Please settle a debate on the water temperature to wash clothes in!?

My fiancee and I are always squabbling on what temperature to wash the clothes in. He says that darks should ALWAYS be washed in cold water no matter what it is. I say that nice dark clothes, such as button down shirts, slacks, nice tops, etc should be in cold water. I think that 'blah blah' clothes such as tshirts, work-out clothes, socks, underwear, jeans can be washed in warm water. Any facts, thoughts, opinions on this would be welcomed!Please settle a debate on the water temperature to wash clothes in!?
So many bacteria are in the weave of all underwear, such as underwear/shorts, tea-shirts, socks, and panties. With these type of clothing should be in hot water and in bleach, do not need to run dryer in hot heat because all bacteria have been removed because of the bleach, and hot water.





Colors that are Cotton should be done in cold water, and dried in medium heat, because the colors will fade in hot water and in hot heat. Plus the Cotton will become brittle in high heat of a dyer.





Anything that has elastic like underwear and bras, and pants that have spandex should always drip dry or cool heat in the dryer.Please settle a debate on the water temperature to wash clothes in!?
I don't know about Servant4 and his comment on the bacteria. If the bacteria in our clothing was a serious health risk we would know about it.


The fact is that with modern detergents you can get almost anything clean in just cold water. That doesn't mean that when I have something extra dirty or stinky I wash it in warmer water.
I can tell you from personal experience that most laundry mat use warm water even if you push the hot water button.





but I do noticed if I go back to my mom house to use her machine and I can see steam coming out from the water and after the wash machine is finish it looks bright that dam well job it did.





Everything eles is set on cold water.





Unless it stain. I hand wash it in warm water.
I use cold water for all my laundry. I found warm/hot water was fading the colours of my clothes. Cold water works just as well as warm or hot. If you have any big messes I would soak the item in cold water with detergent first, then put it in the machine.





I've been doing this for the last 5 years and my clothes are very clean and the colours are as bright as they were when i bought them. My black clothing hasn't turned grey either.
I wash everything in cold water!! It saves money and the environment! I have a front loading washer and dryer and I use the proper detergent for High Energy units and find that this gets all of our clothes nice and clean, we both work out doors and if the clothes are exceptionally stinky I use hot or warm water, but other than that everything is washed in cold!
Studies have shown that warm/hot water does not get your laundry any cleaner than using cold water. However, warm and hot water is guaranteed to set stains and leach colors from the fabrics at about 80% faster than cold water will which will cause you to spend money buying new clothing or having to constantly re-dye your old ones.
I wash everything but delicates in warm water and though I notice a little fading in my colors, my clothes don't last long enough to matter (I work in a auto repair shop). I've noticed that washing in cold water doesn't get out the smells and dirt like washing in warm water does.
i would follow manufacturer's instructions. if it says warm, i wash it warm. if it says cold, i wash it cold. if it doesn't say, then maybe it don't matter.
Bedlinen, towels and kitchen cloths should be at 60掳C to kill germs and dustmites. Coloureds 40掳C and darks at 30掳C. We very rarely wash in cold water in the UK.
warm water is best