Can I just tell you something? I am totally IN LOVE with my new washing machine. It has a “speed cycle,” which takes 15 minutes start to finish. Faster washing times mean less energy used, less of my time waiting for the load to finish, less water…the list goes on my friends.
In an effort to squeeze even more pennies this year, I’ve started to wash most of our clothes in cold water. Minus things I want to sanitize, like sheets, towels and dishcloths, it seems to be doing the job without any noticeable difference. If that weren’t enough, I was shocked to find out that washing in cold nets HUGE savings when it comes to the environment too.
Please stop, take and deep breath, and prepare to have your mind blown with these fun facts {all found on treehugger.com}:
- Washing a load on cold is the energy saving equivalent of eliminating 9 miles of driving in the car. {Multiply that by how many loads you do a year, and the number is pretty significant.}
- Washing your clothes on hot/warm cycle for one year is the energy equivalent of burning 182 gallons of gasoline in the car.
- Using the cold water setting equates to removing about 162 pounds of CO2 emissions from the environment per year.
Those figures are all based on an energy efficient front loader–add a standard top loader into the mix, and you add significantly to those numbers.
Saving money AND the environment is rad.
~Mavis
Practical Parsimony says
When I divorced in 1981, I examined where my money went. I needed to save money! I have washed everything except maybe 4 loads a year in cold water. I don’t dig ditches and don’t wear items so long they need hot water. Hanging items on the line assures many germs are killed. I use 20 Mule Team borax and tiny bit of All liquid. I don’ t use hot water on the items you do. If I fall down, or get chicken yard mud on me, I do use hot. Probably cold would work, but habits die hard.
When I had diapers, I was convinced they needed hot water, but I am not sure now. I did use Clorox on diapers, too much soap and lots of rinse cycles. But, I am beyond diapers.
Hopefully, you can convince people to use cold waters.
Jenny says
We have a geothermal heat pump and all our hot water comes from the excess heat in the system so we don’t pay for hot water. The only problem is the geothermal heat is much hotter than a regular hot water tank, it shrinks everything that get washed in hot.
Melanie says
I have the same washer and with 4 kids at home I use it a lot! I love that I can get a load washed while I’m at home on my lunch break and thrown in the dryer for the kids to fold when they get home from school.
Ashley says
I always use cold, I figure my dryer heat will sanitize for me if needed. I used to cloth diaper, so I used hot for that. If my kiddos were sick and had barfed all over their bedding (they are young) I’d use the hot/hot cycle (with extra rinses, because ewww). But I really have never noticed a difference with laundry being washed in hot or cold. Even sheets and towels I wash in cold. Day to day laundry really isn’t too creepy if you think about it.
christine says
Any recommendations on a product I can add in with the laundry soap to sanitize the load of clothes?
Mavis says
I’d throw in a cup of vinegar. Always does the trick!
Ints says
Another tip; depending on the quality of the municipal water supply you can cut way back on detergent. The recommended amount of detergent on any soap container is meant for the average water quality in the US. In Seattle where we have really soft water, we can use 1/4 of the amount of detergent per load. This applies to laundry, dishwashers, you name it. While I tried using 1/4 I found that I am more comfortable using 1/2 but that is still a huge savings.
This was something an appliance repairman told me, not only to save money but also to help clothes last longer.
Sharon says
In the winter, I set the water temp to ~cool~ because cold water here has ice crystals in t
It during winter. Cool adds just enuf hot to make regular cold water so the soap dissolves. In summer and the warmer parts of spring and fall, I use straight cold water for everything.
Heather says
I bought the same/similar washing machine. I have a few loads that I was on Eco-Warm, but the rest are on tap-cold or cold. I haven’t really tried the Speed Wash setting yet so I will need to give it a try.