do you wash in cold water?

[Teacher Terry]

I use cold for most things except sheets, towels & then I use hot.

[Blackdog Lin]

Same as Teacher Terry: I do all of our clothing in cold. The towels load and the sheets load I do in hot.

[ToomuchStuff]

When my water heater failed, I had to wait a few days to replace it, due to time. I did a load or two in cold, because I had to and didn't notice a difference. Since then most times I wash in cold.

[Gardenarian]

I have always used cold water. Then one of my dogs got sick and, without going into details, I had piles of badly stained bedding and towels. (all the bedding and towels are white.) I tried everything to get the stains out, and nothing worked - until I washed everything in hot water. 90% of stains gone! So I'm a little skeptical about this whole "cold works as well as hot."
I'm continuing to use cold water, but if I have another issue with stains, I will go for the warm or hot water.

[Teacher Terry]

I use hot because you have dust mites in bedding which are too tiny to see. I have bad allergies so think this really helps for towels & sheets.

[Packy]

This is an interesting question. When I first read the OP's question, I had to think it over for a few days, before I could deliver an answer. OIh, okay---here it is: Last June, it was really hot; I mean really, really, HOT! And I had been outside ALL DAY, okay? So, when I came inside, an took a shower, I used nothing but unheated water. Just let it run, so I could cool off. I say "unheated", because you really can't classify tap water as "cold", because it is prolly 55-60 degrees F. The water that comes out of the water heater is prolly 90-100, by the time it goews out to the faucet, or less. As far as clothing goes, everything of mine STINKS. Anyone who has pets, or works outside, and then things lay around on the bathroom floor or in the washer or behind or under something or pets lie on it---everything ends up stink! See? That's why I use lots of vinegar, lots of scented detergent; and either use dryer sheets in the clothes dryer, or hang big stuff out on the fence or drape it across my truck---to let the sun rays sterilize it! I do this also with bike shorts and jerseys, because it is best not to place lycra in the clothes dryer; and because laying them in the sun to dry, along with sox, will help eliminate bacteria. The bottom line is, in the washer, I use unheated water. But, why am I saying this? You kids already knew this.

[Suzanne]

I wash everything except bedding, towels, and kitchen items, in cold water. I do bedding and towels in warm water. Once a week I toss all the kitchen cloths and my apron into the machine and wash them in hot water. If I pull my act together, I'll wet the kitchen stuff, rub it over thoroughly with bar soap, leave it overnight, and then wash it in cold water. Usually my act is scattered.

[thinkgreen]

I wash everything in hot water. I only do about 1.5 loads a week and I try to do it the same time as I'm running the dishwasher because then the water seems hotter. I used to do 4 or 5 loads a week but since retiring we wear our clothes more than once. We dry on the line whenever mother nature allows.

[Float On]

One load a week of whites in hot water.
Every other load, average 1 a day, in cold.

Add to that - I use the shortest delicate cycle for everything except that one load of whites in hot gets the regular cycle.

[Brandon]

I only use cold water as I find it keeps items from shrinking and/or fading. The only time I might use Hot water is when I have a stubborn stain on white tablecloths or napkins - and I always soak them in OxyClean and a bit of detergent.