In my last three posts, I discussed the ins-and-outs of cold water laundry. Today, I’m excited to share our latest introduction as a part of new Clorox® Plus™ line: Clorox® Plus™ Coldwater Bleach which starts shipping this month.

This product is specially formulated to provide powerful whitening in energy saving cold water. We have maintained the same sodium hypochlorite active level of Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Since detergent performance drops off dramatically as wash temperatures plunge, the need for good bleaching power to help shore up the sagging detergent performance will be extra important to consumers. Since consumers also expect bleach to deliver great whitening on their white items, we added extra ingredients to slightly boost the wash pH and therefore provide better whitening than using Clorox® Regular-Bleach in cold water. As always Coldwater Bleach will provide whitening better than using detergent alone. So for consumers washing in cold water, there is NOW a bleach specifically formulated for them.

Buy some (I think it will be in Wal*Mart shortly), try it and let me know what you think.

Q: My father recently passed away and left behind two, white straw cowboy hats. I would like to give the hats to my young grandchildren, his great grandchildren, as a remembrance. We have several pictures of him in those hats and the youngsters remember him that way. The problem is, the hats are sweat stained and I would like to get them clean. How can I do that?

A: Sorry to hear about the loss of your father. Unfortunately, I don't have a good solution for your sweat stained hat brim. I could recommend some products to treat the sweat areas but any washing might weaken the straw and I would not want to risk compromising the hat. Another concern is that as some components of the sweat age, they change color usually to yellow/brown and the best option is usually bleach to clean that up. I am worried that bleach would be too strong and damage the hats. Not sure if there is a way to try steam cleaning them carefully, but that is the best alternative I can think of at this time.

In my last post, I discussed basics cold water laundry facts. Today, let’s talk about some performance and end-result differences you’re likely to encounter and some tips on how to deal with washing in cold water.

COLD WATER LAUNDRY RESULTS and TIPS


Things Dissolve SLOWER in Cold Water

The biggest dissolving issue is with powders, but liquids also are slower to disperse. It is very important that you insure products are dissolved/dispersed before adding clothes. Telltale signs that you were unsuccessful will include white specs/smears with powders and blue/gray spotting with liquids. If this happens, immediately rinse with warm water, wring out the excess, and then dry as usual. Neglect these signs and your clothes could appear duller.

• Tips:
  
  
  
  • As the washer fills always add laundry products and give them time to dissolve before adding clothes. You might try either swishing the agitator or start with hot water for the first 2-3 inches, then add the laundry products, swish the agitator before switching to the cold water setting.
  
  
  • Don’t over pack the washer and use at least the recommended amount of each product.
  
  
  • Look for cold water versions of your laundry products. They have been specially formulated to provide better cold water performance and may have special ingredients and/or be thinner for better dissolving/dispersing.
  
  

Stains and Soils are MUCH Harder to Remove in Cold Water

The key component to getting clean clothes is your choice of detergent. They contain ingredients such as surfactants, enzymes and builders to attack, dissolve and suspend the stains and soils on your clothes. Laboratory cleaning studies show that better cleaning happens in hotter water. Cleaning decreases from hot to warm to cool to cold. Since cold water can be 70ºF down to 35ºF in winter, this will have a dramatic impact on your stain and soil removal. Technical wisdom says that stain removal will drop an order of magnitude for each 10ºF so expected winter performance can vary widely. If the detergent performance is going to drop, how can you make up for it?

• Tips:
  
  
  
  • Actively look for stains and soils on clothes before they go in the washer.
  
  
  • Since greasy/oily stains are best removed in hot water, you will need to pretreat these with liquid detergent or stain and soil remover BEFORE washing. Follow directions on the back label for best results.
  
  
  • Really muddy items will also need extra help. Consider doing a warm water presoaking for 30 minutes or longer BEFORE washing. Always discard the presoak solution before starting to wash.
  
  
  • ALWAYS check for success at the end of the wash cycle. Retreat the item if needed. Drying some greasy/oily stains will set the stain making subsequent removal more difficult/impossible to remove.
  
  

Colder water may lead to more residual germs on your clothes

I have written on this subject several times in the past. Clothes can carry germs into the washer and these can survive in less stressful conditions like warm/cool water. If they are not controlled, they will transfer to other clothes in the same wash and you can “help” spread them when you transfer clothes from washer to dryer. Remember the dryer heat is also not enough to eliminate these problems.

• Tips:
  
  
  
  • A good way to deal with this problem is the use of a disinfecting liquid bleach. Consider doing your white load first using liquid bleach to remove any left-over germs from prior washings; kind of like mouthwash for your washer.
  
  
  • Consider washing heavily soiled items, diapers or bedding in hot water with liquid bleach to help keep germs in check.
  
  
  
  

Choices, choices, choices

So now you have the facts and some tips to help you decide when/if cold water washing is appropriate for you. I certainly think it has a place and should be a part of your laundry regime. However, given some of the potential pitfalls, you might want to pick and choose when to use it. It is true that most of adult garments don’t get as dirty as they did for our parents or grandparents and a lot of these may be colored so that cool/cold water washing is ok. During the winter, I would be more cautious with heavily soiled kids clothes, baby clothes and bedding and do these in warmer water. In late spring or summer it may be ok to switch to cool water since the incoming cold water has warmed up.

Next time I will talk about some new additions to our Clorox line for cold water.

Last time I talked about some of the basics behind cold water usage. Today, I want to focus on the challenges that washing in cold water presents to the consumer. With a little better understanding, you should be better prepared to make the plunge into cold water laundering.

Many people are looking for ways to cut energy costs, save dollars and help the environment. Also, many companies have their eye on these trends and are developing products that can help consumers meet these needs. So I thought I would do a series of blogs on the Cold Water phenomena starting with a little background.

BASIC COLD WATER LAUNDRY FACTS

To get good laundry results in cold water, you might want to spend more time in the preparing and planning phase. Remember with decreasing wash temperature, your detergent’s cleaning and stain removal performance will drop off rather quickly. So here are some of my recommendations:

• Sort as usual – whites, lights and dark colors at a minimum.


• Use a good quality detergent and at least the recommended amounts on the label. Consider one specially formulated for cold water. They have made some formula adjustments that are geared to giving you better performance in cold water. Use a little extra detergent to help start overcoming the performance drop in water temperature. Also, use a liquid since they will dissolve and disperse better/easier than powders. Undissolved powder can leave streaks on darker colors.


• Start using other high quality additives to help boost the detergent’s performance. Consider liquid bleach, color safe bleach, pre-treat or stain and soil removers.


• Do NOT overload the washer. Letting the clothes move freely will allow the maximum mechanical energy from the agitator.


• Search for stained and extra dirty items before you wash. Pretreating (apply product/rub into stain/let set 5+ minutes before washing) these problems is a jumpstart on improving removal. It is also extremely important for greasy/oily stains which are much harder to solubilize/dissolve in cold water.


• Extra muddy/dirty items? Try presoaking these before washing using a good powdered detergent or color safe bleach which has extra builders to help lift off the mud and dirt. I like to do this in a separate bucket or sink. If that doesn’t work, then start the washer, fill to maybe ¼ level and then turn off the water. Now, add the powdered product and swish it around to be sure it’s fully dissolved. Finally add the soiled clothes and make sure they are submerged in the presoak liquid. Let them stand 30 min to 1 hour for dark colors and longer for light colors and whites. Drain the presoak water and then launder as usual.


• Always check items for success in stain and soil removal at the end of the wash BEFORE they are dried. The heat of the dryer can set some stains making them much more difficult or impossible to remove next time.

Next time I will talk about some expected performance changes from washing in cool and cold water.