Everyday lightly soiled clothes – for most garments you've worn in everyday life which simply need a refresh, it's not necessary to wash at high temperatures or for longer than 60 minutes. We would recommend a cold wash at 30 degrees or lower, to keep your clothes clean and fresh, while caring for your clothes too.
A 30-degree wash is fine for clothes that need a general wash rather than targeted stain removal. However, the NHS website says that underwear, towels and household linens should be washed at 60 degrees to prevent the spread of germs.
If you're particularly worried about some garments, you can always wash and dry them on a lower heat, say 30 °C. While lower temperatures won't prevent all shrinkage, it will significantly reduce it. One other thing you might see on a garment label is the phrase “preshrunk”.
Denim fabric will lose saturation when washed. To preserve as much color as possible, we recommend you opt for a gentle machine-washing program and wash in maximum 30ºC. Raw denim jeans will last extra-long if they're hand washed, read more about how to handwash here.
Not only do clothes retain their colour for longer when washed at lower temperatures, but there is also less wear of the textile. Washing at 30° is an eco-friendly way to save energy while treating clothes to a gentle cycle that leaves them spotless.
While 30ºC works great for everyday washing, a 40°C wash is better at tackling tougher stains. Most clothes, including cotton and a lot of acrylics, are made to be washed at 40ºC.
If you're washing at 20 your clothes aren't going to be clean, and 30 is pushing it really. Do you not have any quicker cycles. I wash at 30 on a 59 minute cycle and even grass stains on cricket whites come out.
Washing clothes at 30 degrees rather than higher temperatures will save around 40% of the energy used each year.
That's half the usual time of a 30-40 minute wash. It is also slightly gentler than the average cleaning cycle. So, the question is, does this setting still clean clothes? The answer is yes.
We'd recommend washing your socks at temperatures of no more than 30 degrees. If you wash your socks at temperatures that are too high, you will damage the material fibres - including the elastic - and will significantly shorten their effective lifespan.
20°C to 30°C can be classed as cold temperatures to wash garments on. Cold washes benefit clothes that have dark or bright colours that can easily run.
Dress pants or slacks: after 2-3 wearings. Jeans: after 4-5 wearings. Sweaters: up to 6 wearings, if worn with an undershirt; 1-2 wearings if worn without an undershirt.
The most important thing to pay attention to when washing cotton is that it does not shrink. Especially at higher temperatures you have the risk that this will happen. We therefore advise to wash cotton fabrics the first time at a lower temperature (maximum 40 degrees) and not to put them directly in the dryer.
30 Degrees Wash – planet friendly laundry. If you've looked at the care label on your clothes, you might've spotted a symbol that shows a basin with a '30' or a single dot in it. This means that your clothes need a mild, cold wash in order to protect the fabric or make sure that the colour doesn't fade.
A 30°C wash is often the shortest wash cycle that a washing machine can offer. This wash is usually somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes and is most recommended for items that are either delicate or only slightly soiled and do not contain too many germs and bacteria.
Denim may seem like a tough fabric, but that doesn't mean you should choose a heavy duty wash cycle. Instead, opt for a delicate or gentle cycle, and use cold water to avoid shrinking or fading. Opt for a mild detergent, especially one made specifically for dark clothes if your jeans are blue or black.
Go for 30°C cycle
Washing clothes at 30°C uses up to 40% less energy than washing at higher temperatures and is ideal for lightly soiled loads.
Unfortunately, certain fibers can shrink and weaken in hot (above 130 degrees Fahrenheit) water, but won't get a deep, thorough cleaning in anything considered too cold (between 60 to 80 degrees).
The Bottom Line. If you want your jeans to stay good-looking and form-fitting, don't wash them very often. Do wash them if they're stained (say you spill red wine on them) or they smell. There's no hard-and-fast rule that says when to toss them in the laundry, because only you know how often they get truly dirty.
A good rule of thumb is to wash your jeans after every 3-10 wears, or when they start to smell. If you're regularly active in your jeans (think: manual work, anything where you work up a sweat), wash them every 3 wears, but if you're working at a desk, you can probably go through multiple wears without washing.
The safest thing to do is to wash them both at 30 degrees. I think you will find that the 40 degree shirt will wash very adequately at the lower temperature. If necessary you can pre-treat any stains or add a bit to the washing time, but i doubt this will be needed.
Try washing before 4 p.m. or after 7 p.m. – Many energy companies charge extra for electricity during their “peak hours,” which see increased energy usage.
It can still be helpful to know the outmoded rules of laundry water temperature selection: Cold water for darks, hot water for whites and heavily soiled items, like diapers. Hot water will have a fading effect over time, which is why cold water was historically recommended for darks and bright colors.
Cotton should be washed using warm water (40 degrees Celsius) and regular detergents. Colder than this might not remove all dirt and grime from the fabric effectively enough, while hotter temperatures can cause it to shrink over time.