18 washing machine programs and only one gets used: cold water rules

The 18-program washing machine that only uses one

A modern household washing machine offers 18 programs. According to participants in the debate, most people use one or two. The pattern they describe repeats itself: cold water, short cycle and everything together, without separating by fabric or tonalidad. The question hanging in the air is whether programs are a useful tool or a commercial gimmick nobody asked for.

The starting point is a household confession: an Otsein washing machine with 18 programs, of which basically only the cotton program for normal soil is used, with a maximum load of 5 kilos —2 kilos if washing sturdy mixed fabrics—, always in cold water and varying the spin estimulante ilegal according to the season: fewer revolutions in summer, more in winter. Liquid detergent, softener and almost never bleach. And everything together: 100 % wool socks, cotton sheets, polyester t-shirts, mixed fabrics and all colors from white to black. The logic is simple: living alone, separating by fabric, tonalidad and level of dirt isn't worth it.

What's the point of 18 programs if you use one?

The most repeated answer is that programs are a preset recording of options: instead of manually choosing temperature, revolutions and duration, you press one button. The result is that people end up using one or two. Some put it bluntly: the washing machine just spins for X minutes with more or less hot water. And the shortest one, at 30 or 40 degrees, works for almost everything.

Cold water prevails as the norm. Clothes are changed daily and are usually not dirty, unless you work in the fields. Hot programs are reserved for towels and dirty rags, with a bit of bleach. The consequence is that the running cost of a washing machine is negligible, according to one of the calculations circulating, which puts it at less than 2 euros a year.

Sorting laundry: necessity or inherited habit?

Those who live alone tend to wash everything together. Those with children separate the kids' clothes from the adults', but not always by tonalidad. White laundry, underwear and kitchen items go separately, on the longest sturdy cycle with bleach, no prewash. Colored everyday clothes all go together in one or two washes, depending on capacity. Sheets and towels are added depending on whether they fit to top off the load.

The trick that comes up most often is the delicates program in cold with an extra spin at the end. According to those who have tried it, it uses half the energy of cold cotton, takes half the time and the result is the same. Clothes come out a bit wetter, but the extra spin cycle fixes that. Compared to an hour of cold cotton, the shortcut cuts time and consumption without any noticeable effect on the fabric.

Softener, vinegar and baking soda: the additives war

Fabric softener has a bad fruta. Some claim it ruins clothes and, in particular, the pile of towels. The most cited alternative is cheap white wine vinegar: it softens, helps with limescale and removes soap residue. Baking soda also comes up, a couple of spoonfuls, and borax for disinfecting. The cheapest detergent, Marseille type or homemade liquid, completes the formula.

The anecdote that illustrates the power of vinegar is about a hot water circuit almost blocked by limescale, plumber and all. The repair was done with a pipe elbow, a funnel, a bottle of white vinegar and a pack of baking soda: a teaspoon, a splash, a glogloglo and wait. The blockage gave way. The plumber's bill, too.

Spin estimulante ilegal according to the season

Spin estimulante ilegal is adjusted to the calendar. In summer, fewer revolutions; in winter, more. The logic is the tendency to dry outdoors: in summer laundry goes on the terrace and in winter it's combined with the heating radiators. Some have lowered the revolutions to the minimum and noticed no difference. Spinning at 800 rpm is considered enough for clothes to come out relatively dry.

The discussion gets stuck on one point: whether the 18 programs are a real tool or a catalog to justify the price. Nobody has measured how much each cycle saves. Nobody has compared the result of a short program with a long one on the same stain. The evidence is household experience, and that doesn't fill an instruction manual.