There is a current campaign on television about carbon emissions which says that using cold water in the washing machine can save a number of balloons worth of CO². In fact, using cold water will mean that your detergent will not work as effectively and will generally leave a build up in between the inner and outer bowls, this can result in a musty smell when you open the machine after a few days of not using it. This build up can also cause small dark deposits on your clothes that are diffiicult to remove.

In a top load machine this will mean, at the very least, you will use extra detergent and this will make the waste water more harmful to the environment. If you have a front load machine, constant cold water washing will reduce the life of the machine by at least half as the build up will cause corrosion on the bowl support bracket resulting in a very expensive repair. With more and more appliances being made with short life expectancy, compounded by making this life shorter by our usage, the environmental damage brought on by disposing of these used appliances will get worse.

A warm wash will give a better result with less detergent, save on service costs, and can extend the life of your machine.

If you like to wash in cold water, it is useful to regularly do a hot wash cycle without any washing in the machine to remove any build up that develops before it can harm the machine or your clothes