If you're doing laundry at the local laundromat, you may not care that washing your clothes in cold water is more energy efficient. However, there are a number of benefits to washing your clothes in cold water. Read on to discover more.
Is doing laundry with HOT Water bad?
Not necessarily. If your clothes are filthy or need to be sanitized, hot water may be the most effective way to get the job done. However, we find that when using hot water, tiny plastic particles called microfibers tend to shed more (especially in synthetic fabrics like polyester or nylon). Those microfibers end up in the ocean and our drinking water, making doing laundry with hot water bad for the environment.
You may be thinking, "isn't that what wastewater treatment plants are for?" Yes, but... The problem is that these treatment centers aren't able to filter out all the particles, which is why we have so much plastic polluting our oceans. Taken a step further, those small pieces of plastics are often mistaken as food, and in the circle of life, we end up eating plastic.
There's more to the story, so we can address hot water in more detail at a later date, but for today's article, let's discuss the benefits of doing laundry with cold water.
The Benefits of doing laundry with Cold Water
Going back to those microfibers and ocean pollution, one way to break the cycle is to wash your clothes in cold water since the amount of microfibers released during a cold-wash cycle is typically less than a hot-wash cycle according to recent studies.
But what if you don't care about the environment? No worries - we got you!
Cold Water is safe for almost anything you'd wash in the washing machine
Just about anything you'd put in the wash can be safely washed with cold water. We can't always say the same about hot water.
Cold water is incredibly effective at removing stains
There's a common misunderstanding that stain removable requires hot water. Interestingly enough, cold water can remove most stains from clothing, including grass stains and makeup smudges. Furthermore, hot water can actually set stains permanently. For example, if you try to remove a blood or sweat stain in hot water, your clothing will likely be permanently stained.
Delicates, darks and vibrant colors do better in cold water
Pay attention to the care label in your clothing. Most labels for delicate fabrics such as lace or silk, as well as dark clothing or vibrant colorful fabrics will recommend using cold water. Hot water tends to break down these fabrics faster causing damage to delicates and fading to darks and vibrant colors.
Your clothing is less likely to shrink, fade or wrinkle in cold water
Hot water has a tendency to shrink, fade and wrinkle certain fabrics. Knowing this, if you've ever bought clothing that is too big, you can usually get a slightly better fit by washing the item in hot water (followed by a hot dry). However, most of us want to avoid shrinking, fading and wrinkles. Washing with cold water means your clothes are less likely to shrink, fade or wrinkle, which means your clothes will last longer!
As you can see, there are a number of benefits to using cold water, so the next time you head to your local laundromat, you can confidently wash your clothes in cold water.
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