Cleaning/Drying Collards in a Washing Machine
kandm
15 years ago
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m2mom
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Skip Hot Wash if You Machine Dry
Comments (5)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....See MoreSafe to machine wash/dry polyester, silk, nylon blanket?
Comments (4)I probably wouldn't take the chance. I have successfully hand washed "dry clean only" silk without problem and I have successfully hand washed small pieces of needlework with metallic thread without a problem. Where you might have a problem is when you have a variety of opposing threads going their own way when wet (silk, metal, nylon, etc). Is the blanket badly soiled, or does it just need freshening? How about trying one of those dryer freshening products that don't use water or heat. I guess it comes down to how much risk are you willing to take. If you hand wash it once and it turns out ok -- you'll know what to do in the future. If it turns out bad ...? I've also heard (may be a myth) that if you dry clean silk once, after that you can safely hand wash because the dry clean chemicals kind of "set" the threads so they won't pull up when wet. If you have a really trusted dry cleaner, maybe you can get honest advice from them. I'll be curious to know what you do and what happens. Good Luck! Annie...See MoreTo Machine Wash or Not To Machine Wash...that is the question
Comments (18)I hate to tell you this, but washing is no guarantee that fabrics won't bleed later. I have no idea why, but even fabric from the same bolt might act differently. Just yesterday, I had a small scrap of RJR panel print to make a label for a quilt. Spritzed it a bit first with cold water to press first, and very soon, the reds ran. All the fabrics were rinsed in cold water before I used them, and nothing ran. So, I got another idential scrap, and rinsed it in cold water first, to check. No running. Huh? So I got another and spritzed it. No running. It was all from the same bolt. Hmmmm. I guess I will just use one that didn't run. Go figure. I'm left to wonder what will happen if the quilt itself ever gets washed. It would not be the first time I've had this happen. BlueBars...See MoreSkip Hot Water Washing if You Machine Dry
Comments (5)Well, that's got some merit, if the only reason you use hot water is for killing dust mites. But there's many more reasons for using hot water for washing and use lower dryer temps as many newer dryers do. Actually many new dryers don't give the temp to do this. If you have a very old or very cheap dryer, the high temp can still be there. And given the "return" to clotheslines that's becoming more common today, There's a decrease (albeit not massive and complete conversion) in dryer use. There's a lot of threads on performance in the laundry, appliance and cleaning forums so I won't go into great detail here, but here's a few other reasons: -Powdered detergents and additives dissolve much better in hot water -Enzymes, many detergents and additives work better in hot water -Using a profile wash will remove many stains better -Using cold wash and a hot dryer can set stains in clothes so that they're difficult or nearly impossible to remove (if not impossible!) No sense rehashing what's far better explained elsewhere, but just some more info to consider....See Morekandm
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