Am I the only one?

I usually wash towels and cotton sheets on 60 but I have started to reassess how I launder my own clothes and realised I was washing them far too much and on too high a temperature given that I shower and put clean clothes on every day. My machine has a 20 minute wash and it is great for freshening things that have been worn for a few hours. I reasoned that the machine must wash them for about five minutes before starting to rinse; if I was hand washing - which lots of clothing labels instruct you to do, but I never do - I don't think I would be dunking and squeezing any garment for a full five minutes. That would be a long time to work on one item, so my clothes now get the equivalent of a very thorough hand wash, and are looking newer longer. My Mother had a machine in which she boiled practically everything, and towels, sheets etc. looked a bit frayed after a while!

Everything at 40°, on normal wash or wool wash for more delicate things. Then hung out in the copious fresh air we have around here and, maybe, sunshine.
I'm told linen sheets used to be laid out on the grass to bleach them in the sun, but I don't do that.

I remember my mum having no washing machine . She had a boiler which did just that. Whites were boiled and sheets, towels ,underwear and shirts were white not colours. Everything else was hand washed . We had linen sheets which were probably handed down from grandparents. Very thick, and when they went thin in the middle they were turned sides to middle for extra wear. I think it is one reason I do a hot wash. Mum did it, so do I!The other reason is that at work I sat near environmental health officers and lots of the information that they would tell me has stuck. If you are happy with cooler washes that's ok, but for me it's not. I like heat and disinfectant! BTW, my bedding is washed at least weekly and towels, especially hand towels, much more often. Who wants to dry themselves on a dirty towel?

30C mainly for everything. If I feel somethings are particularly dirty I give them a longer wash. Just think before washing machines we used to hand wash everything and scrub to death with a bar of soap.

I seem to have survived without this but swear by pegging out. My record is a duvet cover on 26th December.

( may need to get a life)

Who are the "they" which have found that washing everything at 60 or 95 degrees "makes a huge difference to hygiene"?

I understand that washing bedding and towels at 60 degrees helps to eliminate dust mites. Useful if you are the sort of person who sneezes "around dust", especially in the bedroom. (Like me.) Thus we wash linens at 60. I find that a 60 wash will get out stains (such as face cream) which a 40 wash doesn't. (We never use a "bio" washing liquid/powder.) Generally I find that clothes are fine at 40 or 30.

I wash everything at either 60 or 95 depending if it's white or colour. Only a couple of things go in at 40. It makes a huge difference to hygiene, they have found.

I USE E cover - non bio and wash most things at 40, but do towels at 60.

The German housewife is notorious for her scrupulousness and some of it has rubbed off on me.

I wash flannels, tea towels, white towels and dish cloths at 90°.

Coloured towels, underwear and bed- and table-linen are washed at 60°.

Only outer clothes get washed at 30° if dark, 40° if light. Socks with a good dose of disinfectant softener.

I was shocked to read in a magazine that a test had shown that the "60°" eco-cycle on some machines only washed at 27°.

Even though I realise I've probably been a bit brainwashed, I still can't see how 30° can get all infections germs out of anything. As mentioned in a recent thread, it horrifies me that hotels only wash their towels at 30°! I dry my private parts on them and someone else might have dried their feet on the same patch of towel. What if they had athlete's foot? (Or vice versa - I sometimes have sweaty feet myself.....)

I have never understood what a "Biological washing powder" is or does. We don't have them here.

By the way, Esspee, I think the hotter wash cycles probably spin at a higher rate, which is why they crease more.

Non-bio
Towels and bedding at 60 degrees
All else at 30 degrees

Streuth, I use a quick wash at 30 for nearly everything. And I use soap nuts or a laundry egg. Much better for the planet.

I had a problem with black mould in the washing machine and the engineer said it is because I always use 30 or 40 degrees. He said it doesn’t kill bacteria so need a really hot wash regularly to clean the machine.

* doesn't give the immune system * that should be

I used to work with someone that used to boil was everything.
I'd go with a hot wash (60deg) for bedding, towels and tea towels 40 deg, or 30deg everything else.
I think with the fibre mixes in todays clothes you may find that many would be destroyed in hotter washes - many of my clothes are viscose - anything hotter and they come out completely wrinkled and just about impossible to iron!

Oh my gosh...have just read whole thread. Some are obsessed with killing every germ known. This gives the immune system any chance to build up resistance. Loosen up for goodness sake. I am never ill...not even a cold. I am not obsessed with killing germs...

30 degrees nearly all the time, with the occasional 40 degrees.

I don't think I've ever used 60 degrees. I'm lazy and put everything in at the 'basic' temp of 40, press 'mixed/synthetic' and hope for the best. It hasn't killed me yet. There are far too many options which are superfluous to my requirements and I refuse to have anything to do with them.

You do not have to use hot water anymore. Washing machines and detergents are made to get clothes clean in cold and cool water. Studies have been done...this is fact. I was everything in cold water.

I wish my machine did a quicker wash that rinsed better.
DD has a top loader which seems to be quicker and better, but, of course, uses more water.

30° for 20 minutes. Occasionally I have a mad moment and do the bedding & towels at 60° but that's once in a blue moon.

I've noticed that when washed at hot temperatures the laundry seems more creased. I usually do a cool wash with hot for towels occasionally. We are old but in excellent health. Haven't had a cold in years?.

I wash virtually everything at 30 degrees.

We're all used to our own germs

Q How often does a chimpanzee change the bed linen?
Q Does a chimpanzee wash the bed linen at 60C?

And how many years have we all been responsible for the laundry in our homes (and no one died yet?)