Ultra-low temperature clothes washing

Washing machines can be an awful waste at times. They use a lot of water so make sure you have a full load before using one. Modern machines do judge the correct amount of water for a particular load but nothing is more efficient than filling a washing machine to its full capacity.

A lot of electricity is wasted in washing machines too. Many machines only have cold water inputs and that water has to be heated, via an electric element, to the chosen wash temperature. About 90% of the electricity used by a washing machine goes into heating the water.

A friend of mine decided not to bother replacing his old machine and now washes everything by hand. Suffering from a bad back I have to use a washing machine as hand washing would be agony. When using my machine I always wash at the lowest temperature programme at 30C. I have not had any problems with the quality of wash at that temperature, which means I use less electricity to heat the water.

Washing powder companies are now looking at ultra-low temperature powders to reduce further the need to heat water. Ariel's Excel gel can wash clothes in water at just 15C.

Guardian - Does washing at 15C work?