‘Energy-saving’ wash cycles could spread germs, study finds

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It seems as though it's a little more complicated than that. The article mentions infants getting sick after they used a washer with lower temperatures in the hospital due to build up in that rubbery part.

The article ends with "If elderly people requiring nursing care with open wounds or bladder catheters, or younger people with suppurating injuries or infections live in the household, laundry should be washed at higher temperatures, or with efficient disinfectants, to avoid transmission of dangerous pathogens,” said Martin Exner, chair and director of the Institute for Hygiene and Public Health.

So it seems like if you're healthy its ok to use the lower water setting, but in hospitals and homes where there is an elderly person needing nursing care or a sick kid its best to wash at the higher temperature in case of contaminants.