Everyone needs to wash their laundry, but the process is quickly changing. Most people wash their laundry in warm or hot water, but there is a growing movement to change to cold water. Since warm water has been the norm for several centuries, there is some reluctance to switch to using only cold water. If you are thinking about changing how you do your laundry, here are four reasons why you should consider switching to using only cold water.
Less Heat Saves Energy
One of the most immediate advantages to using cold water on your laundry is that it saves you money. Washers use electricity to heat the water entering your washer. You could use a gas heating system as an alternative, but both cost you more money than you need to spend on your laundry. The water sitting in your pipes will, naturally, be cold when it reaches your washer. Without the need to heat it, you can save on your energy bills. The savings per wash is not high, but they add up over time. The cumulative savings may be worth the change to cold water.
Heat is Not Needed Anymore
In the last century, people heated their clothes to kill bacteria and bugs that may have gotten in them. While it may be tempting to do that now, it’s not really necessary. Detergents often kill the bacteria that you would find on clothes. Heat also used to help with removing stains. New detergents are better at removing stains from soiled clothing, so you need less heat to get stains out. What is really important to removing stains is mechanical motion which washers have always provided.
Technology is More Effective
The technology behind producing and cleaning clothes is more effective than it has ever been. Detergents are better at removing stains at lower temperature levels. In the past, they took the needed energy for their chemical reactions from the hot water. Now, detergents are chemically designed to generate all of the energy that they need simply by being added to water. Combined with more effective motion control from new washing machine technologies, there isn’t a need for hot water to effectively clean clothes.
It’s Better for the Environment
Perhaps the most significant advantage is that using cold water is better for the environment. Producing energy is expensive and taxing on the environment. As regulations change to try to force companies to reduce their carbon footprint, people need to reduce their consumption for the effects to be widespread. If everyone stopped using hot water on their laundry, the impact on the energy companies and the environment would be substantial.
Cold water washing is likely going to be the standard going forward. While it won’t be impossible for you to use hot water, it is a good idea to start making the switch when you can. You’ll benefit from switching to cold water, and so will the environment.
If you want to spend less time thinking about your laundry, call the Laundry Butlers at 603-931-0995. We’d be happy to help keep laundry clean.
