I got some moldy christmas decorations (saaad) and I’m trying to salvage what I can, so I put the textile stuff (the ones that appeared ok) inside the washing machine.
What temp should I use?
I found something like a report or something that states that the enzymes should work at max 60°C: https://support.nanotempertech.com/hc/en-us/articles/20923823244177-Stability-of-Enzymes-in-Liquid-Laundry-Detergent-protocol
I also found a reddit post that says that they should work at around 40-60°C(?): https://web.archive.org/web/20251216082333/https://old.reddit.com/r/germany/comments/16q8pp2/on_what_degree_do_you_wash_clothes_in_germany/
My detergent says it’s been lab tested to remove heavy stains at 40°C: https://lafamilleatable.com/en/products/p-lessive-capsule-ultimate-active-clean-3en1-skip-8710847917493 (I found a french site with info in english)
From what I gather:
- 30°C is the minimum operating temp that the detergent should be effective
- 90°C is off-limits, will probably kill the enzymes
- 40°C is the lab tested temp, probably optimal temp in terms of power usage-cleaning effectiveness
- 60°C is the max operating temp, but I dont know if it cleans better or worse than the 40°C option
PS. I picked the 60°C for now.
I would say you can experiment a bit in 40-60 C range. best method would be to find exactly what enzymes are they using (there is not just 1), and see it’s activity vs temp curve, but you can do a rough experiment by creating simulated dirty articles (like just take 5 or 6 pieces of cloth and soil them roughly equally, and then test). My guess is 60 is good enough.
the article you linked suggest 60, here is another that suggests 55
https://technotes.alconox.com/detergents/tergazyme/cleaning-proteins-ph-and-temperature/
most protiens denature in 80-90 range (there are very few microbes from hot vents in 90+ that survive, and fun fact, it is there “dna replicating enzyme”(called dna polymerase)that is used in pcr which you may know from rt pcr fame), so definitely not that.
you could potentially start the wash around 60, and raise the temp to 70 or 80 towards the end where biological activity is not helpful anymore, and you might as well try to maximise the traditional detergent’s activity (in the sense that rate of reactions for almost all reactions increase with temp, in this case, solubility of oily stuff increases with temp)
Yoo thats super detailed, thanks for this!
Good idea with testing at various temps, I could have tried that.
At that setting, the washing machine wouldnt go above 60°C so I guess 60 was good enough.
PS. I did go with 60°C eventually and realised that many decorations were glued lol, pulling stuff out once it finished felt like a murder scene with various body parts from dolls etc. Also either one specific item or many leeched red into white fabrics, that wasnt so nice (maybe I could remove it with some h2o2 or bleach, but eh)
for glue stuff, you could have tried acetone or isopropanol, etc to dissolve it and gently paste it back.
yeah i knew I was very late, sorry for that.
Ehh they werent that worth it to salvage I guess. The ones I cared more survived I think haha.
Also dont worry about being late, thanks for you time! And it maaay help someone else in the future:)
You can always wash them again at a higher temperature. If the decorations turn out to be delicate and are damaged by a high temperature wash, which seems reasonably likely to me, then you can’t try again at a lower temperature.
I recommend 40, or even 30, and see where that gets you
Yeah youre right on that and some of them got dismembered after the wash cycle finished:/
But I’m dealing with mold and dunno if I had any other option, ughh… what a mess. Even 60°C may not be enough to kill the mold:/
You might want to use anti-mold sprays, or something like them which you can soak the decorations in, and avoid subjecting the decorations to a machine wash at all.
If they’re disintegrating, then hand washing is almost certainly the way to go if you’re serious about trying to save them.
There may also be something to be gained by putting them somewhere with good airflow and direct sun, unless the sun will damage them as well. Mold generally dies off if exposed to much fresh air and sunlight
