Question from L.A.
I recently bought a set of Simply Organic 100% organic cotton sheets/pillowcases at Bed Bath and Beyond. When I went to launder them before using them, the cleaning instructions on the labels said to “machine wash cold.”
I prefer to wash sheets with hot water. Has anyone who’s used these sheets tried washing with hot water, and did it affect the sheets in any way?
Or is cold water just as effective as hot for sheets and pillowcases?
Debra’s Answer
I have no experience with this particular brand of sheets, however, I can tell you that there are very clear general guidelines about when to use hot, warm, and cold water, from the viewpoint of maintaining fabrics. These guidelines are behind washing instructions found on the label.
That said, on the other hand, the best choice for the environment is to wash items in cold water as often as possible. According to Treehugger, 90 percent of the energy used in washing clothes goes toward heating the water. If you have an electric water heater, pressing the hot/cold button on your washer for one load has the same impact as driving about 9 miles in a car. A gas water heater is equivalent to driving only 3 miles in a car. And when you wash in cold water only, there is 0 production of CO2 for heating water, only the production from running the washing machine.
So the answer to your question is, if you need to wash in hot water to kill germs, go ahead, but it will take a toll on the life of your sheets and contribute more to global warming. Cold water was most probably recommended to preserve the fabric, keep it from shrinking, and save energy.
