# Why not always use the delicate setting on my WASHER? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145 "2010-12-14T19:04:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/1 "2010-12-14T19:04:57Z")
Started because of [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=589214) As near as I can tell, the delicate setting on the washer means the agitator isn’t working quite so aggressively. This would seem to translate into the clothes getting a bit less abrasion. It should be enough to make a difference otherwise why would they even bother with the setting? I stopped using the other cycle settings on the washer a few weeks ago (when I first thought about this) and haven’t noticed my clothes not getting clean so _is_ there a reason not to do this? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/2 "2010-12-14T19:14:37Z")
I don’t know, but I’d also like to know what is the permanent press cycle? That’s the one I normally use, but I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/3 "2010-12-14T19:23:56Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > It should be enough to make a difference otherwise why would they even bother with the setting? I’m hoping we’ll see a proper GQ answer to this. But, it shouldn’t be hard to imagine why they’d make a setting with no real function: because you’ll assume it has a function and prefer that washer over a competitor that lacks it. The clothes-washing industry is full of products that have a marginal function. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/4 "2010-12-14T19:27:01Z")
On my washer the delicates get spun at a slower speed. The result is wetter clothes at the end. On normal, the spin is so fast that the clothes are significantly less wet. Less wet means less time in the dryer which means less energy used. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/5 "2010-12-14T21:25:03Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I don’t know, but I’d also like to know what is the permanent press cycle? That’s the one I normally use, but I don’t know why. On our old washer, the permanent press cycle had a pause for several minutes before the rinse cycle started. That was supposed to give the clothes a couple of minutes to cool down and “relax” so as not to set any wrinkles. I don’t know that it was any better than a regular warm wash/cold rinse cycle with no pause, but that was the rationale. ---
**Author:** ![abderian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@abderian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abderian)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/6 "2010-12-14T22:07:40Z")
FWIW, I’ve used only the delicate cycle on all my laundry for about five years now. I haven’t noticed any difference in how dry/wet the laundry is after spinning, and I think it’s helped cut down on the “wear and tear” of the clothes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/7 "2010-12-14T22:42:48Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > As near as I can tell, the delicate setting on the washer means the agitator isn’t working quite so aggressively. This would seem to translate into the clothes getting a bit less abrasion. It should be enough to make a difference otherwise why would they even bother with the setting? > > I stopped using the other cycle settings on the washer a few weeks ago (when I first thought about this) and haven’t noticed my clothes not getting clean so _is_ there a reason not to do this? I have noticed that serious ground-in dirt, like that on the knee areas of a boys pants, don’t get as clean. Myself, I don’t have that kind of dirt, just sweat and a occ foodstain, which I try to pre-treat. In fact, not only do I use “delicate” I use cold water. However, once in a while, for my whites, I use regular cycle and hot, and yes, they come out cleaner. I even did a blind test. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/8 "2010-12-15T14:44:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > However, once in a while, for my whites, I use regular cycle and hot, and yes, they come out cleaner. I even did a blind test. If you did a blind test how can you see that they are cleaner? Sorry. Couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/9 "2010-12-15T16:06:41Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > If you did a blind test how can you see that they are cleaner? > > . _Your_ clothes don’t feel and smell cleaner too when they are washed? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/10 "2010-12-15T16:24:48Z")
The delicate cycle on my washer runs for approximately half as long as the normal cycle, judging by the amount of space it occupies on the dial. ---
**Author:** ![tpatsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tpatsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tpatsfan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/11 "2010-12-15T18:27:12Z")
The delicate cycle is just cold water and cold rinse and less washing time. I work at a laundromat. So I have seen many washers and know how they work. It has nothing to do with the agitator on the top loader and nothing to with the spin cycle on front loaders. Its all about temperature and time of the washing cycle. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/13 "2010-12-15T19:43:14Z")
> [@tpatsfan](#): > > The delicate cycle is just cold water and cold rinse and less washing time. I work at a laundromat. So I have seen many washers and know how they work. It has nothing to do with the agitator on the top loader and nothing to with the spin cycle on front loaders. Its all about temperature and time of the washing cycle. I have a separate dial for the water temp for wash/rinse. Are you saying that it doesn’t function on this cycle? (I’m not at home to check this empirically.) However, I can state categorically that, on my machine, the agitator doesn’t move as robustly on the delicate cycle as it does on the regular one. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/14 "2010-12-15T19:52:48Z")
I have to concur. While I can’t comment on the number of washers tpatsfan has seen, I’m quite certain that he has not seen mine. There is a little light that shows what speed spin will be used. I suppose the light could be lying to me, but really, why would it want to do that to me? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/15 "2010-12-15T20:14:15Z")
I don’t work in a laundromat, although I did use one once. I do own a front loader washing machine\*, and as I had a load of laundry to put on anyway, I checked. Regular cycle is run with a water temperature of 40C and spins at 1400RPM. It also weighs the load to determine run time, which it put at 132 minutes for the halfish-size load I just added. Delicate cycle washes at 30C and spins at 800RPM. It doesn’t weigh the load to determine cycle length, it just defaults to 105 minutes. - Actually, at this moment I have three washing machines: his clapped out old front loader that is waiting to be transported to the garbage dump, my top loader which doesn’t fit in the laundry here and is being stored in the garage until I work out what to do with it, and our front loader which both washes things and fits in the laundry, unlike the other two. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/16 "2010-12-15T20:59:13Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > If you did a blind test how can you see that they are cleaner? > > Sorry. Couldn’t resist. No, he means he tested it by washing some window blinds. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/17 "2010-12-16T01:09:54Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > No, he means he tested it by washing some window blinds. Duh. Are you sure? I thought maybe he was washing [one of these](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.asia.ru/images/target/photo/50974463/Hunting_Blind.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.asia.ru/en/ProductInfo/1395671.html&h=360&w=360&sz=46&tbnid=--ZFoaUIVdpPlM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhunting%2Bblind&zoom=1&q=hunting+blind&usg=__SKSxkh_ifPCxgmXHXyYudeUFZmk=&sa=X&ei=JWYJTYuEC8GclgeUsfGpAw&ved=0CEAQ9QEwAw), which can get really dirty out there in the woods, y’know. I’m pretty sure it won’t get as clean as your whites, though, regardless of what temp you set. ---
**Author:** ![Apex\_Rogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Apex\_Rogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apex_Rogers)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/18 "2010-12-16T03:03:06Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > It also weighs the load to determine run time, which it put at 132 minutes for the halfish-size load I just added. > Delicate cycle washes at 30C and spins at 800RPM. It doesn’t weigh the load to determine cycle length, it just defaults to 105 minutes. Your washer taks over 2 hours to go through a single medium-sized load? I hope it’s a combination washer/dryer unit or else that makes no sense at all. A wash cycle should be something like 20-30 minutes! ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/19 "2010-12-16T04:29:52Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > Started because of [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=589214) > > As near as I can tell, the delicate setting on the washer means the agitator isn’t working quite so aggressively. This would seem to translate into the clothes getting a bit less abrasion. It should be enough to make a difference otherwise why would they even bother with the setting? > > I stopped using the other cycle settings on the washer a few weeks ago (when I first thought about this) and haven’t noticed my clothes not getting clean so _is_ there a reason not to do this? When I went to college, I only wore stuff that was blue or black in color, and nothing that required special instructions. I basically washed everything in warm water on the gentle cycle and then dried it on delicate in one big load. My undies might have come out a bit dingy, but I took care of that by wearing them on the inside of my pants, so no one noticed. The gentle cycle in washing machines vary from machine to machine. Sometimes, it’s the water temperature. Sometimes it’s the amount of agitation. Sometimes, it’s the speed of the spin cycle. My feeling is with modern detergent, there’s probably very little need to use warm or hot water, and anything but the short delicate cycle. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/20 "2010-12-16T04:31:31Z")
> [@Apex\_Rogers](#): > > Your washer taks over 2 hours to go through a single medium-sized load? I hope it’s a combination washer/dryer unit or else that makes no sense at all. A wash cycle should be something like 20-30 minutes! The newer high efficiency machines don’t use as much water, so they take longer to wash and dry the clothes. We used top loading machines in the U.S. for years because they could get the wash done a lot quicker than front loading machines. Front loaders were more popular in Europe because they used less energy and were gentler on the clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145/21 "2010-12-16T05:35:00Z")
> [@qazwart](#): > > The newer high efficiency machines don’t use as much water, so they take longer to wash and dry the clothes. We used top loading machines in the U.S. for years because they could get the wash done a lot quicker than front loading machines. Front loaders were more popular in Europe because they used less energy and were gentler on the clothes. I get the gentler on the clothes, but how is it that they use less energy when they’re running four or five times longer per washload? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-always-use-the-delicate-setting-on-my-washer/564145.md?page=2)