The Right Wash Temperature – How to Choose

The rule: the care label shows the MAXIMUM, not the recommended

The number in the wash tub on the label is a ceiling, not a recipe. It tells you how hot the garment can get before it takes damage – not how hot it should be washed. Modern detergents have enzymes that work well from low temperatures, so for most garments it is enough to stay comfortably below the maximum. You choose the temperature based on how dirty the garment is and what it is made of, and use the label's number as an upper limit you never cross.

Temperature guide: what suits 30, 40 and 60 degrees?

Most machines get by with three temperatures. Here is how to choose:

• 30 degrees (cold/lukewarm): everyday clothes that are not truly dirty, colours, wool and silk that tolerate the machine, synthetics and activewear. Saves power, protects colour and shape, and gives the least shrinkage. This is the default for most laundry.
• 40 degrees: normally soiled cottons, mixed loads and slightly dirtier everyday wear. The workhorse when 30 does not quite cut it.
• 60 degrees: a hygiene wash for bedding, towels, underwear, cloths and clothes during illness or for allergies. This temperature kills most bacteria and dust mites. Only for cotton and garments that tolerate it.
• 90 degrees: rarely needed today. Very hard on the fabric and power-hungry – skip it unless something quite special demands it.

Cold or warm? Let the stain type decide

When the garment has a specific stain, it is the stain type – not just the fibre – that decides the temperature. The rule is counter-intuitive, but important:

• Protein stains (blood, sweat, egg, milk, grass) need COLD water. Heat 'cooks' the protein into the fibres, and then the stain sets too firmly.
• Grease and oil stains dissolve more easily in slightly warmer water together with a good detergent.
• Ordinary dirt and mud tolerate lukewarm to warm, but always let the fibre set the upper limit.

Temperature by fibre

The fibre sets the ceiling. Cross it and no stain logic helps – the garment shrinks, felts or loses its shape:

• Wool and silk: cold and gentle, wool programme or by hand. Heat combined with movement in the drum felts wool and shrinks it.
• Synthetics (polyester, elastane, nylon): cool, ideally 30. High heat sets permanent creases, breaks down elastane and can lock sweat smell into activewear.
• Cotton and linen: tolerate higher temperatures, but colours fade faster the warmer you wash. Wash darks cold to preserve them.
• Viscose: cool and careful – the fibre is weak when wet and shrinks easily.

A lower temperature saves power – and clothes

Most of the power a wash uses goes to heating the water. Washing at 30 instead of 60 is therefore a big saving, and since modern detergents work cold, you rarely lose cleanliness by it. A lower temperature also protects colour, shape and fibre, so clothes last longer. One exception is worth noting: run the machine empty on a warm wash now and then to keep it free of biofilm and bad smell – otherwise a machine that always runs cold can start to smell and pass that smell to your clothes.

When temperature alone will not save the garment

Some garments are not a matter of the temperature dial at all. If the garment is marked 'dry clean only', is structured, is in silk or good-quality wool, or you are unsure what it tolerates, home washing is a gamble no matter how careful you are with the degrees. Then you can send it to us. We assess the fibre and care label and choose the right method and temperature for the garment, across all of Norway, so you do not have to guess. You order online, and you see the price before you order.

Frequently asked questions