Daily Home Renovation Tips

Our Energy Conservation  page lists a wide variety of over 70 (and growing) different energy conservation tips for the home.

As everyone has to clean their clothes all the time, we thought we would write about all of the energy conservation tactics and tips we use and / or know about related to home laundry.

• Front Load Washers
  • According to Direct Energy, ENERGY STAR rated front load washing machines use approximately 40% less water per laundry load and 50% less energy than top loading washing machines
  • Front load clothes washers also tend to wring out more water from clothes than top loading washing machines, resulting in less work for the clothes dryer
• Use Cold Water not Hot Water
  • Use cold water with cold water laundry detergent to wash your clothes to save hot water heating bills
• Clean the Dryer Lint Trap
  • Clean the lint trap in the dryer after each load. A clogged lint trap makes the hot air element in the dryer work harder and use more energy.
  • Also consider washing by hand the lint trap weekly in cold water.
• Check Outside Dryer Vent
  • Every once in a while check the outside dryer vent to ensure it is not blocked, causing the heating element in the dryer to work harder (and use more energy) that it should
• Use Full Loads
  • Use only full loads to wash clothes where possible to reduce the number of loads (but not too full to reduce the cleaning ability of the washing machine.
• Dryer’s Delicate Mode
  • Use the Delicate option on dryer loads where practical to reduce the heat required and energy consumed for small / light fabric clothes
• Check Clothes Before Dryer Cycle Finishes
  • Many times the clothes are already dry when the dryer continues to heat the clothes and consume energy. Check the dryer before it says it is finished, even those with ’sensor’ features.
• Use Outside Laundry Line
  • What is old is new again. Dry clothes on an outside clothes line during good weather. This saves energy and gives your clothes that fresh outdoors smell you grew up with.
• Remove Dry Clothes Before Dryer Cycle Complete
  • By interrupting dry clothes before the dryer cycle is complete, you both allow more heat to be focused on the remaining wet / damp clothes and prevent fabric damage of clothes already dry
• Dry Laundry Loads Consecutively
  • Rather than doing one load of laundry per day, pick a day and do all of your laundry loads one after the other. This will allow the heat in the dryer from one load to be used to dry the very next load before it escapes.
• Automatic Shutoff Dryers
  • Use clothes dryers that have automatic shut off feature once the internal sensor indicates the clothes are dry
• Avoid Dryer’s Wrinkle Shield Option
  • Some dryers have a wrinkle shield feature which will run the dryer every 10 minutes after the clothes are dry for 2 to three minutes. The concept is that the clothes will stay wrinkle free. However, just remove the clothes once the main cycle is finished. This feature can use a lot of electricity if you forget to remove the clothes once you have gone to bed at night
• Wrap Hot Water Pipes
  • Wrap the hot water pipes leading to the clothes washer to insulate the hot water from the hot water heater, retaining it’s heat.
• Tankless Water Heater
  • Tankless water heaters are more efficient and consume less energy to generate hot water than electric or natural gas hot water tanks. Use a tankless water heater for hot water needed to wash clothes
• Solar Water Heater
  • While more expensive, consider a solar water heater for your home’s hot water needs, including for washing your family’s clothes

If you have additional home laundry tips to reduce the energy consumed and thus the cost of doing laundry at home, please write us or add a comment to this article.