When To Use Hot Water
For most clothing the hotter the water, the cleaner the clothing will be. Most linens and white clothing are washed in hot water to remove germs and heavy soil. However, many of our clothes won’t come out looking very nice if they are washed in hot water. Hot water tends to make some clothing shrink, wrinkle, and fade.
When To Use Warm Water
For most people the majority of their laundry is washed with warm water. Warm water is actually a mix of hot and cold. Some machines mix the hot and cold water 50-50, although newer machines mix 60-40. Warm water is usually the best choice for permanent press and jeans. It allows good cleaning action without as much fading, wrinkling, and shrinking.
When To Use Cold Water
Cold water is usually used for delicate items, or items with instructions to be washed in cold water. If your cold water items are heavily soiled or dirty, you need to be especially diligent about checking and pre-treating for stains. You may also have to wash the items for longer, or allow them to soak before washing if they are heavily soiled.
4 Ways To Choose the Right Washing Temperature
1. Check the tag.
While you’ll be able to use your discretion with many clothing items, checking the tag allows you to find any special instructions. We often forget to check the tag when we buy items, only to find out there is a 25 step list of washing instruction for best results. Check the tags and pull out items that have special instructions.
2. Check the water temperature.
Use a candy thermometer and check the water temperature of the cold, warm, and hot water coming out of your machine. Hot water is most often 10 degrees colder when it arrives at your machine from when it leaves your hot water heater. In general hot water is 130 degrees Farenheit (54.4 Celsius) or above. Warm water is between 110 and 90 degrees Farenheit ( 43.3-32.2 Celsius). Cold water is generally between 80 and 60 degrees Fareheit (26.7-15 Celsius). If cold water is below 60 degrees Farenheit (15 Celsius), clothes are unlikely to be cleaned very well.
3. Pre-treat stains.
Pre-treating the stains will allow the clothing to get clean even if it needs to be washed in warm or cold water. Take the time to pretreat for stain removal before they are washed and you have a much better chance of clothing coming out clean and stain-free.
4. Soak.
If clothing does require cold water, try soaking the clothing before washing to insure that clothing will actually be cleaned thoroughly.
