Washing clothes at 40C

[classic33]

2 washing machines on this ship, one with portugese programmes, one with english. My lack of understanding of the portugese machine makes no difference as I have no idea with the other one either. I'm actually not convinced about the washing at low temperatures to save energy achieves much as the clothes then usually end up in the dryer and come out almost too hot to handle. Dryer settings - 'DRY'; 'DRY +' and of course if thats not quite dry enough there is the usual setting of 'EXTRA DRY' And when was the last time you saw OMO wash powder in the supermarket?

If I hang one of my boilersuits up it's gets so stiff it's like trying to put on a cardboard box, if it goes in the dryer it shrinks and is a bit tight up the bum crack for the first ten minutes of wearing.

Fell foul of the scam merchants
http://www.scamcallfighters.com/search-phone-OMO-WASHING-POWDER-search-scam-15411.html

 

[Piemaster]

Fell foul of the scam merchants
http://www.scamcallfighters.com/search-phone-OMO-WASHING-POWDER-search-scam-15411.html

Interesting.
Still being sold here in Brazil, which is why I was wondering - not seen it in UK for years.
A quick google suggests that as it's just a Unilever product it may be just branded as Persil or something in UK.

 

[marzjennings]

What annoys me is the fact that modern washing machines are all cold fill, so you end up with the machine expensively heating up the cold water. Being able to use the hot water feed from the gas boiler would be more economical, especially if you're doing a really hot wash at 60°.

Our new (< 6 months old) washing machine has both hot and cold connections and yes, if running a hot wash then it pulls from the hot water tank. And when buying the new washer, all the washers in the store had both hot and cold connectors. Must be a UK thing this cold only fill.

 

[slowmotion]

Our new (< 6 months old) washing machine has both hot and cold connections and yes, if running a hot wash then it pulls from the hot water tank. And when buying the new washer, all the washers in the store had both hot and cold connectors. Must be a UK thing this cold only fill.

Yes, it's a UK thing. I have not seen a dishwasher or washing machine that has both hot and cold feeds for quite some time, not that I'm in the trade. It's pretty daft because it's usually a lot more efficient (both financially and greeny) to use a gas boiler to heat up the water rather than using peak rate electricity for hotter wash cycles.

 

[seraphina]

FWIW, we have a cold fill only machine but it's run overnight on Economy 7. We aren't on mains gas so for us it's not a bad deal.

 

[Katherine]

Our last washing machine that had hot water fill, used to take a bit of water at a time with a few minutes gently turning and settling between, so the boiler was being fired up lots of times which was really bad for it and shortened it's life. Our current machine is a cold fill and I use it on 40 ° most of the time. Anything mucky gets a soak or rinse first. It's recommended to use powder rather than liquid to prevent a build up of slime and as little conditioner as possible. All cycling and outdoor gear is done in non-bio.
Towels get done at 60° once a week which seems to keep the slime from building up. I'll occasionally buy the cleaner to put through or run the towels on a 90° very very occasionally. Leaving the door open to air the machine as mentioned above is also important.

 

[Mr Celine]

Most stuff here at 40°, whites at 50°, towels and bedding at E60 (actually 57°). I cannot stand the smell of fabric conditioner or the feel of clothes washed in it.

My last machine had hot and cold fill, but only took hot water on programmes at 60 ° or above. It was also so far from the hot water cylinder that the hot water rarely reached it, so fairly pointless.

A maintenance wash might be needed in hard water areas but in my experience is unnecessary in soft water areas. I stripped down our current machine last year to replace the bearings. Despite being 10 years old and never having had a 'maintenance wash' there was very little gunge inside it or lime deposits on the heating elements.

 

[broadway]

Yes, it's a UK thing. I have not seen a dishwasher or washing machine that has both hot and cold feeds for quite some time, not that I'm in the trade. It's pretty daft because it's usually a lot more efficient (both financially and greeny) to use a gas boiler to heat up the water rather than using peak rate electricity for hotter wash cycles.

It's supposed to a European thing and hence become the default over here since most UK white goods are made in Europe now.

 

[speccy1]

Mine is cold fill only (Bosch), seems ok with me as it takes ages for the hot water to come down from upstairs anyway - that`s even if the immersion is on. As for washing, tea towels/cleaning cloths etc go on a 90, bedding and towels on a 60, and everything else at 40. I don`t care what the eco police say and that we have to wash everything in cold water - utter tosh. To get stuff clean you need heat - period, end of story

 

[swee'pea99]

we use TotsBots Bamboozle and Charlie Banana pockets, with a variety of wraps for the Bamboozles. The TotsBots should be fine at 60, but I think the Charlie Bananas are technically wash at 40 because of the waterproof layer. It hasn't done them too much harm as they are currently on their third year and second baby One of our better baby investments!

Now again in English?

 

[marzjennings]

Yes, it's a UK thing. I have not seen a dishwasher or washing machine that has both hot and cold feeds for quite some time, not that I'm in the trade. It's pretty daft because it's usually a lot more efficient (both financially and greeny) to use a gas boiler to heat up the water rather than using peak rate electricity for hotter wash cycles.

Maybe I should start a business shipping washers to the uk.

 

[simon.r]

This is a home of contention in our household, both of us having lived alone for some years and developed our own habits.

I do almost everything at 30 degrees, with a small amount of own brand non-bio powder, leave the door open in between washes and thoroughly wipe the machine dry aft each use. I take the washing out immediately it's finished and dry it outside if possible, or if not in a well ventilated room.

She does almost everything at 60 degrees, with loads of powder and fabric conditioner, leaves it in the machine until whenever, then tumble drys or hangs it anyhow on an airer.

I'm convinced my clothes are fresher. It's got to the stage where we each do most of our personal washing as I can't stand the chemical smell of the powder and fabric conditioner.

 

[slowmotion]

Maybe I should start a business shipping washers to the uk.

I'm not sure about that. The washing machines that I've used in North America are about the size of the average British house.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Now again in English?

We use Little Lambs fitteds mostly but with the occasional bumgenius or blueberry

 

[swee'pea99]

We use Little Lambs fitteds mostly but with the occasional bumgenius or blueberry

As in Dragon's Den: "I'm out."