[SustainableTompkins] Clean up energy bill with cold-water laundry

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

I recently read that in Canada the minimum recommended temperature for a 
water heater is 140 degrees because they have found that at 120 degrees 
bacteria can flourish. The down side is obviously that storage energy 
losses are higher at the higher temperature, and the water is then hot 
enough to scald a user. They deal with that by using a mixing valve to 
lower the temperature of the hot water en route to use by mixing it with 
cold water to lower the temperature back down to 120.

I have to wonder if the big picture has been looked at here. Clothes dried 
in a clothes dryer are subjected to some pretty high temperatures. Doesn't 
that kill any bacteria that might be present in the laundered items? 
Sunshine also sanitizes, and I expect many bacteria die off just from being 
desiccated. Wet-laundry bacteria counts are pretty meaningless, but in our 
germ-phobic society concern about them could inhibit energy-saving 
practices. A little research is wanted here.

Joel

At 07:45 AM 8/17/06 -0400, you wrote:
>As the article points out, laundry detergents designed for cold water work 
>best if the water is at least 60 degrees, so here's another good reason to 
>have an internal cistern installed. The excess heat generated in our 
>basement utility room warms our well water sitting in the 300 gallon 
>plastic cistern.  We have used cold water to do the wash for over a year 
>now (with three grimy laundry generating boys in the household) and 
>haven't contracted anything nefarious from the microbial world as the 
>warning in the article suggests. But going "cold laundry" did help us meet 
>our family's commitment to reduce our household energy consumption.
>
>Internal cisterns are also good for storing a fresh water supply.
>
>-- Katie Quinn-Jacobs
>
>/"According to the Environmental Science & Technology article, the big 
>drawback to the new cold-water detergent is that live microbes in clothing 
>are not killed by cold water and can spread to everything in the wash. 
>Clothing could actually come out "dirtier" than when it went in, according 
>to S. Kay Obendorf, a professor of textiles and apparel at Cornell University./
>
>/She also points out that during the winter, water can come into the house 
>at temperatures only slightly warmer than freezing. This water would have 
>to be heated to at least 60 degrees before the cold-water detergent became 
>effective."/
>Source: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006608120372
>
>
>
>Elan Shapiro wrote:
>
>>
>>"Clean up on your energy bill with cold-water laundry"
>>
>>The Detroit News Web
>>
>>http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006608120372
>>
>>I have been using only cold water to do my laundry and our soap does a 
>>very good job. May I encourage everyone to read this article and act 
>>appropriately to save energy and the environment. Please, also, if you 
>>can, hang your towels, which take a long time to dry, in the dry room. 
>>That saves a bundle!
>>Sara Pines
>>
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