If you wash clothes in cold water, they are less likely to shrink, fade, or get damaged in other ways. Also, using cold water makes wrinkles less noticeable and reduces the need to iron, which saves energy and money.
By washing clothes in both hot and cold water, you can get rid of any dirt that is still stuck in them. But because some detergents don’t dissolve well in water below 15°C, you’ll need to use more detergent if the water is cold.
Even though using hot water to wash clothes has a bigger carbon footprint, you can reduce it by only washing certain types of clothes in hot water. Also, letting your clothes dry in the air is better for the environment and saves you money on utility bills.
To have less of an impact on the environment, wash your clothes in cold water. Cold water is better for the environment because it takes less energy and money to heat than hot water. Cold water also gets rid of wrinkles, which helps the environment even more because it means you don’t have to iron as much.
Decorative items like quilts, comforters, pillows, and window treatments work best when washed in cold water. Nancy Golden, the senior vice president of merchandising at Triangle Home Fashions, says that cold water is safe to use because it doesn’t damage fabrics. “Hot water usually makes stains worse instead of getting rid of them, and cold water usually keeps clothes from shrinking or fading.” For the best results, follow all of the care instructions on the sewn-in label. We usually suggest using a commercial-grade front-loading washer and dryer, a cold delicate cycle, non-chlorine bleach only when needed, and a low tumble dry.
Using cold water to wash clothes is good for more than just saving money and energy. Cold water is better for clothes because it doesn’t damage the fibers as much as hot water does. However, hot water locks in stains, especially protein-based stains like blood.
I think you should use the warmest water suggested on the care label. There is some room for detergent makers to change the ingredients in their formulas to make them work better in certain situations. But these chemical changes can’t make up for the loss of performance that happens when the wash temperature goes down. In fact, tests showed that washing with coldwater detergent in warm water was much better than washing with it in cold water. Every detergent I’ve used is the same way.
Some of the time, it’s better to wash clothes in cold water than in warm or hot water. Stains can be set into fabric by hot water, making them harder to get out. Because it is kinder to the fabric, cold water is less likely to damage your clothes.