Can I Wash Clothes in Cold Water as Well as Warm or Hot?

Function

• Regardless of whether you wash your clothes in hot, warm or cold water, ensure there is enough room in the washing machine for your cloths to move around, loosen stains and extract dirt. For your dirtiest items, particularly those that are white or beige, use hot water. Hot water is best for killing germs, and loosening basic dirt and soil stains. Warm water should be used on moderately soiled garments and is generally safe for most colored clothing. Cold water should be used on clothing with bright dyes such as purple and red, and for sweat and body oil stains. Liquid soap, rather than power detergents, should be used in cold water.

Misconceptions

• While it is commonly believed that cold water should only be used with brightly-colored clothing that contains deep dyes, cold water can also be used on clothing with labels that recommend warm water for laundry instructions. Cold water is gentler than either warm or hot water and helps clothing last longer. It also prevents shrinkage, particularly for tight-fitting clothing, undergarments and cotton t-shirts.

Considerations

• Consider using different types of detergent when washing clothes in cold versus hot or warm water. For example, liquid detergents are more effective than powder detergent in cold water. Powder detergent should generally be used in hot water, since higher temperatures are needed to dissolve the powder into soap.

  Whether you are washing with soft or hard water also makes a difference in how clean your clothes get out of the wash. For example, soft water combined with liquid soap cleans garments better than hard water since soft lacks mineral deposits and does not require as much detergent as hot water. Also, hard water forms soap scum, which can cling to clothing and the surface of the inner basket and outer tub of the washing machine.

Drawbacks

• When using hot water to wash clothing, keep in mind that higher temperatures fade dyes, which may leak onto other clothing during washing. It also tends to cause permanent press and other delicate fabrics to wrinkle and shrink. Washing clothing in warm or cold water will not kill germs unless bleach or another disinfectant is used in conjunction with detergent. Moreover, cold water usually requires more detergent than warm or hot water to clean effectively.