Original post by bea on January 7, 2023, Translated by Lisa Scheer in 2023/24.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post might redirect you to a site in German. Feel free to use Machine Translation (such as DeepL or Google Translate) to get the information provided on these sites.
Sinner’s Circle, cleaning and washing
People often ask themselves if eco-programs even help to conserve energy in appliances because they run for longer periods of times. There’s also the question if washing with eco-programs is good enough, because they heat up water to lower temperatures.
Here’s the answer: Eco-Programs are energy and detergent conserving and they wash just as well as regular programs. Why is that the case?
Sinner’s Circle
Washing and cleaning performances are influenced by four parametres that depend on one another. Sinner’s Circle describes these mechanisms. It is named after chemist Herbert Sinner (1950):
- Chemistry (washing and cleaning agents)
- Mechanics (Pressure, scouring, rotation of the washing drum, circulating the water in the dishwasher, etc.)
- Time
- Temperature
These four factors carry the same weight but can be changed and influence one another. If you reduce one factor, you can balance out the act by increasing one or more different aspects. The sum always ends up being 100 percent. That’s why people were scrubbing on a washing board rigorously back in the day. Soap was the only chemical aid there was. If you wash your dishes by hand, the factor of mechanics is especially high as well. A dishwasher increases time and the use of detergents. If you reduce the temperature in the washing machine, you can balance the washing performance out by using more potent detergents or longer washing cycles.
We are talking about the Sinner’s Circle, because these parameters can be represented in the circular form of a pie chart.
Heating up water takes a lot of energy. The hotter the water, the more energy you need. Efficient dishwashers and washing machines can get the same result with lower temperatures. For example through the use of longer programs (time) and through the use of better detergents (chemistry).
If you lower the temperature of a washing machine from 60 degrees to 40 degrees, the energy consumption is reduced by up to 45 percent. Washing your laundry with 30 degrees instead of 40 degrees can save up to 40 percent of energy costs.
The eco-program of a dishwasher counteracts low temperatures through longer runtimes. Also nowadays better detergents allow us to lower the temperature.
Temperature
Heat dissolves detergents as well as dirt, particularily fats. A rule of thumb is that dirt can be dissolved more easily in higher temperatures.
Time
The more time, the better the cleaning performance. If you want to wash for shorter periods of time, you need to increase other factors.
Chemistry
Detergents are there to dissolve dirt. The right dose is important (don’t over- or underuse cleaning agents), but also the concentration and quality of cleaning products.
Mechanics
Without the factor of mechanics, there can be no sufficient cleaning performance.
Water serves as an aid to reduce chemicals, to absorb temperature and to clean.
Sources:
- https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinnerscher_Kreis
- https://www.br.de/radio/bayern1/welche-waesche-bei-wieviel-grad-waschen-100.html
- https://www.miele.com/de/com/der-sinnersche-kreis-5149.htm
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