Click Here to Post this to your Twitter Account!There are money saving settings right on your washing machine that you may or may not have noticed. It starts with the size of your load of laundry. There is (on most washers) dial that has water saver mode all the way up to large capacity load. Use this setting option don't just set it on large load and walk away!
There is also a temperature setting dial. This dial lists all the types of temperature settings for the different cycles from cold/cold to hot/cold. Read the tags on your laundry and see what the manufacturer suggests for temperature settings on your clothes and use them! Wash in cold/cold whenever you can and it will save on the cost to heat the water.
You can save money on drying your clothes by not over filling your washing machine as well. If you put too many clothes in your washer your spin cycle will not get as much water out of the clothes as you would with a normal size load. This will translate to higher energy usage on your dryer by taking longer to dry.
If you can hang your clothes to dry rather than putting them in the dryer you can save some money on energy. Even if you just hang a few items in the bathroom to dry you'll save a little. I like to hang my sheets outside to dry when the weather is nice. When I do that I save an entire dryer load!
Cleaning out the lint trap before every load is helpful to keep your energy cost down. You should also clean your dryer hose once a month or more. Lint builds up inside the dryer hose very fast and can clog the hose. A clogged vent hose causes laundry to take longer than necessary to dry and that costs you money. If you use dryer sheets the lint trap and hose get clogged up faster. Use an old tooth brush and warm soapy water to clean the lint trap once a month or when you see it start to get clogged.
There is also a temperature setting dial. This dial lists all the types of temperature settings for the different cycles from cold/cold to hot/cold. Read the tags on your laundry and see what the manufacturer suggests for temperature settings on your clothes and use them! Wash in cold/cold whenever you can and it will save on the cost to heat the water.
You can save money on drying your clothes by not over filling your washing machine as well. If you put too many clothes in your washer your spin cycle will not get as much water out of the clothes as you would with a normal size load. This will translate to higher energy usage on your dryer by taking longer to dry.
If you can hang your clothes to dry rather than putting them in the dryer you can save some money on energy. Even if you just hang a few items in the bathroom to dry you'll save a little. I like to hang my sheets outside to dry when the weather is nice. When I do that I save an entire dryer load!
Cleaning out the lint trap before every load is helpful to keep your energy cost down. You should also clean your dryer hose once a month or more. Lint builds up inside the dryer hose very fast and can clog the hose. A clogged vent hose causes laundry to take longer than necessary to dry and that costs you money. If you use dryer sheets the lint trap and hose get clogged up faster. Use an old tooth brush and warm soapy water to clean the lint trap once a month or when you see it start to get clogged.
TIP #1: Wash clothes in warm/cold not hot/cold when you can! Hot/Cold cycle is the most expensive way to wash clothes. Check the tags and wash things according to the manufactures suggestion.
TIP #2: Use the water saver feature on small loads of laundry! Most washing machines have several water levels. Utilize this for smaller loads. You save water and energy.
TIP #3: Hang clothes to dry instead of using the dryer! Put up a clothes line outside or hang clothes in the shower and save energy.
TIP #4: Clean out the dryer exhaust at least once a month! The exhaust hose tends to get clogged. Cleaning it out at least once a month will make the dryer more efficient.
TIP #5: Clean out the lint trap on your dryer before each load! When drying items that produce a lot of lint like towels you may want to clean the trap out in the middle of the drying cycle as well.
Not all washers have that ability to set water capacity - I have a front loader and supposedly the machine self calculates how much water it needs to wash the amount of clothes that have been loaded. It took a month or two to learn little tricks with my machine. For instance my permanent press cycle runs about 3 minutes less than cotton. BUT the cotton cycle spins the clothes more thoroughly. Yet, I have found no difference in the amount of wrinkles once the clothes are dried. However, the better wrung out the clothes are - the quicker they dry.
ReplyDeleteSo clearly I am saving money on the electricity bill by choosing the cotton (3 minutes longer) cycle than the permanent press cycle.
The trick is to learn how YOUR individual machine runs, what are its options & use them to your advantage.
Interesting article with a some good points. Thanks for sharing.
I actually have in indoor clothesline in my apartment.. in an attempt to save some money. Cuts our monthly budget from $50 to around $20-25!!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I left some ad love! Have a great Thursday!
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