It’s January, there’s lots of snow, its winter and it’s COLD!! Larger energy bills are due to show up in your mailbox. What are some options for helping to keep these in check?

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 Facts

• Heating water is a major energy cost – Winter energy costs increase due mainly to home heating and hot water production. A key reason these costs rise in winter is the incoming cold water temperature plummet from those warm summer tap values. The cold water is delivered to your home usually from large pipes that transport surface water from a reservoir. While summertime incoming temperatures can reach the 70ºs, during winter I have seen values in the 30ºs in Northern U.S. taps. So to get to that 130ºF hot water in your tank in summer only requires a 60º (130-70) change while in winter it can require a 90º change (130-40). When you multiple this difference hot water tank after hot water tank, it really starts to add up. Unfortunately this takes a bigger chunk out of your paycheck during the winter months.


• Some studies sponsored and published by Procter & Gamble suggest that a little more than 1/3 of the total hot water usage in the home is for laundry.


• Further, 80-85% of the total energy consumed by a conventional top-loader washloads is from heating the hot water. The remainder is the energy needed to power the agitator for providing the mechanical energy in cleaning the clothes.


• For a number of years, washer manufacturers have relied primarily on changing the hot to cold water ratio for the warm water wash setting to achieve the reductions necessary to achieve the lower Energy Star ratings on new machine.


• The result has been a decrease in warm water wash temperatures. In the past it was possible to depend on a warm wash to be around 90ºF. With the newer washers and these higher cold water mixtures, it is possible for warm washes in winter to slip into the 60ºs. That is a huge difference and definitely impacts your detergent performance.

Next time I will talk about some laundering challenges presented by cool and cold water.

Q: My husband got sprayed with diesel fuel. He came home and washed his clothes right away in hot water. However, the yellowish stain is still there and the smell is awful. Do you have any suggestions on how to get even the smell out of that? Thank you!

A: I'm assuming that you have already dried them in clothes dyer so the stain may be set and tougher to remove. Always be very careful not to get a diesel/gasoline smelling clothes too hot in the dryer; you may want to consider air drying until the smell dissipates. Sometimes a good long soak can help; would probably try a detergent and appropriate bleach (Clorox if whites or Clorox 2 if colors) in presoak even overnight. Try rubbing the yellow stain with good liquid detergent before washing after soaking. Use hottest water recommended for the garments in the follow-up washing. It may take a couple of these treatments to be successful.

Q: My husband washed a red sweatshirt with his whites which are now pink. Can his dress shirts be saved and turned white again? They are cotton/polyester blend.

A: Oops on the red sweatshirt! After the shirts have been dried they are pretty well dyed pink from the red dye. If they are white you might try soaking in Clorox Regular-Bleach (¼ cup in gallon of cool water for 5-10 minutes) then wash in hot water with detergent plus ¾ cup Clorox Regular-Bleach. If that doesn't work, the last resort is dye remover like Rit, but this is kind of powerful stuff. If all else fails might be time for some new dress shirts....

Q: Dr. Laundry, how do I remove mildew from my table cloth? It is 52% cotton and 48% polyester. Please help!

A: The best thing for removing mildew is Clorox Regular-Bleach. Assuming the tablecloth is white or bleachable (See Bleachability test if unsure). I would either do a short soak (¼ cup Clorox Regular Bleach in gallon of cool water for 5-10 minutes) then wash in hottest water recommended for the tablecloth using detergent plus ¾ cup Clorox Regular-Bleach. An alternative would be to use the Clorox Bleach Pen Gel if a few spots are involved. Simply rub on the mildew spots then wash in hottest water recommended for the tablecloth using detergent plus ¾ cup Clorox Regular-Bleach.

If colored, you might try wetting with cool water, applying Clorox 2 and rubbing into the mildew, waiting 5-10 minutes then wash in hottest water recommended for the tablecloth using detergent plus the recommended amount of Clorox 2. Since Clorox 2 is weaker bleach, you may have to repeat the procedure.

Q: I have a lot of white clothes that look a bit yellow. I always add bleach to water and pour in after washer is full. I even add a bit of bluing the same way. But they continue to look dingy or yellowed. Can you help me?

A: There are several potential causes of yellowing whites. Some are easier than others to correct. A couple of clarifying points on your laundry practices: When you add the liquid bleach is this after the clothes have started to agitate or is this just before agitation starts? Direct application without the agitation can sometimes cause yellow spotting.

• Metals in water supply: Several metals, especially iron and manganese react with liquid bleach, change to a yellowish brown and deposit on fabrics. Clorox® Regular-Bleach has a patented polymer to wrap-up these metals and prevents them from reacting with bleach. Unfortunately, if you used another liquid bleach and this reaction occurred and the reaction products deposited on the fabrics, it is nearly impossible to remove. The only potential solution to already "stained" clothes is a dye remover product like Rit, but these are pretty harsh and should be used as a last resort.


• Over packing the washer/under using detergent or Clorox® Regular-Bleach: Over packing means the washer agitator energy has to be spread across more clothes and leads to less cleaning. The under usage means these products have to work harder and if you have hard water or dirty clothes, there just aren’t enough goodies to get the clothes clean. Slowly overtime the residual soil will discolor and leave a dingy appearance.


• Bluing is a dye that is meant to enhance the white hue on clothes. If the clothes are not clean and white, the blue hue can actually make them appear dingier/less clean.

So standard washing procedure should be: sort; don't overload; use hot water; use appropriate amount of detergent and bleach; if you have hard or well water make sure you are using Clorox® Regular-Bleach with Whitest Whites Patented Technology on the label to bind up the metals and keep them from discoloring your whites.

Q: My daughter has a grease stain on her new ski coat. The grease stain came from the ski’s chair lift. The shell of the coat is 100% nylon. Any suggestions?

A: The best bet for grease on nylon jacket include: Pre-treating using good liquid detergent or stain and soil remover like Shout; rub into stain and let it set for 5-10 minutes before washing in hottest water recommended for the jacket. Make sure you check for total stain removal before drying in dryer. The extra heat from the dryer can spread the stain and make subsequent removal more difficult. If you aren't successful, then repeat the process again.