Why Residents in Our Luxury Gainesville Apartments Should Pick the Right Water Temperature for Laundry

When you’re doing laundry, it’s important to carefully select the proper water temperature to ensure your clothes can be thoroughly cleaned without being damaged. The three options most washers offer are hot, cold, and warm (generally either a 50/50 or a 60/40 mix of hot and cold). As a rule, hotter water removes most types of stains and will dissolve detergents, bleaches, and other washing chemicals more effectively than colder water, increasing the effectiveness of these laundry products.

While it may seem logical to use hot or warm water on all laundry, the fact is heat can damage many types of fabrics, particularly synthetic or delicate ones, and cause stains made by oils and proteins to set into clothes. Colors can also fade in hot water, since the same heat that helps dissolve cleaning chemicals will break down clothing dyes as well. Cold water, on the other hand, is safe on virtually any material that isn’t dry-clean only. Cold water also is unlikely to cause dyes to bleed out, but is less effective at dissolving cleaners and removing certain stains. If you plan on using cold water washes, it’s smart to use liquid detergents and extended washing or rinse cycles to ensure thorough cleaning.

The best way to tell what type of water is right for your clothing is to check the tag. In many cases the appropriate water type will be written out, but in some cases there may only be symbols to indicate proper washing procedures. The temperature symbol will generally look like a cup of water with 1 to 3 dots. One dot indicates cold, two for warm, and three for hot. If a tag is lost or missing, however, it’s always best to use cold water just in case.

For more tips on living in Bellamay Grand’s luxury Gainesville apartments which feature convenient full-sized washer-dryer hookups, contact us today and schedule a tour.