Washing machine - 40 vs 30 degrees?

[tiggy]

Hi LBR, yes oldies like me are into washing lines and outside drying. I was given a tumble dryer 20 years ago never used it and gave it away to somebody else who needed it more. White vinegar goes in all my final rinses as it helps to get soap residues out and keep the machine sweet. Ecover laundry liquid seems to do a good job on everything and doesnt make me itch which is great.washing soda has been part of my weaponry against the forces of chaos and anarchy for years , it is good for keeping the sinks drains clean followed by boiling water.Oily boilersuits mine and Boris's submit to the washing soda and ecolquid treatment and I read that white vinegar helps to shift the smell of diesel out of clothes [somewhere on this forum I think] this seems to be working out ok. The sludge and goo was caused by normal liquid detergents and fabric conditioner which make me itch sneeze and have headaches[nasty perfume] It makes me feel so encouraged to read posts from like minded people like yourself and my other eco forum mates.I think I will put the teatowels through at 60 in future, they do get a tough time ,if Boris gets hold of them especially so.

[Jobi1canobi]

I wonder how much spin speed has to do with energy consumption.

I can't quote you any figures I'm afraid but I can tell you that when we spin at 1400 rpm it shorts the whole house out. Quite weird to be plunged in to darkness everytime the washing machine was doing it's final spin until we made the connection. We have since reduced the spin speed to a more respectable 800 rpm and find this more than adequate for getting surplus water out of our clothes (and not making a trip to the fuse board everytime!).

[happy place]

not sure about 30 vs 40 but i have found these stone things you put in the machine instead of washing powder/liquid sounds strange but works well cant remember what they are called but you get them from things like betterware (never seen them in shops)
savings with these things:-
no soap to buy or polute
no need to use rinse cycle so less water/leccy
my mum thinks i'm a freak but have convinced her that they work

[1810ss]

I've got a Maytag (which are re-branded Asko's- a scandinavian make obsessed with build quality, longevity and economy) and that also tells you how much time a selection will take. However, I know mine basis this time on how long the programme took the last time it ran (this may even be the system default if you've not used this setting before) and this can vary according to time of year (due to the different temperatures of mains water in summer and winter). I've also noticed it holding at 1 minute for several minutes if it has underestimated and the machine is catching up with the estimated time. You should find (assuming it works in a similar way to mine) that the estimate will be more accurate next time.
Incidentally, if you only run a washing machine at 30 or even 40 you should do a hot wash (at least 60 degrees and pref 80) every now and then as the machine will get clogged with gunge and may start to smell a bit 'off'- especially of you use liquid detergents without bleach (bacteria, fungi and yeasts won't be killed by lower temps and lack of bleach). This is a known problem with all liquid detergents, not just eco friendly ones.
Although running a hot wash may not sound very environmentally friendly, if you don't ever do so the machine will not last as long due to clogged pipes and scale etc. The simple way is to do a hot white wash every few months with a washing powder for whites. You can buy special cleaners for them (similar to dishwasher de-scaler/de-greaser) but you might as well do a 'proper' white wash and let your clothes benefit. Whilst I want to use as little energy and strong detergent as possible, I think it is worth the trade-off due to the longer machine life and lower risk of a repair bill.

[Millymollymandy]

I switched to 30 degrees quite a while ago and don't see any difference in how clean my clothes come out. I just wish I had the option of a 20 degree wash! I might do a 40 wash for towels but I never do anything hotter than that.

I can do cold only on the wool cycle, but the tap water in winter is so cold you can't put your hands in it without instant pain so I end up doing woolies on a 30 degree wash which annoys me immensely - 20 would be much better. Of course in summer when the cold water is not so cold I don't do wool washes!

[Peggy Sue]

Incidentally, if you only run a washing machine at 30 or even 40 you should do a hot wash (at least 60 degrees and pref 80) every now and then as the machine will get clogged with gunge and may start to smell a bit 'off'- especially of you use liquid detergents without bleach (bacteria, fungi and yeasts won't be killed by lower temps and lack of bleach). This is a known problem with all liquid detergents, not just eco friendly ones.
.

What about using white vinegar- I put this in my wash, it should do a simolar job to the bleach and clean out the gunge?

[1810ss]

High spin speed won't add much if anything to the total cost of a wash, so you can spin as fast as the clothes will tollerate. If I'm hanging it outside to dry I use a lower speed to lessen creases (c 1,000), if I'm hanging dark or easily faded things inside, I go for medium (c 1600) which also avoids too much damp in the house, and if I'm going to use the dryer (very, very rarely, honest- usually just towels and jeans etc. in winter when I've run out and there are no dry days on the horizon) I go for max (2,000) which makes the dryer cycle much quicker. I don't use the highest spin at any other times- stuff comes out nearly dry, but like it's been crushed in a vice, and the creases are virtually impossible to iron out.

[contadina]

Thanks for the shower tip Ina. Contadino's work clothes are just not getting clean at 30 and I quite like the idea of stomping on them in the shower: only he'll have to go first as they're minging .

We're getting a gadget (sorry can't be more precise) which will allow us to fill water from the solar panel direct into the washing machine at whatever temperature we choose, so cutting out the need for heating. We never use the spin option. If you can dry it naturally, so much the better - your clothes will last longer and I've never understood the need to soften clothes. The cynic in me thinks it's just an advertising con.

[Jobi1canobi]

I now wash mostly everything at 30 degrees. I do a 60 or 90 degree wash only when I'm doing the bed linen. I use Ecover laundry liquid and vinegar in my cotton washes and both Ecover laundry liquid and fabric conditioner on anything else (limited as we don't have many synthetics due to my eczema). Hopefully, this will sort out any gunge incidents in the machine . I spin at no more than 800 rpm (actually I might reduce that to 600 rpm?). We wear our clothes way more than once before washing and make sure we have a full load before each so usually no more than three washes every couple of weeks (but I'm sure that will change when we have children!)

All works fine in our household. Reduced bills, clean clothes, degunked machine, eco-friendly products with re-usable cartons and everyones happy!

[Peggy Sue]

Funny isn't it how we all have ideas about what needs a hot wash. I've always worried about teatowels and dishclothes but never bed linen- does this mean I'm cleaner than average in bed...or that I just don't notice how dirty the sheets are- or possibly don't care! (might be this one thinking about it I know I ahve an oil stain on one bed sheet and 2 rips in another but keep on using them as they still cover the bed

I'd not thought about the spin shortening the life of the clothes, my machine seems to have no option for no spin, you just have to choose a speed. I guess if I don't worry about the sheets then I shouldn't get hung up about the spin if it really makes no odds.

So are there any really good stain removers for the likes of say bike grease? - I can't see my shower soap managing and I've stopped buying commercial stuff these days. So annoyed, got a lovely pair of trousers from the charity shop, forgot to put my bike clip on 1st day- grease. Really bad day yesterday

[contadina]

Dust mites are only destroyed at 60 degrees and over - and they love bedding.

[Peggy Sue]

oo I hadn't rhought of that- good point thanks

[Jobi1canobi]

I wash bedding at 60/90 degrees because I get eczema and my allergy is dust mites (according to tests) so better safe than sorry, however there is research that suggests that its only the faeces of dust mites that causes the problem and this is got rid of at 30 degrees so even bedding at 30 degrees should be fine really - unfortunately, eczema causes me too much aggro if it flairs up so I'm not prepared to try it!

[Millymollymandy]

When I washed my pillow and mattress protectors at the 90 degrees they suggested, they shrunk so much they hardly fit the bed anymore - and they were originally a bit on the big side. I won't do anything that hot now because of the shrinkage.

My washing machine creases everything so I spin at about 800 and then I put most things in the tumble dryer, which creases them even more! But I don't care cos my husband does the ironing though not our cotton bedding which is always terribly creased as there is no poly cotton in France, sadly. My mum's tumble dryer hardly creases anything but then my Bosch one has always been rubbish at drying. On full dry setting everything is still damp.

[MrsD'ville mkII]

(I do approx. 5 loads of laundry per month.)

I do about 3 a day!!! I tried 30 degrees but found clothes just weren't getting clean so I've reluctantly gone back to 40 - once at 40 has to be better than twice at 30. I've also gone back to ordinary washing liquids as I found Ecover, home-made goo and other less chemically options just weren't doing the trick. Laundry is definitely an eco-black spot in our house, and it's not about to improve with another baby due in 5 months!