What temperature to wash clothes: 30, 40, 60 or 90?
The wrong temperature is the most common reason a sweater shrinks, a white T-shirt turns grey and a towel keeps smelling damp. The good news: the rules are simple and fit in one table.
The short rule
| Temperature | When |
|---|---|
| 30 °C | Delicate items: wool, silk, dark clothes that bleed colour |
| 40 °C | Most everyday clothes, duvets, jackets, Dormeo covers, most synthetics, cotton and linen |
| 60 °C | Towels, bedding, white cotton, and most of today’s clothes, which are cotton or a cotton and synthetic blend |
| 90 °C | Boil wash: whites you want to keep white, kitchen cloths |
The buttons on our machines
| Button | Wash | For |
|---|---|---|
 | 90 °C | Boil wash: white cotton, kitchen cloths |
 | 60 °C | Bedding, towels, white cotton, cotton clothes |
 | 40 °C | Everyday clothes, duvets, jackets |
 | 60 °C, gentle | Synthetics and blends. Weaker spin, laundry comes out wetter. |
 | 30 °C, very gentle | Wool, silk, fine fabrics, dark clothes. Weakest spin, air dry. |
 | Cold, very gentle | Items that cannot take heat. Air dry. |
A bar under the tub means the same as on a clothing label: one bar is gentle, two bars very gentle. Because the spin is weaker, laundry comes out of these programs a lot wetter. Items washed on 60 with a bar can go in the dryer, but count on a coin or two extra. Items with two bars, like wool and silk, are best air dried, laid flat.
What temperature for…
| What | Temperature |
|---|---|
| Bedding | 60 °C |
| Towels | 60 °C |
| White cotton | 60 °C, boil wash at 90 °C |
| Coloured everyday clothes | 40 °C |
| Jeans | 40 °C, inside out |
| Sportswear | 30 to 40 °C |
| Duvets and jackets | 40 °C |
| Baby clothes | 40 or 60 °C |
| Kitchen cloths | 90 °C |
| Wool and silk | 30 °C or by hand, only if the label allows washing |
Washing at 30 degrees
30 is for things that can’t take heat: wool, silk, fine fabrics and dark clothes that bleed colour. It protects colour and shape, but it doesn’t kill bacteria, so it’s not for towels or bedding. With us it’s the 30 button with two bars, which also has the weakest spin, so air dry the laundry afterwards, not in the dryer.
Washing at 40 degrees
The everyday temperature, and enough for most clothes. It cleans well, protects colours, and it’s what duvets are washed at too.
Washing at 60 degrees
The hygiene temperature. At 60 degrees dust mites and most bacteria don’t survive, which makes it the right temperature for bedding, towels and anything that touches the skin for long. It matters especially if someone at home is allergic to dust.
Washing at 90 degrees
The boil wash, for white cotton and kitchen cloths. Our 90 °C is a true 90 °C. To save energy, many home machines never reach a full 90 degrees on their 90 program, and you see the difference best on whites.
How to read the label
The label shows a tub with a number or dots: one dot is 30, two are 40, three 60, four 90 degrees. A crossed-out tub means the item can’t be washed in water. All the symbols are explained in our guide to laundry symbols.
And at our place?
With us you can wash almost everything: we have 90, 60 and 40, plus 60 and 30 for gentle washing, and a cold wash. The price is the same for every button and every program. Only leave items whose label says hand wash for home, and bring everything else to our laundromat in Detelinara.
