Why You Shouldn’t Wash Your Laundry in Hot Water
It seems intuitive to do wash your clothes in hot water when doing your laundry. It just seems like hot water should clean dirty clothes better than warm or cold water ever could, right? Wrong! You need to switch to washing in warm or cold water. Here’s why. First, hot water does not clean clothes better. Hot water is also tougher on clothes, helping to wear and tear them faster, as well as fade colors quicker.
More importantly, using hot water to do your laundry is an energy drainer. When washing, 85 to 90 percent of the energy used is for heating the water. Using warm water instead of hot water for two loads of laundry a week will save 500 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution, if you use an electric water heater, or 150 pounds of carbon dioxide, if you use a gas heater. Always use cold water when rinsing!
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It seems intuitive to do wash your clothes in hot water when doing your laundry. It just seems like hot water should clean dirty clothes better than warm or cold water ever could, right? Wrong! You need to switch to washing in warm or cold water. Here’s why. First, hot water does not clean clothes better. Hot water is also tougher on clothes, helping to wear and tear them faster, as well as fade colors quicker.
More importantly, using hot water to do your laundry is an energy drainer. When washing, 85 to 90 percent of the energy used is for heating the water. Using warm water instead of hot water for two loads of laundry a week will save 500 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution, if you use an electric water heater, or 150 pounds of carbon dioxide, if you use a gas heater. Always use cold water when rinsing!
Liars.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:08 pmBill Hawthorne
Hello,
My name is Bill Hawthorne, and I represent maacenter.org, a leading web resource for asbestos exposure and mesothelioma cancer information. Our organization is dedicated to increasing awareness of the terrible health consequences of asbestos exposure through the distribution of the best informational materials and public outreach efforts.
I found your site through a search and decided to contact you because of its high environmental and green presence which is extremely important in our movement. Your viewers are extremely savvy and motivated. The promotion of how buildings should now be built using green products to avoid asbestos and mesothelioma as well as the awareness of past buildings and preventative steps in avoiding asbestos exposure are extremely important. My goal is to get a resource link on your site/blog or even to provide a guest posting to be placed.
I look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to check out our website at http://www.maacenter.org. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Bill
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:42 amMary
I agree with some aspects of this article. Cold water washing does not effectively clean clothes, and the remaining soil left in garments will cause them to wear faster. Using warm water (40 degrees) is better for your clothes and your machine.
A question I always ask others when discussing this topic:
Q: Would you wash your dishes in cold water?
A: Why? Because cold water (even with sufficient detergent) will not remove oil and fatty stains effectively.
The same concept can be applied to washing your clothes.
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December 13th, 2009 at 6:33 pmKate Brown
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January 19th, 2010 at 4:15 pmKate Brown
John Smith
Hi there, nice read, however if u like to have more information.
January 23rd, 2010 at 11:43 amRoland Hendrickson
Works fantastic to warm up our bathroom. Still working after a year. It is rather loud on high speed, on low speed its ok, but if you place it on high then get in the shower you wont hear it over the water running.
January 29th, 2010 at 5:07 am