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Originally Posted by flash
Hate to be technical, but the need for hot water depends! Depends on if you have soft water, what detergent you use, etc. If you are just washing dirt off, cold is okay, but if you want to get dirt or stains OUT, or trying to kill bacteria/dust mites/other live things, temperature does matter.
Laundry detergents (surfactants) are designed and tested to work best at specific temperatures. You need them to get in and do their job. Seriously, a fortune goes into designing and improving every year!
For towels, anything that may have mold, mildew, etc., hot is best. Bleach works for whites, but it also breaks down the fabric, so it wears out much faster. Allergists will insist you wash sheets HOT, but rinse in cold.
Baking soda OR vinegar both have cleaning properties, but if you use them together, they cancel each other out.
I wash most things warm, I rinse everything cold. But I adjust my detergent to what I'm trying to get out.
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Why would allergists INSIST that you rinse in cold water?
Sometimes when I wash/rinse in cold water, the clothing still has an intense "aroma" of the detergent, and the ONLY way I can tone that down is to RE-rinse the load in WARM water.
I can't imagine that all those millions upon billions of dollars spent in the R & D of the major laundry detergent manufacturers to develop better products is simply all a mirage.
That doesn't make any sense.
Also, with your scientific background, do you by any chance know WHY women for generations & generations always BOILED the whites on the stove - they didn't merely wash 'em in hot water, they literally boiled them for something like half an hour.
I've always been curious about that, and I've often wondered if the steep increase in asthma has alot to do with all the dust mites that go through the washer & dryer and survive intact, just fine, due to the cold/warm water washes --- and if it also might be responsible for diaper rashes and the great popularity of feminine hygiene products in modern times.
Why did pioneer women ALWAYS boil any white-colored item of laundry?
I've read that if you place freshly dried kitchen towels, right out of the dryer under a microscope, that afterwards, you wouldn't dream of using them in your kitchen --- due to all the bacteria & mold & germs that can be plainly seen.