And people thought me strange when I hooked my hot water heater up to an outside faucet...

That cracks me up, weedmeister...my DH also suggested that I would need access to hot water for my laundry but I pooh-poohed the idea as in my mind I thought I'd been hearing people talk about doing cold water laundry forever and that I was the one who was dated by insisting that I had to have hot water to wash! But at this rate I will have no wearable t-shirts long before I have a new kitchen...

Since this is a temp situation, I suggest you send for a small bottle of Charlie's Soap All-purpose Liquid cleaner and try using that as a pre-wash spray. It's quite good at shifting greasy stains if you let it sit on the fabric for a bit before washing. Another thing to try is Shout spray cleaner, which is also good, but contains other chemicals that are aimed at other stains.

Also, for the duration you might try one of the cold-water only detergents that have recently come out, I think it's a Cheer product, but maybe it's Tide.

HTH,

Molly~

Thanks, Molly. I guess I could use Shout as I already have it on hand, having previously only used it for my DH and DS's really really dirty, muddy work clothes...I'll use that up and if its seems a bit harsh on the shirts I'll try Charlie's. Also I'll look for a coldwater soap like Cheer...I buy Tide all the time and study the varieties a lot so I think it might be Cheer not Tide as I don't recall seeing a CW version of Tide...thanks again.

When I had my WD outside 15 years ago I had gargen hose hooked up to my washer so I soaked my laundry in the bucket of hot water and even pretreated stains if needed. I used plunger to give it few pushed and then I just dumped the content in the washer outside, w/ the hot water and detergent already in and let the washer do the rest. It was very definately interesting to do laundry like this.

Interesting...not a word I've normally applied to doing laundry, czechchick2! But you're right, I have a feeling I'll end up doing something along those lines...not really a chore I need to add to the list right now but I'll try to keep my eyes on the prize at the end! Thanks.

GailRolfe, there surely is a cold-water version of Tide, available in both powder and liquid form. Tide Cold Water. I've used the powder. It's very sudsy, so not suitable for HE machines, but works well in traditional toploaders.

I use cold water for everything from dirty greasy jeans to whites. My husband uses only whats handy.(His jeans when working on machinery.) I have FP and always use cold water. I use oxy clean in a spray bottle first on tees and stains. 1/4 cup with greasy jeans. You can also try Tlb Baking Soda and 1/2c.vinegar mixed with water.. For soap I use Costco brand Eco Soy soap. One ounce per load. I find that this is thick so I also mix it with water.
This sounds alot more complicated than what it is. I just keep vinegar/water and soda next to my machine with the soap. I find that with the newer machines you need alot less soap.

I have used this combination after reading about all the solutions and problems with people wanting clean,fresh laundry. But in answer to your Cold water question. Cold water does a great job and saves $$.

Thanks, dadoes and maggie. Dadoes, I guess this is a great example of why eyewitness testimony is so unreliable...we see what we want to see. Never having needed cold water detergent, I never saw the CW Tide...so I'll have another look. Thanks for opening my eyes. And maggie, what is FP? Your natural solutions are interesting and I'm going to give them a try and see how it goes. Not sure I know what "Tlb" Baking Soda is..is that a brand? Well, what the heck...it's a new adventure. Not one I anticipated when I started my kitchen remodel but we'll see what new habits evolve out of this! Thank you all.

How cold is your "cold" water? It varies a lot. Could you run a garden hose to the laundry tub and run it out when you do laundry? Run the water a bit to warm the hose a bit and then hook it up to the washer. Definitely turn off the water when you're done!

Re: Cold water 1) does a great job and 2) saves $$.

1) See "The Case for Cold" in the article linked below. Some of the major appliance manufacturers do not agree that cold-water washing works for everything.

2) Assuming electric heating, and 5 gallons of wash water, how much energy does it take to heat water from cold (65F) to warm (104F) or hot (120F)? My quick calculation gives around 0.5 KWH for warm, and 0.7 KWH for hot. Let's say you do one wash a day, half of them warm, and the other half hot. Then you would use 219 KWH per year to heat wash water. At a rate of 20 cents/KWH (more than many of us pay) that would cost $44/year. Multiply by 3, for a non-HE machine, and it's $132/year. At a rate of 10 cents/KWH, the cost of water heating is $22/year for an HE machine, and $66/year for a non-HE machine. Cost for gas water heating might be lower. Are properly washed clothes, towels and bedding worth that much? I think so.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.appliancemagazine.com/editorial.php?article=2055&zone=1&first=1

I agree that long-term washing of ALL loads in only cold water is not a good scenario. I've seen the greasy/grungy buildup that can occur on internal washer parts.

No way I would wash things in cold water! What about undies, towels and socks, just to mention few. And what about if you have a flu or cold?

Wow, the question I considered the least interesting of any that I've posted on GW and it's stayed on page 1 the longest! :-) Interesting discussion about cold water wash...but it would have to save a big bundle for me to consider doing it long-term! Something about hot water and soap just feels cleaner to me...but I'm glad it can be done in cold water for now. And I get to learn something new. Dadoes, I did find the coldwater Tide today! Yep, right in front of where I always look....:-)