothing or very tough stains, use the warmest setting safe for the fabric.
A second rinse bath produces a much cleaner final product by rinsing off the soil that is redeposited during the first rinse. Often times, the second rinse tank includes a heated facility water inlet which constantly overflows the second rinse tank with small amounts of water to ensure water cleanliness.
The Best Stain Removers
We tested more than 20 stain removers to see how they fared against a wide variety of both fresh and seriously set-in stains on washable fabrics. Amodex Ink & Stain Remover did the best job overall, and we have five other recommendations to help you fight the good fight.
Removes Stains
Vinegar is a great solution. "Especially on white fabrics, vinegar can tackle stubborn stains by being added directly to your laundry or used as part of a pre-treating soaking solution," says Morgan LaLonde, laundry brand manager for Whirlpool.
White vinegar
This is great for a wide range of stains, including blood, sweat, and any general yellow marks on white clothes. Try gently rubbing the vinegar onto the stain before putting it straight in the wash. White vinegar can also be mixed with baking soda.
Cold water is fine for most clothes and other items that you can safely put in the washing machine. It can remove many stains from clothing, including grass on your kid's jeans or makeup smudges on a sweater. Delicate fabrics (lace and silk) and dark, colorful fabrics actually do best in cold water.
Typically, cold water works great on blood, as well as food, beverages and water-based paint, while hot water works best on protein-based stains. Unfortunately, there's no golden rule to stain removal. For example, most food stains should be soaked in cold water, unless it's egg, mustard or a tomato-based product.
When choosing hot or cold water for blood stains, selecting hot could cause the stain to “cook” into your clothes while cold water works to remove the stain. Although many stains respond best to a rinse or soak in cold water, then a wash cycle in warm or hot, this is not always the case.
Sponge the stain with hydrogen peroxide or rub bar soap into the stain and scrub by hand in cold water. Apply laundry pre-treater or rub in liquid laundry detergent, and wash the remaining stain in warm water with a fabric-safe bleach until the stain is gone.
In some instances, yes. However, a 30-minute wash is enough for your clothes depends on a few factors: Soil Level: Heavily soiled clothes from exercise, outdoor work, or greasy messes likely won't get fully clean in a 30-minute cycle. These clothes require a longer, more thorough wash at a higher temperature.
A prewash, on the other hand, is used to soak the clothing before the wash cycle starts, helping to loosen up stains. When you choose a prewash cycle, add detergent to both the prewash and detergent compartments of the dispenser.
The normal cycle is a long cycle that works wonders for everyday clothes, like t-shirts, underwear, socks, pants, and cotton garments. It has high agitation and spins to extract most of the water from the load.
Amongst all the golden rules for stain removal, acting quickly is by far the top of the list. The longer you leave the stain, the harder it will be to remove. As soon as the stain lands, we recommend getting onto it. How quickly and speedily you get to the stain determines how successfully it is removed.
Sponging is one of the most frequently used methods of applying many stain-removing agents, including water. Sponging is another technique in which clean absorbent pads are used.
Effective Stain Removal: Hot water is excellent for tackling stubborn stains like oil, grease, and food spills. The higher temperature helps break down the molecules of the stains, making them easier to remove during the wash cycle with laundry detergent.
The second step, rinsing, involves washing the fabric under cold running water. This step might seem counterintuitive; one commonly hears about hot water being the superior choice for cleaning. But in the case of poop stains, cold water proves more beneficial.
Fecal incontinence or staining can be the resultant of constipation, not having the correct stool consistency, not fully emptying during defecation, and/or pelvic floor muscle weakness.
If you're looking for other ways to tackle stains or if you can't get some sunshine, pre-treating with certain products can also work wonders. Many parents on the Babylist team, including myself, swear by blue Dawn dish soap and Miss Mouth's Messy Eater Stain Spray.