Only 50% wash clothes in cold water? COVID & Laundry - Malcolm Gladwell

[underpants]

Last edited Sat Oct 30, 2021, 08:14 AM - Edit history (1)

What Can Our Laundry Choices Teach Us About Vaccine Hesitancy?

https://malcolmgladwell.bulletin.com/561183575021008

https://www.bulletin.com/


A couple of thoughts. First: What do you suppose COVID vaccination rates (currently less than 70 percent in the U.S.) and cold-water laundry use (currently less than 50 percent of laundry loads) will be 10 years from now? I think by 2031, we’ll be close to 100 percent in both cases.


What that P&G marketer was telling me years ago was that they were going to have to fight that indifference if they wanted to convert the world to coldwater laundry. And I would argue that fighting indifference is harder than fighting principled opposition. In the latter case, both of us—me and my principled opponent—care about the thing we disagree on. I can engage their interest with a counter-argument, because they’re already invested in the topic. In the former case, how do I even get their attention? They’ve tuned out. I wonder, in the case of COVID, whether public health types underestimate the number of Americans who just don’t worry that much about COVID. We are at this point 18 months into the pandemic, and the total number of known COVID cases in the United States is just over 37 million. That’s a lot. But that’s out of a total population of 330 million. For an overwhelming number of Americans, COVID is something that happened to someone else.

So what is our “lay” understanding of laundry? It is soap plus hot water equals clean. Over and done. To accept the scientific truth about coldwater laundry, you have to make a giant step in the “expert” direction: you have to revise your intuitive understanding with a set of facts that may or may not, at first, make intuitive sense at all.

And what about bacteria and viruses? Our intuitive notion of laundry is that hot water is necessary not just to remove stains, but also to kill harmful microorganisms. Is that true? Generally, it isn’t. What the experts will tell you is that the hottest water in an American washing machine isn’t hot enough to kill most of the viruses and bacteria that travel on surfaces and fabrics. (You need industrial-grade laundry machines for that—or about 30 minutes in a hot dryer.) And for respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2, which travels much less effectively on surfaces, cold water and detergent does the job. On the question of germ safety, hot water is no better than cold. (It is, as they say, a wash.)

[Dr. Shepper]

1. Cold water washer here

We always have washed in cold. The thought was it would save money.

Now putting on my virologist cap - the dryer should kill off most viruses.

[blueinredohio]

4. Me too!

[olegramps]

30. Will a home dryer sanitize the laundry?

[Wednesdays]

41. I would think it'd be similar to cooking

In that it needs to reach 165F or hotter to completely eliminate all microorganisms.

[Dr. Shepper]

75. Heat, dry air, and wind can disrupt

The outer membrane of many pathogens, so I pretty much trust a basic wash and dry cycle to kill off most organisms. Of course there will be exceptions, but I’m speaking as someone who is exposed to pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi, and Protozoa as part of my job.

ETA - if I am really worried about a pathogen surviving, I would probably use bleach in the load.

[radical noodle]

43. My dryer has a "sanitize" cycle

but I would never count on it actually doing that.

[Dr. Shepper]

74. For the most part, yes

For enveloped viruses. Studies show heat and wind disrupt the envelope. Of course, this is assuming that any material surrounding the virus (dirt, feces) have been washed off in the wash.

[gab13by13]

2. My wife mostly washes cold water.

[Croney]

3. We wash in cold and I don't like the dryer.

I use it for towels and sheets on the lowest setting but I hang most of my clothes up to dry, they last so much longer.

[Dr. Shepper]

7. Sounds lovely

But do you live somewhere warm? I’m in ND and air dry would be nearly impossible 6 months of the year.

[Croney]

11. I live in brisk Massachusetts.

I hang clothes on hangers on the shower-curtain rail, and I have a staircase railing that holds a lot.

[Fla Dem]

37. I grew up just north of Boston in 50's-60's. Family of 6. We did not have a washer OR dryer.

We hung our wash out to dry. Many times the clothes were frozen stiff. I can remember bringing in a pair of pants or dress that could stand up on it's own. It was only in the late 50's that a laundromat became available in our community. My Dad would take the wash there to wash, but would still bring it home to dry outside. Once I got my license, I would take the laundry and do both wash and dry.
We finally got a washer and dryer in the 70's. I don't think it was really a question of cost, but more one of space and utilities. When we finally got a W&D they went in the unfinished basement and plumbing, electrical and venting had to be done.

[we can do it]

5. Always cold water and hang dry.

Didn’t even buy a dryer when we moved.

[piddyprints]

6. Cold water for years.

I make my own detergent and use that or soap nuts. I hang most clothes out to dry, or indoors on a rack if it’s raining.

We’re both triple-vaccinated as of last Saturday.

[mgardener]

22. Good for you!

We got the booster 3 weeks ago.
Flu shots this week.

[piddyprints]

33. Yay!

We both got flu shots. Mine was this week. His was last month. Trying to get all protected against everything.

[Backseat Driver]

8. I continue to use hot on undies, towels, and cotton bedding

The rest is done in cold water. My landlord uses pre-set tanks with a 120 degree limit, so yeah it's likely not any more effective than a cooler water wash; my Maytag is top-loading, HE water levels, but does have both hot and warm settings along with cool, cold, tap cold settings. We sort our loads by weight, color, or function. We're neat adults and seldom get stains but effectively pre-treat those few. The dryer has sensing dry, time dry, and a sanitizer setting that is supposed to use a bit of steam but not sure it's really functional??? I use only eco-friendly non-toxic detergent, liquid and newer strips and sometimes white vinegar in the wash and woolie balls in the dryer. We wear jeans multiple times and still wash them, and I still iron pillow cases and cotton and linen dress shirts/blouses for a smoother, wrinkle-free appearance, and the joke is: only twice a year on rainy days, LOL! That's how it's done here.

[wnylib]

40. I understand ironing shirts and blouses,

but pillow cases? Why bother? My husband's aunt used to iron all her sheets and pillow cases, but it always seemed pointless to me since they wrinkle the first night that you sleep on them and who else sees them? I just fold them as soon as they are dry and smooth them out with my hands. Most are wrinkle resistant today anyway.

[Grasswire2]

73. I actually love ironing.

I hardly ever iron clothes anymore. A shirt, once in a great while.

But I am a collector of vintage linens from estate sales and rummage sales. I can't bear to see handwork and beautiful mid-century (or older) linens go unpreserved, unappreciated. Sigh.

When I get a new find, I process the linens carefully, washing gently and line drying and ironing some.

I love the smell, and the steam, and the folding and care.

And the color and patterns of the bright mid-century cloths, too.

[Joinfortmill]

9. I'll buy that, except for sheets.

[FBaggins]

10. You'll have to fight my indifference I suppose

The temperature I use depends on what I’m washing and why (e.g., types of stains).

[2naSalit]

45. +1

[SaintLouisBlues]

64. Yeah, screw the environment.

[hlthe2b]

12. Disinfection can generally be accomplished by adding detergent with white vinegar soak/rinse

or borax (yup, that 20-mule team is not just an old-fashioned logo). Or, of course, the Lysol and other commercially manufactured additives specific for the job. (Don't use vinegar with borax, at least in the wash, as they are not active together).

I now use white vinegar in the wash and in those old downy-balls in lieu of most fabric softener (occasionally a sheet is needed to contain static electricity, but the white vinegar softens the fabric pretty well).

And I've used nothing but cold water for several years now. Liquid detergent or most of those detergent "packs" (even the cheap ones) can work quite well in cold water.

[lark]

14. I remember when it became possible to get the liquid detergent!

Oh happy day to see the end of clumped up detergent on my clothes and to be able to wash my clothes well in totally cold water was amazing!

[mgardener]

23. Me too!

Went to Sam's club yesterday and saw 2 different types of powder detergent.

Color TV and electric can openers? And microwaves, that was convienece!

[lark]

26. OK, I give you remote controls!!

How that changed our lives & OMG cell phones! I also love those new air fryers too.

Going back though, do you remember what the color tv's looked like at first? It was so bad & we were so extremely happy to get it. Luckily, it improved pretty quickly.

[OldBaldy1701E]

47. You have reminded me about my family

We were the working poor, but for some reason, my parents bought a 19 inch color television in 1968, which was amazing in that we were one of the first families in our area to have one. I remember thinking it was broken at first, because the shows were watched in the afternoon were mostly black and white. It was used until 1989 when the picture tube was so old it was barely visible, even after warming up. It was a great television. Cell phones are a mixed blessing. I agree that it makes more sense to have personal communication as opposed to 'anchored' (as in landlines to your house) technology. But, it seems to have made a sizable part of the population think that other people want to hear a minute by minute commentary of their lives. It has also removed a lot of actual physical interactions between people and I feel that accounts for a lot of why we are here as a country. But, that is just me.

[lark]

48. Agree about the cell phone & add the hand held computer part.

The internet & cell phones have been a bane to real person to person interactions. Too many people are so hooked on them, walking out of work was just bizarre the last 10 years. A very sizeable portion of the people streaming out of the huge high-rise office building were on their phones, not noticing a thing around them. In the older days, there were tons of conversations, but now those are much fewer - sad.

[OldBaldy1701E]

52. Yep. (n/t)

[radical noodle]

50. My dad bought a color TV in 1963

because he wanted to watch The Virginian in color. Ah, the good ol' days...

[OldBaldy1701E]

54. For me it was Star Trek (surprising I know)...

We were able to watch it (this was during reruns... we had B&W for the original run of the show). The colors were awesome! Very psychedelic and attention grabbing. Also, we used to have this thing on channel 13 out of Virginia that showed 'The 6:30 movie' every weekday evening. That is where I got to see all the old horror and sci-fi movies and they were in glorious color! (Well, it was color... we still had antennas and that made anything iffy except for days when the atmospheric skip was helping.)

[radical noodle]

55. At the time we didn't realize

how fondly we would look back at those times. At least I didn't. Now that I'm in my 70s, I find myself remembering all the little things that meant nothing at the time but mean so much now.

[OldBaldy1701E]

56. I think I see it as more

Realizing that the things we were told were important actually are not so, and the things that most people would downplay as irrelevant were actually the important things. It is a shame it takes getting into the elder years to figure this out, but the brainwashing is strong in this country and it is no surprise that we have to have such inner battles when the truth becomes more than obvious.

[radical noodle]

67. Well put!

That's it exactly.

[OldBaldy1701E]

69. Thank you.

(P.S.: the 'radical' noodles are the best one.)

[radical noodle]

72. Aw... thanks!

[Marcuse]

70. It was a miracle.

[radical noodle]

71. I wonder if Walt Disney

had stock in RCA? They were sure good at promoting color tv. Who would want to watch that on black & white?

[2naSalit]

46. I use vinegar on occasion...

And less as the price goes up. Right now white vinegar costs more than a gallon of milk in my end of the planet.

[hlthe2b]

58. The one thing you SHOULD go to Sam's Club for. Two gallons for $6 and change.

I can't honestly name a single product as versatile for cleaning/disinfecting and for cooking purposes as white vinegar and I certainly can't name an effective cleaning product I can buy for $3/gallon. Just don't buy the pint/quart glass bottles from the condiment section of the grocery store. There IS no difference in that and the gallon (food wholesale-style) containers sold at Sam's, except cost.

[2naSalit]

59. I'd have to go to...

Another state to find one of those stores. I looked at the Winco in the next county over last week and they have the lowest price anywhere, even Costco. I use vinegar for a lot of things because super hard water leave evaporates all over everything.

I have to run it through the washer regularly to keep the minerals from seizing the works up in the machine, etc..

[hlthe2b]

60. Walmart sells gallons too for a reasonable price--not as good a deal as Sam's but more affordable.

[2naSalit]

61. Thanks...

I avoid that place like the plague. I manage okay without them, I just have to budget my vinegar use.

[hlthe2b]

62. I understand fully. I will only go to Walmart for those items I can't find ANYWHERE else...

I do feel the same about Sam's Club, but I buy the Costco membership and my sister buys Sam's and we put each other on our cards. The Sam's very near me is clean, well-staffed and they appear to treat their employees well--PLUS they have always been good about enforcing masks, so I do give them some props for that.

[wnylib]

49. Does vinegar ever leave an odor on the clothes?

I have some items that I hang to dry instead of putting them in the dryer.

[hlthe2b]

57. Nope. Not a problem

[2naSalit]

63. As long as they are rinsed, nope.

Helps get odors our of fabrics in many cases. I used to use a mixture of i cup vinegar, two tablespoons of Dawn and 1/8 cup of detergent to get crude oil and other petro products out of my clothes when I drove a tanker truck. Only thing that worked back then.

[lark]

13. Why isn't everyone using cold water, it's so much better for the clothes & the environment?

I've been doing cold water laundry for decades with no problems whatsoever. I also use the cheap Aldi brands which work every bit as well as the more expensive name brands for a whole lot less $$$.

[underpants]

17. I thought so.

We do.

[catrose]

32. Same here.

[FailureToCommunicate]

15. For ticks or -heaven forbid- bed bugs, you must dry in hot dryer for 30 minutes or more...

Doesn't matter a whit what temp the wash water is.

So, might as well use cold.

That might change the minds of a few holdouts.

[mgardener]

25. Also need to use the dryer

For killing head lice on clothing and bedding.

[luckone]

53. Thanks I thought bed bugs died in water (washer) I never had bb s so I thought that was the way

with thrift store clothes to avoid them . Oops some stuff I just hung up from cold water washer no dryer used after I purchased - guess I have been lucky not to pick up something extra because this town is hopping
(Chicago)

[MaryMagdaline]

16. Cold water only

Hot water shrinks clothes and uses more energy.

[underpants]

18. Well

I’ve found it ain’t the laundry that’s shrinks my clothes, it’s the fridge. 😁

[MaryMagdaline]

19. That must be it!!

[3auld6phart]

24. Good one

Morning chuckle. Dang fridges, funny how that works.Cold water washes for many years.

[Rebl2]

39. 🤣🤣🤣

[dalton99a]

44. +1

[SamKnause]

20. Cold water.

Detergent.

Vinegar.

Baking soda.


The vinegar cuts through and breaks down oils.

The baking soda gets rid of any smells.

The detergent gets rid of the dirt.

I haven't used hot water for washing clothes for decades.

[CrispyQ]

51. Do you add all three to the wash at the same time? -nt

[SamKnause]

66. Yes.

I also pour vinegar directly on stains and let stand for 10 or so minutes before I begin to fill the washer with water.

The 3 combined seem to brighten colors and liven up older clothes.

They smell nice as well.

[ms liberty]

27. All in cold here, except

Clothing recommended to wash warm, towels, sheets, and the dog towels and bedding. I use the dryer for most of my laundry because I'm in the south where the allergens are always approaching the red zone.

[bamagal62]

28. I use cold for everything except

towels. My machine has a sanitize setting. Anything I wash on sanitize can sit there for days and not spoil. If I forget clothes that were washed in cold for more than 24 hours, they spoil. That tells me the cold water and soap did not kill all the bacteria.

[Upthevibe]

29. I've washed in cold water as long as I can remember...

.......................

[PatrickforB]

31. I always use cold because I dislike having my clothes shrink.

If you wash hot and dry hot or even warm, there WILL be shrinkage.

[underpants]

35. See post 18 above

[PatrickforB]

38. LOL! Yep. Eliminating laundry shrinkage is only half the battle.

[Bob_in_VA]

34. One of the best detergents

according to Consumer Reports is the Kirkland brand from Costco. That's what I use. Does a fine job and costs about half of what the national brands cost. Oh, yeah. Everything is washed in cold water.

[appleannie1]

36. It's been years since I used hot water.

My f-in-l owned a garage and before he died my hubby used to work in the garage on the weekends. I washed the clothes he wore working on cars in hot water. My F-in-l died in the 1990's. I think hot water is more likely to set stains than cold water is and colored clothes don't get faded looking in cold water.

[SheltieLover]

42. Always cold water for wash

Haha - the fridge...

[RicROC]

65. Oxygenated water uses cold water

1) I use oxygenated water from the brand EcoWasher, which is connected to my cold water line. Theoretically, this water kills germs, virus, and bacteria in 5 minutes and also washes with NO soap. It has a cost ($249. ?) but I think totally worth it to control my environmental allergies.

2) The best rated laundry soap is Persil, of course German made, which happens to be repackaged as the Kirkland brand. I use DROPS of soap because I think it does break the water surface tension so that everything drains instead of clinging to the sides of the tub. The max amount might be 1-2 teaspoons.
One of the problems with polluting our water is that we tend to use too much soap, which creates suds and then, the clothes must be rinsed several times to get rid of the suds.

3) in a pinch I use dishwasher pods (non-bleach) for laundry soap. Makes hardly any suds and yet the water feels slippery.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

68. I use cold water 99.9 % of the time

And Tide hygenic clean laundry detergent scent and dye free.
I don't use fabric softener or the dryer sheets.My skin reacts to it.

[Scruffy1]

76. My cold water is harder than a pawnbrokers heart.

I usually use the warm setting to get half soft water. It would take a huge plumbing job to get from my water softener to my washing machine in the laundry room in the back. it's no big deal with todays more water efficient washers and my one or two loads a week.

[underpants]

77. I hadn't heard that saying before.

I like!