Appliances in the laundry room hike up your monthly bill. Cut electricity costs by investing in energy-efficient appliances with modern settings.
WASHING MACHINE
- Only use your washing machine once a full load of dirty laundry has accumulated. Automatic washing machines use the same amount of electricity for a full load as they do for a single item.
- Use cold-water or lower heat settings as often as possible.Wash bed linen at 60* (instead of 90*) to cut back on the amount of electricity you use.
- Skip the pre-wash cycle for clothes that aren’t particularly dirty. This can cut down hot water usage by up to 20%.
- Never overload your automatic washing machine. Overloading will reduce the cleaning action. Varying the sizes of garments in a full load improves the cleaning action by allowing free circulation.
- Take advantage of special features on your washer that can save money. For example, soak cycles remove stubborn stains in one wash cycle.
- Invest in a front-loading washing machine instead of a top loader. It uses less water and costs less to operate. Also ensure the new machine offers a variety of water temperature settings.
- Use cold-water or lower heat settings as often as possible.Wash bed linen at 60* (instead of 90*) to cut back on the amount of electricity you use.
- Skip the pre-wash cycle for clothes that aren’t particularly dirty. This can cut down hot water usage by up to 20%.
- Never overload your automatic washing machine. Overloading will reduce the cleaning action. Varying the sizes of garments in a full load improves the cleaning action by allowing free circulation.
- Take advantage of special features on your washer that can save money. For example, soak cycles remove stubborn stains in one wash cycle.
- Invest in a front-loading washing machine instead of a top loader. It uses less water and costs less to operate. Also ensure the new machine offers a variety of water temperature settings.
TUMBLE DRYING
- Hang your clothes outside to dry. If possible, avoid using a tumble dryer altogether. Do your laundry on a sunny day, or use an indoor drying rack to dry your clothes.
- Remove excess water before putting clothes in the dryer. This minimises the drying times required.
- Dry multiple loads of clothes consecutively. Your dryer will be warm already so you’ll save energy.
- Make sure the lint filter in your tumble dryer is cleaned.
- If you’re buying a new tumble dryer, choose one with Electronic Humidity Control (EHC). It shuts the machine off automatically when clothes are dry instead of relying on a timer.
- Remove excess water before putting clothes in the dryer. This minimises the drying times required.
- Dry multiple loads of clothes consecutively. Your dryer will be warm already so you’ll save energy.
- Make sure the lint filter in your tumble dryer is cleaned.
- If you’re buying a new tumble dryer, choose one with Electronic Humidity Control (EHC). It shuts the machine off automatically when clothes are dry instead of relying on a timer.
IRONING
- Only iron what really needs to be ironed. Certain clothing will appear ironed with careful folding.
- Iron large batches of clothes at a time. This saves the iron from needing to be reheated.
- Complete the last of your ironing with the iron switched off. An iron consumes as much energy as ten 100W light bulbs so let some of that stored energy work for you.
- Only use distilled or boiled water in a steam iron. This will keep it clean and energy efficient.
- Invest in a thermostatically controlled iron to prevent it from becoming hotter than you need.
- Only iron what really needs to be ironed. Certain clothing will appear ironed with careful folding.
- Iron large batches of clothes at a time. This saves the iron from needing to be reheated.
- Complete the last of your ironing with the iron switched off. An iron consumes as much energy as ten 100W light bulbs so let some of that stored energy work for you.
- Only use distilled or boiled water in a steam iron. This will keep it clean and energy efficient.
- Invest in a thermostatically controlled iron to prevent it from becoming hotter than you need.
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