What temperature should you wash at

Short answer: Forty degrees covers almost all everyday clothing. Thirty is enough for lightly soiled clothes, and sixty or more is only for towels and bed linen.

Forty degrees is the standard

Forty washes clean without needless wear on colour and elastic. It suits most everyday items: underwear, T-shirts, socks and soft trousers. The water is warm enough to loosen sweat and ordinary dirt, but not so hot that colour fades quickly or elastic loses its stretch. See bamboo bra.

Thirty for light loads

Lightly soiled clothes come clean at thirty and save electricity. That applies to a top worn for a single evening, for example. Thirty degrees is also gentler, but it does not remove grease as well. If there are stains from food or skin cream, forty is the safe choice. See women's socks.

Sixty for towels and bed linen

High temperatures are only needed where things should be disinfected. Towels, tea towels and bed linen are the typical examples, because they are in contact with moisture and skin for long periods. Everyday clothes are damaged by that heat without getting noticeably cleaner. See women's bamboo T-shirts.

Read the care label first

The care label tells you how much the fabric can take. If it says forty, that is an upper limit, not a requirement. You can always go lower if the clothes are only lightly soiled. If it says thirty, stay there, because the fabric or elastic may suffer at higher temperatures.

Sort by temperature

The easiest way to avoid mistakes is to sort by temperature before loading the machine. Towels and bed linen in one pile, everyday clothes in another and delicates in a third. That way a T-shirt never ends up in a hot wash by accident, and there is no guessing at the machine.

Detergent matters more than degrees

Many people turn the temperature up when clothes do not come clean, but the dose is often the real problem. Too little detergent does not loosen the dirt, and too much settles in the fabric and makes it stiff. Follow the pack, based on how dirty the clothes are and how hard your water is.

Load the machine properly

An overfilled machine does not wash well, whatever the temperature. Clothes need room to move through the water. Leave about a hand's width free at the top of the drum. A half empty machine washes fine, but it uses water and electricity on very few clothes.

Lower temperatures protect colour

Every step up in temperature takes a little more colour out of the fabric. It shows most in dark colours. Keeping everyday clothes at forty or thirty degrees helps them hold their colour, and elastic in waistbands and leg openings keeps its stretch. Two good reasons not to turn it up without cause.

Frequently asked questions

What temperature suits everyday clothes

Forty degrees. It washes clean without needless wear on colour and elastic, and it covers almost all ordinary laundry in a busy week.

When is thirty degrees enough

For lightly soiled clothes without stains. Thirty saves electricity and is gentler, but it does not remove grease as well as a wash at forty.

When should you go up to sixty

Only for towels and bed linen. Everyday clothes are damaged by that temperature without getting noticeably cleaner, so keep them out of the hot washes.