The average American family washes about 300 loads of laundry per year—and all that laundry uses a lot of energy. However, there are easy ways to reduce your energy use in the laundry room.
Consider energy-efficient appliances. One of the biggest changes you can make is to purchase an Energy Star-certified washer or dryer. Washers with this certification use about 40% less water and 25% less energy than standard washers. Energy Star washers can be top- or front-loading machines; however, front-loading machines are generally more water- and energy-efficient, helping offset additional upfront costs.
Get out of hot water. The easiest source of energy efficiency in the laundry room is to stop using hot water. Almost 90% of the energy consumed by your washing machine is used to heat water—but most laundry can be cleaned with cold water. Using cooler water is also easier on your clothes. If you need to use hot or warm water on a particularly dirty load of laundry, a well-insulated water heater will help decrease the costs of using warmer water.
Do fewer loads. Wash a full load of clothes when possible. However, if you must do a smaller load of laundry, remember to adjust the water level settings on your machine.
Help your dryer out. One of the best ways to reduce the amount of drying time is to get as much water out of the clothes as possible in the washing machine—use a higher spin setting to wring out the extra water. When you’re ready to dry, remember not to overfill the dryer so there is enough room for drying air to reach the clothes.
Use your dryer’s features. If your dryer has a moisture sensor, use it rather than guessing how long each load of laundry will need to dry. A dryer’s cooldown cycle uses the residual heat to finish drying your clothes without using as much energy.
Dry like with like. Heavy fabrics, like towels and blankets, should be dried separately from lighter fabrics, like T-shirts. When using a dryer’s moisture sensor, the dryer will keep running until the wettest (and probably heaviest) item is dry. Rather than one towel extending the drying time for each of your loads of laundry, dry towels as a separate load.
Live lint free. Clean the lint trap on your dryer regularly to help air circulation. Periodically use a vacuum nozzle to clean the area under or behind the lint filter, where lint can also get caught. If you use dryer sheets, scrub the filter clean about once a month—dryer sheets can leave a film on the filter that reduces air flow.
Remember safety. Your laundry room extends from the back of the dryer, down the dryer duct and all the way to the end of your dryer vent. Inspect your outside dryer vent regularly to make sure it’s not blocked, and periodically work with a professional to clean your dryer ducts.
Making sure the duct and vent are clear not only helps your dryer work more efficiently but can also prevent a fire—more than 15,000 fires per year are sparked by clogged dryer ducts and vents. If possible, move the dryer closer to an exterior wall to shorten the length of the dryer duct and make sure the duct is as straight as possible—this helps reduce the opportunities for clogging and increases efficiency.
Use the solar-powered dryer. Going old-fashioned and air drying your clothes will definitely reduce your energy use. You can also tumble dry clothes until damp, then line dry them until fully dry—taking this step can prevent the crunchy feeling that line dried clothes can sometimes have.
Posted: 2/19/2024 1:07:29 PM
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