Should I now use
hygenic or allergy cycles
for every wash?

#FPLifehacks

Delicate Fabrics
  1. 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.

  2. Hygienic or Allergy cycles are great for killing bacteria but are designed for more robust items, such as towels, dishcloths, and bed linen.

  3. Activewear and delicate fabrics, such as silk, are not designed to withstand high temperatures – continue to wash these on a Delicate cycle.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. If you’d like the set temperature to remain consistent throughout the wash, opt for a smaller load size.

Highlights

Hints & Tips

Quick cycles

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

Using hot washes

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:

  • Check care labels.
  • Separate out darks from lights for high temperature washes, as some fabrics release more dyes at hotter temperatures.
  • If there are stains on your clothes, always pre-treat them. High temperatures can set some stains and make them impossible to get out.
  • Add laundry sanitiser to your wash, or diluted bleach for whites.

Using Bleach

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:

  1. Mix up a solution of bleach and water (½ cup of bleach in 1 litre of water).
  2. Pour the solution in the detergent dispenser 25 minutes after you start your wash.
  3. Choose Cottons, Heavy, or Allergy cycle at 60C.

For a Top Loader or our Low Profile Agitator:

  1. Mix up a solution of bleach and water (1 cup of bleach in 1 litre of water)
  2. Choose the Allergy cycle – this is the hottest wash temperature.
  3. Pour the solution down the centre of the agitator (or for a CleanSmart, into the detergent dispenser) 20 minutes after you start the cycle.

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.

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