I've been doing my laundry in cold water lately and I wondered--is there any advantage to using a laundry detergent specifically tailored for cold water? I'm guessing not although I may be wrong.

I've been checking out a few of the posts here on making my own detergent. I have sensitive skin and only use the free and clear types of detergent anyway, but still, I'm also hunting to save a bit of money!

I have used cold water only for laundry for years and can't see a difference between detergents. I use whatever is on sale that I have a coupon for. I like liquid better than powder detergent, since it disolves better. If you like the powder better, you could add the detergent first, then a bit of warm water to start to disolve the detergent, then change it to cold and add the laundry.

I've been using liquid myself so I couldn't figure out any difference. I think it might be a marketing ploy by the laundry detergent people!

I use whatever detergent is cheapest and unscented. We wash on cold. No problems.

I work for a wellness manufacturer that has been green for 24 year - before green was popular.  There is a difference in performance in teh temperature of the water (we have the test to prove it) and the temp also affects the wear and tear - not to mention the saving energy issue.

We have a liguid detergent that cleans as well in cold water as others do in hot water - plus it uses live enzymes to do the job - not harsh chemicals.  It is about half the price of Tide - which has been the leader for years.  It of course, has NO fillers either - which is hard to find in store shelf products.  So...it can be done!

I figure there is a difference between them, since the liquid detergent disolves much faster in warm than in cold (as I'm trying to clean the cup out).  This is with Bio-Klean, which supposedly works for all temperatures.

Joy, is there a web site with the test results? I'd be very curious to see them.

I've been using a laundry ball and a dryer ball.  The laundry ball lasts for 6 months and the dryer ball about the same.  I wash in cold water only.  It gets my clothes clean and I don't have to worry about buying detergent either.

I also have my own green shopping mall, it's an internet business that although I don't have a big team yet, I still can earn $$ on regular products as well as green ones.

There is cold water and then there is COLD water.  My cold water now (in Hawaii) is about what lukewarm was when we lived in Idaho.   Just a random thought I had.......

I just read an article that says we don't really need to use detergent, the agitator in the machine is what does the work.  http://funny-about-money.com/2010/01/30/we-dont-need-no-steenking-laundry-detergent/ I'm not sure I'm ready to eliminate the detergent, but I have cut way back and have not noticed a change.  So I can't believe it matters whether you use a special detergent for cold water or not.  I use hot though, because I have allergies to dust mites and only hot water and hot drying keeps them in check.