SOT: wind back 50 years

[Scott]

EU regulations :-)

[Bob Eager]

I would imagine that the launderette ones are harsher on the clothes.

Possibly, the longer run uses less energy.

[Tim Streater]

OK - my bottle says Reckitt, meaning I must have bought it after 1990. I'm sure I bought a bottle back in 1979 when I was first living in the US, so the one I have I perhaps bought just before returing to the UK 30 years ago.

[Max Demian]

My Bosch has two programs which take 4.5 hours. They are labelled 40°C and 60°C (in boxes) but actually use cold water."Programme settings for testing and energy labelling in accordance with EU directive 2010/30/EU with cold water (15 °C)"

So they are just "cheat" programmes that no-one is expected to use.

[Robin]

The text for my brother's Bosch with the same or similar continues:

"The programs are suitable for the cleaning of normally soiled cotton textiles and regarding the combination of energy and water consumption the most effective. The specification of the programme temperature is based on the temperature stated on the care label in the textiles. The actual washing temperature may deviate from the indicated programme temperature for reasons of saving energy. The washing efficiency corresponds to the legal requirements."

In short, they claim the same cleaning using less water and less electricity by taking longer.

He uses them and is content with the results.

[SteveW]

Our domenstic machine can take around 2-1/2 hours on an eco setting; an hour on a fast wash; 30 minutes on an express wash; and 15 minutes on a cold express wash. We did make sure that we chose a machine that had so sensibly quick wash time options.