Why you should use cold water for laundry...

[billig]

In another forum some of us are telling our disgust over the CFL bulbs, not lasting long enough, the high cost, and for me, I can't stand the color of the light. But washing your laundry with cold water is a great way to save money on your electric/gas bill:

The reason cold water laundry detergent has been offered is because companies try to determine the carbon footprint of their products. That means from start to finish, everything it takes to make their product, including everything it takes to make any ingredients or parts they use, to shipping, to consumer use, to where it ends up (landfill, recycled or something). “Cradle to grave”
The carbon footprint of laundry detergent is big…but not because of making it. Its because of the homeowner using hotwater. Heating the water is the culprit.

According to US dept of Energy, lighting the average home takes 11% of your energy costs…but heating the water for your house is 12%.


Energy Tip# 17: wash and rinse in cold water - Cold water detergent, Laundry | TerraPass: Fight global warming, reduce your carbon footprint
Most of us are unaware of the full extent of energy required to wash our clothes. A staggering 85-90% of this energy is used by the water heater. Only 10-15% actually goes to running the washing machine. A switch of all U.S. washers to cold water would mean a savings of about 30 million tons of CO2 per year.

Energy Savers Tips: Laundry

About 90% of the energy used for washing clothes in a conventional top-load washer is for heating the water. There are two ways to reduce the amount of energy used for washing clothes—use less water and use cooler water. Unless you're dealing with oily stains, the warm or cold water setting on your machine will generally do a good job of cleaning your clothes. Switching your temperature setting from hot to warm can cut a load's energy use in half.

Average Hot water Use:
Activity and Gallons per use:
Clothes washing - 32
Showering - 20
Bathing - 20
Auto dishwasher - 12
Preparing food - 5
Hand dishwashing - 4 (apparently they've never watched me wash dishes!)

[mama22qts]

I wonder what the figures are for front loaders? I wash most of my stuff on cold except whites and my dishtowels, sheets and towels.

[billig]

I don't know, but you use significantly less water thaN top load washers.

[loaslaen]

A switch of all U.S. washers to cold water would mean a savings of about 30 million tons of CO2 per year.

I'll use cold water if I want to save myself the money over heating it, but our planet needs the CO2. Plants use CO2 to breath and we use their oxygen to breath. The level of CO2 that plants and humans need to be healthy needs to be 4 times the level it is now.

[mama22qts]

The level of CO2 that plants and humans need to be healthy needs to be 4 times the level it is now.

Source?

[katncaed]

FYI, bleach doesn't work well in cold water. Other than that, we usually use cold water because it saves us money..."carbon footprints" be damned.

[mama22qts]

Ok I do use cold water like I said, but I DON'T use the HE detergent like I'm supposed to. It doesn't void my warranty and I just can't see missing all the good deals! I use a smidge of detergent -- probably doesn't even register 1/2 inch in the bottom of the tiny cups.

Do ya'll who have the top loaders use the HE detergent? And use cold water too?

[Ruddysgirl]

Ok I do use cold water like I said, but I DON'T use the HE detergent like I'm supposed to. It doesn't void my warranty and I just can't see missing all the good deals! I use a smidge of detergent -- probably doesn't even register 1/2 inch in the bottom of the tiny cups.

Do ya'll who have the top loaders use the HE detergent? And use cold water too?

I also wash in cold water except for my white clothes. I also DON'T use the HE detergent. Just a little bit of regular detergent. The reason is the front loaders use less water and the HE detergent is watered down. I can't see missing a great deal either.

[MariaT]

I have a traditional Whirlpool top loading washer.
I rarely use hot water to wash anything. Maybe sheets on a regular basis but that's really it.
And yes, bleach works just as well in cold water.:smile77:

[billig]

Source?

I never heard that we need more, only less. Maybe she's confusing it with something else.

From the website below:
Because it is a product of combustion of carbonaceous fuels (e.g., coal, coke, fuel oil, gasoline, and cooking gas), there is usually more of it in city air than in country air. The natural balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is growing from its stable level of 0.13% to a predicted 0.14% by the year 2000. It is anticipated that this extra carbon dioxide will fuel the greenhouse effect, warm the atmosphere, and further disrupt the natural carbon dioxide cycle

carbon dioxide: Definition from Answers.com