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The Best Washing Machine Temperature for Laundry

Hot, Warm, or Cold Water for Laundry?

selecting washing temperature

The Spruce / Ana Cadena 

How do you select the correct washing machine temperature for your laundry? Though hot water was once thought to be the only way to get clothes clean, progress has introduced easy-care fabrics, better washing machines, and superior laundry detergents that use surfactants and enzymes to lift and remove soil from fabrics. All of these features allow you to use both cooler and warmer water temperatures depending on the material and dirt load.

It pays to know the right temperature to select because it can save on utility costs and keep colors bright. The wrong water temperature might leave clothes filled with odors, bacteria, and can potentially ruin them.

Read on to learn the best ways to determine what temperature to set your washing machine so your clothes look cleaner and last longer.

washer water temperatures
Illustration: Alison Czinkota. © The Spruce, 2018

How to Choose the Best Water Temperature for Laundry

Commercial laundry detergents can be safely used in any water temperature; however, results may vary. For best results when using lower water temperatures, choose a heavy-duty detergent (Tide and Persil are leading brands) to remove heavy soil. Lower priced detergents just don't have enough cleaning ingredients to get clothes completely clean in cold water. With the right detergent, washing your clothes in cold water can prevent shrinkage and fading colors. Always choose cold water if you are unsure of your clothing item's specific washing instructions.

  1. Read Garment Care Labels

    Take a minute to read the care labels on each piece of clothing. You'll find the information you need to choose both the best water temperature and the type of washing cycle. Following the recommendations on the label is especially important if you are a laundry novice or if the garment is new.

  2. Sort Dirty Laundry

    After you've checked the labels, it's time to sort the dirty clothes by color, fabric weight, and washing temperature. You'll have much better results in controlling lint, removing soil, and preventing color transfer if you wash similar types of fabric together. 

  3. Opt for Cold Water First

    If the label is missing or unclear, wash soiled clothes, particularly colored clothes, with cold water. Using the cold water setting will cause the least damage to fabrics like shrinking, fading or color bleeding. If you are not satisfied with the stain removal results, you can then move on to warm or hot water. Once you have some experience under your belt, you'll find that some fabrics can be cleaned at more than one temperature.

  4. Set the Rinse Cycle Temperature

    One tip that works with all wash cycles and types of fabrics is to use a cold water rinse. Rinse water has little effect on stain removal or cleaning, so cold water works just as well to rinse away detergents and suspended soil. Set the washer dial on cold rinse and leave it for every load. You'll save money by not paying to heat the water.

Water Temperature Guide for Laundry

When to Use Hot Water for Laundry

There are still times when hot water is needed to give the cleaning and sanitation results you need.

  • White cotton clothes (underwear) worn close to the body, bed and kitchen linens, bath towels, heavily soiled or sweaty garments, oily stains, and sickbed linens
  • Benefits: Cleans heavy soil and is best for oily stains, sanitizes linens infected with bacteria or fungus, kills insects
  • Problems: Can fade colors, sets protein stains, and shrinks some fabrics

When to Use Warm Water for Laundry

  • Washable man-made fabrics like nylon, polyester, spandex, and rayon blends; lightly soiled clothes
  • Benefits: Helps to dissolve powdered detergents, offers more energy savings than hot water
  • Problems: Can fade some colors, does not sanitize fabrics, cannot remove some heavy soils and stains

When to Use Cold Water for Laundry

  • Dark and bright-colored clothes, delicate fabrics
  • Benefits: Most energy-efficient and cost-saving water temperature, less likely to shrink items or fade them, acceptable water temperature for any washable fabric
  • Problems: Less efficient for removing stains; will not sanitize clothes. For best results with cold water washing, pretreat stains before washing. Use a heavy-duty, enzyme-based liquid laundry detergent or one formulated for cold water. Allow heavier soiled items to presoak in the water/detergent solution to give the solution more time to break apart stains from fabrics.

What Are the Differences in Washer Water Temperatures?

In most clothes washers, the hot water setting is 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 Celsius) or above. Check your washer manual and your home water heater settings for specifics. If you have a washer with a steam cycle, that will increase the temperature in each load.

The warm water setting is between 110 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3-32.2 degrees Celsius).

The cold water setting is between 80 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7-15 degrees Celsius). During the winter, outdoor temperatures can greatly affect cold water temperatures. If the cold water drawn into your washer is below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius), powdered detergents will have a difficult time dissolving leaving white residue streaks and clothes are unlikely to be cleaned very well.