Cold Logic

(Martha Stewart photo)

Your humble blogger always hand-washes dishes with hot water. There's no question that hot, soapy water cuts oils much better than cold. Also, more bacteria are killed, and running the hot water while rinsing reduces grease build-up in the drain.

But heated water is not better than cold when it comes to washing clothes, according to Tide experts:

P&G has sold a line of Tide designed for washing in cold water for almost two decades and still sells that product, called Tide Plus Coldwater Clean. The latest campaign pitches the overall brand as being effective in cold water. The company says it has reformulated Tide over the years to be more effective...

P&G says that cleaning clothes in cold water could save $150 a year on a household’s energy bill, or somewhat less with the high-efficiency washing machines used in about 70% of U.S. households.

A Clorox scientist says warm is more effective than cold:

[Mary Gagliardi] says warmer water is generally the best way to ensure clean clothes, especially in colder climates. Ms. Gagliardi says manufacturers are able to test garment-washing in water as warm as 85 degrees Fahrenheit and define it as a cold-water wash according to levels set by standards organization ASTM International. A warm cycle is around 100 degrees, while hot is 122 degrees, she says.

“If you are in Minnesota right now and your cold-water temperature is 45 degrees, some people are washing in temperatures barely above freezing,” she says. “You are not going to get any cleaning done in 49 degrees.”

I'll stick with what I learned at the kitchen sink when it comes to washing clothes.

Call me clothes-minded, but warm is better.