Lord, I don't! I used to use warm on sheets, but learned better here. My laundry has been vastly improved by hot for sheets and towels.

I use cold for my seldom used as in guest room quilts that have deep colors like blues and reds to reduce fading. The utility quilts used daily in winter are washed in warm. Sickies get white everything washed in hot. Those utility quilts will last about 30 years but they won't be as pretty as the seldom washed.

Sheets, bed pads and pillow protectors are all washed in hot water. Blankets are washed in warm. In the dryer everything is dried on medium or cooler, nothing higher than medium.

I wash wool blankets in cold water, maybe adding a little warm in the winter if the water is too cold.

I think there can be shrinkage in the washing machine depending on the fabric. Wool would be an extreme example but you felt it by washing it with hot water, detergent and a lot of agitation.

Cold means 85, right? Lol. I prefer more heat, longer cycles and less detergent. I also prefer boil washing to bleaching if the fabrics can take it. My LG has a cold wash cycle. It increases the wash time by about 25% and adds an extra rinse. It would seem that my washer is paranoid about cold water laundry too :).

My husband is a Corporate Trainer for a chemical manufacturer and distributer. A prison system decided to switch to cold water, enzyme detergent and an ozone system vs the traditional commercial laundry practices to save a few $$ and be more eco friendly. Within a month they had issues with bacterial infections.

Not a dumb question. Most people know from repeatedly testing their wash temperature on various cycles using an instant read thermometer. People with certain model Miele or Asko machines (or almost any brand in Europe) have cycles that list the actual temperature. My machine goes up in increments of roughly 10 degrees from 85F to 200F.

Workout clothes, daily cotton clothes and bath towels....120F. Cold fill, then heated to target temp. 3 Rinses always, DEEP water rinses at that too ;)

Sheets 130F usually. Same...cold fill, 3 rinses!

White kitchen towels and white hand towels...140F, 150F or 160F. I have not felt the need to go above 160F, although I have tried up to 200F for fun. TOO hot!

If I have new clothes to wash, like right from the store....I will use 105 or 115. I have not gone below 105 one time on my Miele washer!!!

Hot for bedding, towels and whites, warm for colours and darks. I don't think my washer dial has ever been turned to cold! I do have a colours setting that is below warm that I use for delicates but the cold and tap cold never get used.

Our cold water tap is running at 90F right now, so I don't think we'll ever be below 105F either, larsi_gw.

@ Jeff...where are you? For much of the year....our tap cold is 85F. LOL

larsi_gw, we are in Atlanta, morning temps in upper 60s, afternoons in lower 90s. But that's not the problem, or not most of it, anyway. We are in a high-rise, and our water pipes branch off of vertical runs. When the building was converted to condos in 2002, the developer replaced most of the "old-fashioned" two-knobbed faucets with "modern" single lever models.

Cheap, "modern" single handled faucets, with plastic internal parts. Price-Pfisters, I understand.

Over the years, those plastic parts wear. The mixer valve then no longer keeps the hot and cold water separated when the faucet is off. Apparently, our hot water pressure is higher than the cold water pressure, so hot water leaks into the cold water pipes, but no water is dripping from the faucet. This is all internal.

So it's very noticeable in the unit with the bad faucet - the toilet tank is hot, for example. In units above and below, however, it's more subtle the further away you are from the source.

These tend to self-correct, as it's pretty intolerable in the source unit. But some of our units are rentals, and depending on the quality of the landlord, may or may not be addressed in a timely manner.

I'm tempted to replace our Hansgrohe temp balanced shower/tub valve with a two-knobbed system, after the problems we've had with it. But that story is for another day.

Only time I use cold water is when I first buy new bedding and want to wash the 'new' off. If I ever used the ancient wool quilts, I'd probably wash them in cold, also. The rest of my bedding was purchased specifically for warm/hot washing.

"Only time I use cold water is when I first buy new bedding and want to wash the 'new' off."

Hmmm. Seems reasonable that at least a little heat would be indicated to help flush away manufacturing/chemical residue.

I have a small collection of t-shirts from TeeFury.com. Those are pretty much the only items I normally wash in "cold" water. Majority are black, navy, brown, or red. Cold in quotes being that tap-cold varies widely per the season. Typically reaches 85°F+ in summer. I blend-in some hot in winter to target 75°F to 80°F.

The temp selection on my washer stays on warm and hot. Depending on the season, actual temps vary. Only time cold is selected is when my DD did her wash while living here, Although I showed her one time when temp was 47 in the rinse cycle. Guess it didn't sink in.

Only certain things like pleated techno fabrics. Otherwise warm and up.

I only use cold water when I wash my father's Army blanket that he got in the Navy (yup) in 1942 (yup). It is extraordinarily heavy and my hubs loves to use it in the winter because he likes its weight. I use Vaska and cold water and even the cold water shrunk the blanket ever so little the first time. Then I had it cleaned at a dry cleaner's and it smelled awful, so have washed it myself ever since, let's say for about 35 years now. Hang it outside to dry in the shade.

Come to think of it, I should get Authenticity 50's duvet for it, to keep it cleaner. I thank the gentleman here who linked this company for us. Love their sheets!!!!

Thanks Pat - something else for me to buy!!!

Debbie, save yourself the pain and don't go to their website. Trust me.

Wool blankets can handle some heat..its all in the amount of movement and rinse temps should be the same as wash temps. I love a wool blanket as long as its inside a duvet cover.

Too late Pat. It's on my radar now.

Wanted to mention...I read on another thread here someone's washing jeans at 140degrees? I can understand farm jeans or otherwise heavily soiled rolling in grease jeans..but one would be careful washing colors and darks in temps of 140. That's just to much heat for colors.

Sorry..I just noticed Enduring its you washing your hubs farm cclothes. .that's acceptable and understandable considering the heavy soils.

Speaking of colors in 140 degree water, because hubs is getting both chemo and radiation treatments, the medical people have told me to wash his clothes separate from mine. I translated that to "hot" also for some reason and now all his darks have faded, thanks to me. Paying attention seems to be difficult when you are old as dirt.