Huh.

It's hard for me to believe that there would be that much buildup of oils that are only used a couple of drops at a time. But who knows?

Here's the part that got me though: "It is now common to have washes sometimes as low as 15 degrees Celsius." Oil removal aside, is it really possible to get clothes clean with water that cold? In the cooler months when the basement dehumidifier water that I start with isn't any warmer than the ground water (which is probably a couple of degrees cooler than 15, but only a couple), I stand by the washer until the tub is full, fiddling with the cycle controls to make sure that some warm water goes in. I'm sure my washer has several years in it still, but I do crave one of those new ones with a thermostat.