UK households have been advised against using their washing machines from Thursday. The country is expected to experience yet another heatwave in the coming days, marking the third heatwave of summer 2025 so far. Many Brits struggle to stay cool in these hot conditions, with things like sleep and working from home proving difficult during spells of high temperatures. There are ways to make things better, such as staying away from certain appliances for a few days.
A number of experts have explained how using things like a washing machine can make things worse for you, and it will be harder to stay cool during spells of hot weather. Temperatures are expected to rise from Thursday, July 10 and will remain hot throughout the weekend, exceeding 30C in parts of the country. Many are just recovering from extremely hot temperatures in weeks past when it got as high as 35C and above in parts of Britain. There is one thing that might make this worse for those struggling with the heat: using their washing machine.
BBC Climate and Science reporter Esme Stellard has advised against using washing machines during a heatwave in the UK. These appliances can produce heat, which will make things worse if you’re already struggling to stay cool.
Meanwhile, the experts at Tom’s Guide say that you can reduce the temperature of your wash to help with this problem, which is fine to do unless you are washing heavily soiled and dirtied items.
It is likely that you can’t reduce the amount you wash your clothes during summer. In fact, things like shirts and t-shirts might need to be washed more regularly as we sweat through them on hot days. But the good news is that summer clothes tend to be lighter, so they can be washed on a cooler cycle.
If you want to avoid using your washing machine completely, it is best to get any washing done today and tomorrow before temperatures get very hot. When the heatwave eventually hits, there are a number of steps you should take to keep you home cool, including moving indoor plants outside and taking shorter and colder showers.
Marco Petagna, a senior meteorologist at the Met Office, said of the upcoming hot weather: “I think Wednesday is probably going to be the day when we could start to reach the thresholds of 25C to 28C, depending on where you are.
“But of course, you need three days at those temperatures for it to be able to be called a technical heatwave. So, although the temperature will be reaching the criteria, we probably won’t actually reach an official heatwave until around Friday, to give the three consecutive days at those temperatures.”