Washing laundry with cold water

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Maybe everyone knows this already but there are definitely tangible advantages to using cold water.

If you have a stain on a shirt you want to use cold water, not hot. Hot water makes colors run, so yes using cold water will be easier on your clothes.

I only put white clothes in warm/hot water. I also put nothing in the dryer except undershirts, socks and boxers. I have tshirts that are 10 years old that still look practically brand new.

[Komskies]

Separating lights and darks? Whaaaaa?

This is my laundry strategy:

[Notorious Honey Badger]

ya im the same way. i havent had anything run yet. maybe one day when i show up to work like this ill change my mind:

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Notorious Honey Badger

So I went to google and for some reason went to the Tide website. I instantly felt bamboozled for buying this stuff when I saw this on their FAQ section:

Q: What is the ingredient that makes Tide Coldwater better in cold water?
It is difficult to point to any one ingredient as the ingredients in the formulation work synergistically together to maximize the performance of Tide Coldwater in cold water washing.

Uh. My BS meter just blew up.

Did they let Scott Adams write their FAQ, and then thought it was serious?

Was the "Uh. My BS meter just blew up" also part of the answer to the FAQ?

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Originally Posted by Notorious Honey Badger

So I went to google and for some reason went to the Tide website. I instantly felt bamboozled for buying this stuff when I saw this on their FAQ section:

Q: What is the ingredient that makes Tide Coldwater better in cold water?
It is difficult to point to any one ingredient as the ingredients in the formulation work synergistically together to maximize the performance of Tide Coldwater in cold water washing.



Uh. My BS meter just blew up.

If it helps, my BS meter blew up when someone started a thread asking about basic laundry detergent concepts.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by cKy

Would hard or soft water affect the clumping? using too much soap?

Powder soap sucks. Switch to liquid.

[Brotato]

Shouldn't this thread just be 400 of us saying " I don't know, ask my wife?"

Because I sure the fawk don't know what temp water my stuff washed in

[The Yen Man]

I live by myself, so no wife to do my laundry for me. Sometimes my laundry sits in my dryer for over a week since I'm too lazy to take it out and fold them.

I've been using cold water ever since I've had my front loaders, and I've never had a problem with them. I figured it'd be better for the clothes, although no idea if that's actually true or not.

[SeeGeeWhy]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

My mom always told me to wash in cold, so I have for over a decade now. I switched to cold-water optimized detergent after once having clumps of the regular stuff stick to the inside of my machine and my clothes (~4 years ago).

Calgary water=too cold?

Originally Posted by cKy

Would hard or soft water affect the clumping? using too much soap?

I think it has less to do with Calgary's water and more to do with constantly trying to wash protein stains.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

I think it has less to do with Calgary's water and more to do with constantly trying to wash protein stains.

[Flash Walken]

Yeah, I wash all our stuff in cold water with liquid detergent, including sheets and towels.

I use

To get rid of any kind of mildew smell in towels I throw in a cup of white vinegar during the wash cycle.

I'm super domestic.

[onetwo_threefour]

Not to endorse corporate doublespeak, but perhaps Tide's FAQ is just a way of saying 'we're not telling.'

I believe it is pretty well settled science that detergents work more effectively and suds more in warm/hot water. Try washing a sink full of greasy dishes in cold soapy water vs. Hot soapy water and see the difference. (or tell your wife to so you can watch).

I assume that there are probably enzymes or catalysts of some sort that would break grease down better in cold water, but Tide's not about to publish what they are.

[HelloHockeyFans]

I use warm/hot water, but I'm thinking of maybe using cold water going forward if it damages clothes less and perhaps dissolving the powder detergent in a smaller amount of hot water first before putting it into the washer... wouldn't that work to combat the clumping?

[Notorious Honey Badger]

Originally Posted by onetwo_threefour

Not to endorse corporate doublespeak, but perhaps Tide's FAQ is just a way of saying 'we're not telling.'

I believe it is pretty well settled science that detergents work more effectively and suds more in warm/hot water. Try washing a sink full of greasy dishes in cold soapy water vs. Hot soapy water and see the difference. (or tell your wife to so you can watch).

I assume that there are probably enzymes or catalysts of some sort that would break grease down better in cold water, but Tide's not about to publish what they are.

ya after i read that i did more googling. theres good reasoning behind the idea that cold water soap acts differently. i dont feel so silly now buying the cold water stuff. apparently it has more enzymes and also has stuff in there to keep dirt from re attaching that normally wouldn't work in cold water.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

I use warm/hot water, but I'm thinking of maybe using cold water going forward if it damages clothes less and perhaps dissolving the powder detergent in a smaller amount of hot water first before putting it into the washer... wouldn't that work to combat the clumping?

Let the water partially fill before adding soap will eliminate the clumping. Then add clothes. But powdered detergent always dissolves quicker in hot water. Rinsed out of clothes much better too. With some powders I've got a soap film, even with an extra rinse.

The best way to avoid clumping is switching to liquid detergent. I couldn't go back to powdered again.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

perhaps dissolving the powder detergent in a smaller amount of hot water first before putting it into the washer... wouldn't that work to combat the clumping?

Why go through the bother? If you want to liquify the detergent before putting it into the washer, then buy the liquid detergent.

[calumniate]

Better call all the moms. I'm pretty sure everything in this thread is wrong.

[justkidding]

I'm a Mom!

Darks washed in cold water using Woolite Extra Dark Care. Awesome stuff for keeping the colour in your darks. Buy the giant ones at Costco and stock up when they go on special.

Lighter colours washed in warm, rinsed in cold. Use Tide Total Care.

Whites washed in hot, rinsed in cold. Use Tide Total Care and a 1/2 cup Oxi Clean.

Perfect laundry

[MRCboicgy]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

I think it has less to do with Calgary's water and more to do with constantly trying to wash protein stains.

pffft. Waste not....

Also, it was liquid that clumped

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

Also, it was liquid that clumped

What kind of no-name liquid soap are you buying. Bad bottle maybe. There's no way it should gel or clump.