The Common Laundry Mistake You Should Avoid At All Costs (& What To Do Instead)

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Only three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and the ongoing need to do another load of laundry. Whenever you pop your clothes in the washing machine, your goal is obviously to get them clean. But there's a mistake you may be making that's not getting your laundry as spotless as it could be, and it's not your detergent — it's your water temperature. There are multiple factors affecting how germ-y your laundry is, and temperature is one of the most influential. Hot water is most effective in sanitizing your laundry; the warm water setting won't get the job done quite the same.

What lurks in your laundry might be grosser than you think. Clothes come into contact with everything from dirt to sweat to food debris, which can all be sources of germs that make you sick. Viruses living in your hamper may die within a few days, but some bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella can survive for weeks. Damp items like sweaty clothes and used towels are even more at risk of becoming pathogen breeding grounds. Washing your laundry in warm water is not hot enough to kill these germs, nor is it cold enough to come with much savings, meaning you'll pay for the energy needed to heat the water without getting the antimicrobial benefit.

Warm water is the wrong temperature for laundry because of its inability to sanitize your clothes. The hottest washing machine temperature setting is around 140 degrees Fahrenheit, a level of heat at which most viruses will die. The CDC's recommendation for laundering clothes worn in a health care setting is a slightly higher temperature, 160 degrees, for a minimum of 25 minutes. But since you're washing clothes at home rather than a hospital, 140 degrees will do just fine.

Perhaps surprisingly, hot water isn't the only thing that kills germs — cold water washes are also effective at reducing bacteria, particularly with the use of a deep-cleaning detergent. Your washing machine's "cold" setting uses water that's around 85 degrees; while this may not sound cold, water temperature feels different than air temperature. It's still able to successfully eliminate most germs with the proper products.

Hot water may have an edge when it comes to wiping out more germs, but cold water may be the preferable water temperature for laundry if you're looking to save energy costs and preserve fragile fabrics. Up to 90% of a washing machine's energy use goes toward heating water, so minimizing the temperature can help minimize bills. Cold water is also easier on delicates and fabrics that are at risk of shrinking when exposed to heat.

By now, you may be wondering: is the laundry you just washed in warm water a biohazard? No. There's a difference between "less sanitized" and "unsafe." If you've been washing your clothes in warm water, you shouldn't consider them dangerous. According to the CDC, even in health care settings, "the overall risk of disease transmission during the laundry process likely is negligible." Washing clothes at any temperature with an effective detergent still reduces most common germs, but you may want to take extra precautions and use hot water if a member of your household has been sick.

Water temperature also doesn't have to be your only line of defense against germs. Adding bleach to your laundry can help, and it helps even more at higher water temperatures since chlorine bleach becomes activated at around 135 degrees. You can also use laundry sanitizers like this Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, though again, these aren't necessary for everyday cleaning purposes. If you do use a sanitizer, be sure to use it after washing with a deep-cleaning laundry detergent first.