How to choose the right water temperature for your laundry

by Rebecca on April 6   ///   5 Comments

I’ve always used cold water for my laundry. But I got a bit curious about the other settings. Here’s the down-low:

When To Use Hot Water
Usually the hotter the water, the cleaner your clothes will get. White clothing loves hot water in order to get rid of germs and heavy soil. But the down sides of hot water? Shrinkage, wrinkling and fading. Yikes.

When To Use Warm Water
Most people use warm water to wash their clothes. (So apparently I’m out of the loop.) Warm water is great for items like jeans and the permanent press setting. And there’s less issues in the fading, wrinkling, and shrinking department.

When To Use Cold Water
Cold water is normally used for delicate items, or items with instructions to be washed in cold water. The main issue with cold water is that if your clothing items are really dirty you’ll need to pre-treat for stains, possibly wash them longer or do a pre-soak.

Do you notice a difference in the amount of clean your clothes get with different water temps? Do you pay attention to labels or do you always use warm water?

  

  • http://www.giftfullysimple.blogspot.com Courtney

    I usually always use cold water,but notice that sometimes I have to wash again when stains are present. I’m going to try washing hot/cold and see if that makes a difference in the amount of washing I have to do. I always thought hot water set stains?

  • http://blog.alice.com Rebecca Thorman

    @ Courtney – Hm, I’ve never heard that but my gut reaction is that it’s true. Maybe some of the other readers can provide some guidance in this area…

  • http://www.momsbuzz.com/blogs/mimix3/30141/Alice+Swag+Giveaway%21%21%21%21.html Cynthia (cmt1975)

    I’ve always heard that too!! I only wash my husband work clothes and my son’s diapers in hot water. I’m afraid that the hot water will leave set the stains in. I think my mom warned me about that years ago

  • http://rosemary.reilman.com Rosie Reilman

    You can buy Tide Cold Water and use cold water all the time to save some on energy, especially for the everyday stuff (maybe not necessarily for the super stains). But hot water could save some $ depending on how your water is heated, etc. :)

  • http://blog.alice.com Rebecca Thorman

    @ Cynthia – I think I heard it from my mom as well!

    @ Rosie – I actually just bought Tide Coldwater, so far so good :) Thanks for the suggestion!

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