The Easy Way To Test Whether Your Clothes Should Be Washed In Hot Water

The number of times you have stood over a laundry basket, dress in hand, and thought of the different combinations of washing it is likely countless. Hot water will fade the color? Cold water won't take out the stain? Every care tag feels like a new language you have to learn because the last thing you want is for that little black dress to become, well, less black. But, the truth is, you don't really need a degree in textile science to figure it out.

Laundry scientist and expert, Mary Gagliardi, also known as "Dr. Laundry," told MarthaStewart.com that "fabric construction, dyes, and method of dye application all determine when lower temperatures become necessary." In simpler words, not every fabric behaves the same, and not every color may hold up to heat. Just do the colorfastness test to figure it out. Fill a small basin or container with water, add a drop of detergent, and start with cool water. Dip a plain cloth in the water and press it on the garment. If the dye transfers on the cloth, the garment is not colorfast and needs to be washed separately.

Some garments release excess dye only in the first couple of washes. This is why it is important to sort clothes into color-groups – sorting is a necessary part of doing laundry. If some brights or darks bleed, keep them with similar shades in cold water loads. If not, you can group them with other sturdy fabrics in hot cycles.

Now that you've understood colorfastness, it's time to understand when hot water actually deserves a place in your laundry routine. While it is not compulsory for most loads, there are some items that truly benefit from the heat. Items like sheets, pillowcases, bath towels, baby clothing, kitchen cloths, and socks are best washed in hot water. These fabrics collect bacteria, body oil, and odors that dissolve easily with hot water and come out fresh, making hot water an obvious choice.

For your everyday denims, avoid heat entirely because it speeds up shrinkage, fading, and overall quality of the fabric. Clothes and fabrics with lighter shades that show dirt more easily can handle warm cycles (as long as it's written on the label). Sort your laundry into similar colors and keep the brights and darks in cold cycles — something everyone gets wrong when doing laundry. This way, your favorite clothes stay vibrant while still getting a proper wash.

There's also a bigger picture here – - heating water accounts for 75-90% of the energy in each cycle. Thus, you can actually save money doing laundry by washing your clothes in cold water. So, the takeaway is simple, reserve hot water for linens, towels, and heavily soiled loads, but let cold water handle the rest. Your clothes (and electricity) will thank you.