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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biter households switch to cold, in a year it'll be as if we've planted 6,405 trees thanks to averted CO2.
COCKTAIL FACT
According to a UK poll, 80% of English college freshman and sophomore males have never done laundry.
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home › tip library › Cleaning Clothes
On a scale of 1 to 10, how hot's the water in your clothes washer?
The Bite
Go for 1 - COLD - to conserve energy and cash. It's usually just as effective as hot. Really.The Benefits
- Save major energy. 80%-90% of the energy used to do laundry goes to heating the water.
- Save cold, hard cash - $61 per year per household on average by forgoing the hot for the cold.
- Cleaner air (not just clothes). In a year, each household that switches keeps 1,281 lbs of CO2 from entering the air.
- Hotter colors with cold. Cold water keeps your clothes looking newer longer than hot water washing.
Personally Speaking
We were also skeptical when we first started researching this tip. But testing it on our own duds proved the point: unless clothes are really grimy (like "I worked in the garden all day" dirty), cold water works just as well for washing up your day-to-day clothes.Wanna Try?
Um, just switch the knob on your washer to COLD. You don't even need to use a cold-water detergent - we just use our fave eco-versions.Mar 26,2007
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The Zen of Laundry
As most Biters know, I am not over-domesticated. I end up ordering out more than cooking in (or heating up a pizza, etc), and well, of recent, with all my animals (dog, 2 cats, 6 chicks, and a horse), I had to get some help with the cleaning. The one thing that I love to do though is laundry. I can take my time and sort colors, put pre-wash stain stuff on places where above-mentioned pizza may have dribbled down onto my white sweater, and just slow down a bit on Sunday am. (This is one area where Heather and I are exactly the same - we both love doing laundry.) I then set aside some time to call friends while I fold.
Well, it took some convincing for me to use the cold cycle. I just love clean clothing, and I get dirty quite often (think: riding clothes!).
But I did a test with two slightly smelly turtlenecks that I wore riding. They weren't uber dirty, mind you. But after I did this test I smelled the pits. And I couldn't tell a difference. So I am converted. Chalk one up for the still-very-clean cold cycle. BTW, I used ECOVER detergent and pre-wash stain gel thingy with bristle top in case you are curious. ;-)
Off to fold and chat with Nashie - Jen
Well, it took some convincing for me to use the cold cycle. I just love clean clothing, and I get dirty quite often (think: riding clothes!).
But I did a test with two slightly smelly turtlenecks that I wore riding. They weren't uber dirty, mind you. But after I did this test I smelled the pits. And I couldn't tell a difference. So I am converted. Chalk one up for the still-very-clean cold cycle. BTW, I used ECOVER detergent and pre-wash stain gel thingy with bristle top in case you are curious. ;-)
Off to fold and chat with Nashie - Jen
Biter Comments...
i try to use cold as well but it really does not work on poo-stained cloth baby diapers. for those you truly do need to use hot!
For stuff that's really stinky, so stinky you just know cold water's not going to get out all the stink- like dog stink- use plain white vinegar in your cold water wash. It gets the stink out and the vinegar smell goes away when it dries. (It also keeps dye from bleeding. No more pink socks.- Unless you like pink socks.) You can also put vinegar in a spray bottle with 4 parts water and spray it on like Fabreeze without worrying about all the weird chemicals. The pickle smell really does go away when it dries. I promise!
I've used Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds for all my laundry needs for years. It's unbelievable at removing stains and very gentle on my clothes. How something that can effectively remove bug guts from the car, yet be so gentle on my clothes is beyond me, but it works wonders and only takes about 1/8 cup per load. Also use Ecover softener for my towells. You can buy these at any health food store and some grocery stores. Look for the book, Clean House, Clean Planet, Karen Logan and discover all of her enviro-friendly home-made cleaning ideas. You will never buy those bleach cleansers again!
I've washed in cold for years, which is probably the best thing you can do to preserve your wardrobe. If you're worried about odor, add a few drops of any kind of essential oil you like to your liquid detergent before you put it in the wash...lavender, amber, patchouli (if you're so inclined) all work really well, and leave the entire load mildly scented. It even worked on my dog's blankie!
Anyone have good suggestions on removing or preventing underarm stains? I've been washing my clothes in cold for years, but I recently heard that you should use hot to prevent yellow patches. Any good tips on this?
Ann, I believe the liquid 7th Generation detergent I have at home says "Safe for HE/front loading machines" on the front of the container.
How does Cold water compare for disinfecting things and killing bacteria? I read you should do your sheets and towels in Hot water in order to get them clean enough.
I've done the tests, but I find that socks, underwear, towels, sheets and anything my cat may have peed on must be washed in at least warm. I always use a cold rinse cycle though. I have never heard of a reason that the rinse cycle should be anything but cold!
I had a discussion with my plumber a few years back and he said I should wash my clothes in warm/hot water and get them quickly into the dryer as they would dry faster and use less energy than wet cold clothes going into the dryer. Anybody have any comments?
underarm stains - use dish soap (not the dishwasher detergent, just hand soap). soak the stain in straight dish soap before you launder. the dish soap enzymes should take the stain right out.
I've heard that using dandruff shampoo on ring around the collar is quite effective. It makes sense, since the collar 'dirt' is a combination of sloughed off skin cells and hair oils.
Regarding Angie's plumber - Somehow, that doesn't make sense to me.
I've pondered the same sort of argument with myself about whether it's better to run the tap to get the water somewhat hot for pasta water, or to simply put the water in the pan and bring it to a boil on the gas range. Seems to me the amount of energy used to wash in warm water to reduce the amount used in the dryer would sort of be (sorry - it was there!) a WASH.
I have been using cold water for a long time and it works great for me.
in response to anne:
you should check out www.methodhome.com
i just bought detergent for my little baby from that brand at target. it doesn't contain any harsh chemicals and isn't "dirty." :D
Cold is great except for things which may have contact with e-coli like undies, towels, sheets, diapers. On those few things I use hot, unless I know I am going to dry them very hot. If I am not drying, then I was just those few things in hot.
Also to Anne - I just learned about "dropps" which are both eco-friendly and HE-friendly (www.dropps.com). I'm getting a sample of them from bzzagent in the next week or so and after I've used them in my HE washer I'll let you know how well they work.
I've now had a chance to try the "dropps" and I give them an eco-friendly thumbs up. They worked well in my HE washer, softened my clothes without fabric softener, and the packaging is recycled, minimal, and recyclable. worth checking out.
When i do my laundry i always hang it up because our dryer sucks and i always have to put stuff in a second time to get it completely dry. So that has two advantages: some clothes shrink and/or get all thin and ugly in the dryer, and i can brag about doing things that are good for the environment :)
and have to duck underneath it to get to teh washing machine the next week (if it was rainy when i hung it up therefore hung it up downstairs)
very interesting...
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Posted by: anne | March 26, 2007 at 07:43 AM