“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 883 (Monday) – overthinking

Laundry is getting complicated. Care instructions like “wash in cold water only” at least match a setting on the dial on the washer – Hot – Warm – Cold, but it isn;t always so straightforward.

The hieroglyphic tags mystify me and the only understandable little icon is the iron with an X that means “do not iron.” In preparation of washing one of the recent acquisitions from the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop, the care tag was consulted. In addition to some crystal clear notes such as the fiber content, it also delivered a new puzzlement. 

The care tags says, “The maximum temp 30*.” I needed clarification. If it’s Fahrenheit, that would make the maximum water temperature equivalent to ice cubes. If it’s Celsius, according to the conversion on the Internet, the noted maximum temperature equivalent is 86 degrees Fahrenheit, which seems more likely. 

The tag sent me down a rabbit hole of research tidbits and now, thanks to the Speed Queen company website, I know that “Cold” on a washing machine is between 60 and 80 degrees, “Warm” is 90 to 100 degrees, and “Hot” is 130 degrees or more. The folks at Speed Queen also say if the cold water is below 60, it’s probably too cool to wash your clothing well. Now I want to figure out how to check the temperature of my washing machine water.

I don’t remember learning any of this when working on a Girl Scout badge a million years ago that involved sorting laundry. If it was part of the curriculum, it has escaped me, but at least the sorting of the colors stuck.

A maximum temperature of 86 degrees might be okay if the reference is specific to washing machine water temperature, but body temperature is still warmer than that. If worn on a human body of 97 or 98 degrees, what happens? It hasn’t melted in the recent heat wave, so it seems immune to air temperature. But what is the temperature of armpit sweat?

The tag says “Iron on low heat,” which, according to another Internet search is 110 degrees, and also “Do not tumble dry.” Got it. Those make sense. No overthinking required.

But back to the overthinking. I’m kind of sorry now that I read the stupid tag in this shirt. Water not more than either ice cubes or 86 degrees, no dryer, iron at no more than 110 degrees. The iron temperature at least indicates the shirt probably will not melt when worn, but what if near heat or flame? 

I suspect that much quality time will be invested in (wasted on?) scrutinizing care tags for additional overthinking opportunities. For a while anyway, until I get bored with it or forget, which could be as soon as tomorrow.