Running hot water in the washing machine can run up your energy bill. But do you actually need to crank up the temperature to clean your clothes? A laundry expert explains.
In a video with over 109,000 views, laundry and cleaning expert Melissa Pateras (@melissadilkespateras) tells viewers they shouldn’t need to use hot water to do laundry if they have a “quality” laundry detergent.
While she doesn’t recommend a specific brand, she notes, “Quality detergents are formulated to work in all temperatures. So if you’re detergent isn’t working in cold, you should think about switching your detergent.”
Why shouldn’t you use hot water to wash clothes?
Pateras points out that 90% of the energy a washer uses comes from heating water. So switching to cold water could save you big time on your monthly energy bill. According to Payless Power, washers and dryers contribute an average of $264 to annual energy costs.
Plus, there are several benefits to switching to cold water.
“Cold can save your colors because warm and hot water is the leading cause of color fade,” she claims. This is because hot water can make the dye in the fabric loosen and bleed into the water—which could also affect the tone of other items in the wash. “Cold is much gentler on delicates. Cold will also reduce wrinkles.”
However, there are a few cases in which Pateras recommends using hot water.
“You’ll want to use hot if someone in the house is sick. And you can still use hot for towels, whites, sheets, and diapers,” she notes, as hot water can kill bacteria adhering to fabrics. “But you definitely don’t need to do most of your washes in hot water.”
Does hot water clean clothes more effectively?
While Pateras points out that a detergent should be doing the work to clean clothes at any temperature, some viewers aren’t convinced.
“I feel like socks & underwear don’t get as clean in cold water,” one writes.
“I find that warm water definitely cleans better and I use Tide. I only use cold if I’m washing delicates or lightly soiled laundry,” another says.
However, others say they’ve made the switch to cold with great results.
“Melissa, you have SAVED my clothes. They don’t fade or wear as fast when washed on cold and my clothes FIT. I grew up believing hot was the only option. I adore your content!” one viewer exclaims.
“Cold always! I noticed how many shirts weren’t fitting anymore and their shape had changed, so I switched to cold and never went back,” another writes.
“My clothes would be shrinking every wash and it would be stuff I just bought and I was legit gaslighting myself into thinking I has gained so much weight.. nope just the hot water,” a third shares.
@melissadilkespateras Cold water wash #laundrytok #laundry #save #cleantok ♬ original sound – Laundrytok | Melissa Pateras
The Daily Dot reached out to Pateras via email and TikTok direct message for further comment.
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