Dr Xand van Tulleken appeared on BBC Morning Live to share how simply changing your washing machine temperature setting can slash laundry energy costs by more than 60 per cent
Changing the settings on your washing machine could slash the electricity usage by 60% (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)
Most of us automatically wash the majority of our clothes at the standard 40-degree setting. However, different temperatures may be more suitable for certain garments, and a minor adjustment to the washing machine settings could help reduce your household bills. With energy costs having skyrocketed in recent years, Brits are continually looking for easy and effective methods to run their homes more economically and save some cash.
While many concentrate on energy bills such as gas and electricity, it’s simple to overlook how minor tweaks to your laundry routine can also significantly impact your overall expenditure. Although 40 degrees remains the go-to temperature for a typical wash load, or 60 for a hotter cycle, it might not be as economical as you’d imagine.
Speaking on BBC Morning Live, doctor and television presenter Dr Xand van Tulleken explained the benefits and drawbacks of each temperature setting available on washing machines, and which temperatures you should select for your laundry to potentially cut energy usage by 40 to 60 per cent, ultimately saving you money.
“The hottest your washing machine will go is 90 degrees usually,” he said. “That will kill everything. It’s almost boiling it, it’s bad for the clothes. It’s very expensive. Whatever’s happened to those clothes, I think you’ve got to get new clothes at that point.”
He then explained the impact of the more commonly used temperatures, explaining: “At 60 degrees, certain bugs will be killed and that can be quite good.”
Dr Xand also noted that this temperature proves particularly useful when illnesses are spreading throughout your household.
“So if you’ve got an infection going around your house, particularly think of something like norovirus, put it up at 60,” he said. “Along with the mechanical cleaning and the detergent. That’s quite good.”
While the majority of people opt for 40-degree cycles, Dr Xand revealed he saw ‘no point’ in this temperature, particularly given the expense.
He explained: “It’s too hot to be cheap and it’s too cold to kill anything. Commit to one or the other, or either go hot or go cold.”
Instead, he advocates dropping the temperature by just 10 degrees, stating: “Thirty degrees, that gets the job done. It is much cheaper.”
Going even further, Dr Xand confessed to washing ‘everything’ at 20 degrees. “I’ve got to say, I’m a 20 degrees guy for everything except my workout clothes which go in hotter,” he said.
“Twenty degrees saves 62 per cent of your money compared to 40 degrees. So that is a big deal.”
According to research conducted by Which?, the cleaning performance of a 20-degree cycle is ‘slightly worse’ than 30 or 40 degrees. Nevertheless, they discovered that switching to a liquid detergent helps compensate, concluding it remains sufficient for routine everyday washing. A cold wash works perfectly for delicate fabrics including lace, wool and silk, as it’s less prone to harming the fibres.
However, if your garments are heavily soiled and marked, increasing the temperature to 30 degrees is sufficient to restore their cleanliness. This still consumes 38 per cent less energy than washing at 40 degrees, Which? disclosed.
