I feel the dryer is the ultimate fading evildoer. Any quality detergent and 10 degrees difference has little to do with perceived fading.

It's a fact that heat contributes to the efficacy of detergent/cleanliness and wears fibers harder than cold -- esp. natural fabrics.

It's my opinion that darks should be washed in cold to minimize noticeable fading and removed from the dryer after only a short time, if they can't be line dried. Everything else does well in warm or very warm.

Started using Perwoll for blacks and darks and I like the cleaning power to date, but I'm only on the first bottle so more time is needed. I do use Shout Color Catcher sheets to learn whether there is color being washed away. Depending on the age of the clothes, and the quality of the clothes, I still see color is being lost with the Perwoll.

I use Shout Color Catcher Sheets with EVERY load (just remember in a Front Loader, they need to be safely zipped inside a mesh lingerie/delicates bag)!! Even the Shout instructions say so...very important!

With my darks and colours, the sheets are VERY coloured and/or dark after every load, whether I use warm (105F) or Very Warm (120F). Even items that I have washed for 2+ years, still discolour the Shout sheets. I think the sheets work great, and I like that some of the inks/dyes absorb into the Shout sheets, and do not stay in the wash water.

Westvillager, I use Normal + the Gentle option for every cycle I dry, using my Miele T9820. I too, think high heat is murder on clothes...fading, wearing out and shrinking!

Well, 104°F is usually hot enough to wash colors. But since your detergents neither contain optical brighteners nor oxy bleach it should be fine.

So you returned? What did you get?

whirplool trainee,

Returned what? I have my beloved Miele W4842 and T9802 Electric Dryer...about a month now, maybe more!! LOVE it!!!

Had the Electrolux wave touch for about 2-3 weeks... and it just was not for me, and it did not meet my expectations and demands (although the Electrolux does have some nice features and it is very quiet)!

Colours and darks came out fine at 104F, but they just seem really clean at 120F. Was just worried that would wreck havoc on darks/colours/blacks!!

Thanks!!

-L

Returned from your vacation:

Posted by larsi (My Page) on Wed, Jun 16, 10 at 14:03

Leaving for Sweden and Germany on Friday...so I plan on making several trips to local Grocery stores (Hemskop, IKA, Konsum, Aldi, Sparmarkt, etc..). I'm going to stock up on Euro detergent. I love a strong smelling detergent, so maybe I will try Dash. Thanks! :)

Are your clothes heavily soiled? Is that why you use such hot water on them? Otherwise, 85°F to 105°F water is sufficient for most loads (as you later discovered); and cold water (which is considered 65°-75°F) for very bright colors or those dark colors that may not be colorfast.

Although a huge money saver over using the dryer, I found hanging laundry outside was my main contributor to fading. Now I primarily hang clothes to dry in the basement and avoid the bleaching from the sun. Clothes last so much longer when I hang them indoors instead of hanging outside or using the dryer.

I agree with westvillager, over-drying clothing in a hot dryer will also fade them, along with the temperature of the wash water. All unstable dye is prone to fading - PERIOD, and not just from water temperature, type of detergent, but also from friction (with or without water). Even white cotton fabric can revert to the natural (less white) color of cotton, instead of the brilliant white it may have been new, after many trips through the washer and dryer.

I have read where over-loading your washer can cause fading due to excessive friction. I also wonder if using so little water in washers today might also contribute to fading because the friction on clothes that have so little water to circulate in?

Do you turn your dark clothes inside out? That is supposed to help as well.

-Grainlady

Thanks Grainlady! Yes, I always turn clothes inside out. Every item, of every colour. I learned that from my mother in law, years ago in Sweden! Maybe 120F is too warm. When ever I am back in Germany & doing laundry for my family, or my family is here with us from Germany...they always say don't wash my clothes with anything warmer than 30C ("Am höchsten 30 Grad")!! So maybe I should return to using Warm (105F) in my Miele!

A-ha...Sorry Whirpool trainee! Still recovering from the trip (we travelled with our 3 year old to Germany & Sweden). So needless to say...Interesting!!! :)

I got 2 Enormous (never seen bottles so big in the USA) of Ariel Color & Style ActiLift Liquid Detergent and one Huge bottle of my beloved Persil Color Gel mit Langzeitfarbschutz! In Sweden I go Lina Powder detergent for colours, effective in 20C to 60C. It's pretty good, but I greatly prefer German detergents. When my family comes from Germany in mid-September, they are bringing me Aldi and Dash to try. I really notice a HUGE difference using German/European detergents, compared to say Tide or Cheer!