We're getting asked this question a lot recently, and the short answer is no – you still want to make sure you’re following the fabric care recommendations on all of your garments.
Hygienic or Allergy cycles are great for killing bacteria but are designed for more robust items, such as towels, dishcloths, and bed linen.
Activewear and delicate fabrics, such as silk, are not designed to withstand high temperatures – continue to wash these on a Delicate cycle.
If you're looking for a middle ground, use a cycle that stays above 56°C / 133°F for more than 30 minutes to kill bacteria.
If you have a Fisher & Paykel Front Loader washing machine, Allergy, Cotton, Heavy, Bulky and Everyday cycles can be set to provide a hygienic wash.
If you’d like the set temperature to remain consistent throughout the wash, opt for a smaller load size.
Quick cycles are perfect for freshening up musty items, or for that business shirt you only wore for the half an hour video call with your boss.
Default temp: warm
Default spin speed = 1100rpm
People may want to use high temperature settings more often due to the current situation. There are a few things worth remembering.
Wool, cashmere, elastane and silk won’t survive hot temperatures. Wool should not be washed above 40C. Silk and elastane (a fibre used in activewear) are best washed at 30C. Cashmere is not washing machine friendly – dry clean only.
Cottons and synthetics fabrics can cope with hotter temperatures however we wouldn’t suggest washing synthetics or poly-cotton blends above 60C.
Good bits of advice:
Bleach is great for whites, but don’t add it at the beginning of the wash.
It will deactivate the enzymes in the laundry detergent that are responsible for breaking down dirt. You don’t want to kill them before they have done their job.
Add bleach in the wash portion of the cycle, as bleach works best at 60C. Just press Start/Pause while you add the bleach solution.
Here's how we do it.
For a Front Loader:
For a Top Loader or our Low Profile Agitator:
Never add bleach solutions to the rinse cycle. Rinses are cold, so you won’t get the full benefits of the bleach, and you don’t want to be rinsing with bleach water – only clean.
