Always Use Warm Water for These 8 Laundry Items

The old rules of laundry have changed. Thanks to advances in laundry technology—from more efficient washers and dryers to detergent formulas that clean more effectively—washing everything in cold water is now the default setting. Now everything from dark clothes to white towels can (and should) be washed primarily in cold water.

However, there are times when washing in hot water is essential—as well as circumstances where using hot water is simply the better choice. To find out which items you should never wash on cold, we chatted with Kim Romine, a fabric care scientist at Procter & Gamble. She shares her best tips to make your next laundry cycle go smoothly.

How to Choose the Right Laundry Temperature

“You should first check the care label on the garment,” Romine says. “If the care label recommends hot water for washing the item, you may want to choose it.” This is especially true, Romine says, in cases where the item has an extreme amount of staining.

While cold water should be the default when doing laundry, there are some times, such as when someone has been sick, when hot water is required to ensure washable items are thoroughly clean. There are also circumstances under which using hot water is simply a better choice, such as when removing certain types of stains. “From a scientific perspective, using warmer wash temperatures can help in removing most stains,” says Kim Romine, a fabric care scientist at Procter & Gamble. 

Ahead, you’ll find eight types of things that should be washed in hot water. Before washing any of the following items in hot water, however, Romine reiterates that you should always launder garments according to the instructions on the care label.

Things You Should Never Wash in Cold Water

1. Aprons, Dish Towels, and Potholders

Because they are exposed to food, any fabric items used when cooking—including kitchen towels, potholders, and even aprons—are hotspots for bacteria. This is especially true of kitchen towels, which can be cross-contaminated due to contact with raw meat or unwashed produce. Experts recommend washing kitchen towels in hot water immediately after using them to clean, as well as after cooking meat or fish, to prevent bacterial growth that can lead to food poisoning. When buying new kitchen towels, as well as chef’s accessories like aprons and potholders, it is a good idea to check the care tag or product description and choose items that can be safely washed in hot water.

2. Clothes with Greasy, Oily, or Waxy Stains

Clothing and other washable fabrics, such as cloth napkins, stained by something oily, greasy, or waxy should be washed in the hottest water setting the fabric can tolerate. Using hot or warm water helps to loosen oil, grease, and wax, allowing stain removal agents to work more effectively at penetrating the stain and breaking down pigments. When dealing with stains from butter, cooking oil, makeup like lipstick or mascara, and any other items with an oily or waxy base, use hot water for stain removal when possible.

3. Items Used by Someone Who Has Been Sick

When you or someone in your family is sick, doing laundry properly is an important part of keeping the other members of your household from getting ill, too. Clothing, towels, and bedding can harbor bacteria and viruses that can spread to others, and which can prolong illnesses by reinfecting the sick person. If your washing machine has one, use the sanitize setting when laundering anything used by someone who has been sick, otherwise use the hottest water setting available. To sanitize fabrics used by someone who has been sick that cannot be washed in warm or hot water, use a laundry sanitizer product.

4. Items Used by Someone with Infections or Contagions 

Keeping clothes, bedding, and towels clean is essential when you or someone in your household has a highly contagious infection or parasite. Wash any fabric items that have been in contact with someone suffering from lice, poison ivy or oak, pinkeye, ringworm, etc. frequently in hot water to prevent them from spreading or causing reinfection. As an additional precaution, wear protective gloves when handling dirty laundry used by someone who is highly contagious. 

5. Heavily Soiled Items

The term “heavily soiled” is a catchall term that essentially just means very dirty laundry. Regardless of the fabric type or fabrication, anything that is exceptionally dirty or that has been exposed to contaminants should be washed in hot water. The following items on our list are considered heavily soiled items, but heavily soiled items are not necessarily limited to just work clothes, cloth diapers and baby clothes, and pet accessories. Anything that needs extra attention or a heavy wash should not be washed on cold.

6. Contaminated Work Clothes

Work clothes that have been exposed to pesticides, lead, asbestos, or any other hazardous substances should be washed in hot water. Avoid shaking contaminated clothing, including washable personal protective equipment, before laundering to prevent contaminants from being airborne. Always wash contaminated work clothes in a separate load, and in a timely fashion; avoid allowing contaminated work clothes to sit in a hamper.

7. Cloth Diapers and Baby Clothes

Cloth diapers should always be washed in hot water, separately from any other clothing or household linens, to ensure these heavily soiled items come out clean and do not contaminate anything else. If you use cloth diapers, it is also important to stay on top of cleaning your washer to prevent the spread of bacteria due to a dirty machine. Additionally, most baby clothing, as well as items like crib sheets and baby bath towels, are designed to withstand hot water washing; if the care tag indicates it is safe to do so, you should always opt to wash baby clothes in hot water. Hot water is more effective at removing stains, and it offers a deeper clean, eliminating allergens that can irritate a baby’s sensitive skin.

8. Pet Bedding, Towels, and Toys

We love our pets, but we don’t love our pets’ fur, dander, drool, or the dirt they track into our homes. Fabric pet accessories, from pet beds to towels used to dry your pup after a bath, and even washable plush pet toys, should be washed in hot water to ensure they are as clean as possible. Washing these items in hot water, provided they can tolerate it, will also help to keep pet smells at bay.