But hot water also allows bleach and enzymes to work better and grease to dissolve better.
And drying on high heat doesn't mean that the clothes get hot, because of the cooling action of the evaporation of the water.
Nope...I'll use hot water for linens and towels.
Linda C

Please, I'm not doubting you, but...is there scientific evidence that hot water cleans better for normal soil? How do you judge "clean"?

The sheets coming out of my dryer are HOT!

As someone with increasingly bad allergies (thanks in part due to this toxic mess of a house we now live in) I have to be very careful about things such as this.

Washing in cold and doing a simple dry on high heat (on most dryers, our old very energy inefficient gas one included) will NOT cut it for dust mites or bacteria.

This study says that 100% of dust mites are killed only at a water temp of 60 C/140 F.

This one suggests at least 30 minutes in the dryer at 60 C. I'd have to be running 2 or 3 cycles to get that temperature for that amount of time - far more work and cost than doing a hot water wash and a normal low heat dry cycle.

Several times I've not been thinking when putting in a load of towels or sheets and done them on cold water (in a Bosch front loader). I can put it IMMEDIATELY into the dryer on high after the wash and complete the cycle, pulling them out when they are bone dry and too hot to do anything other than put them in the laundry basket to sort a few minutes later after they cool down. Yet those sheets and towels have a musty scent to them. They appear to be "clean" to the eye, yet they obviously are carrying mold and/or mildew spores. Yes, they feel hot, but the temperature that actually kills things is probably far hotter than you'd imagine.

Thanks, UV! I guess allergists don't all read the same reports.

Sorry for your problems. Yes, it is probably your home that is causing them. I developed sinusitis, then asthma while we lived in a crawl-space house. Since moving to a new home with a basement I'm much better. Some credit has to go to Advair! One "cure" leads to further problems. I've had to use steroids so many times over the years of asthma that my bones are in awful condition. I really believe that we should have moved twenty-five years earlier!

I prefer to use a hot wash, cold rinse, air dry and finish with at least 15 minutes in a hot dryer. My laundry always looks and smells clean. This was recommended by the manufacturer of my washer and dryer, Sears Kenmore.