Laundry is something that each of us has to deal with. The more people there are in a family, the more laundry there is. It is easy to spend a fortune on getting everyone’s clothing clean if you’re not careful. Even for one person there are things you can do to cut the costs of doing the laundry every week. Follow even a few of these and you could save some pretty significant coin.
Saving Money on Laundry
It’s all in the Sorting
Sort the clothing by colors as usual. This prevents fading and bleeding. Next, sort them by the level of how dirty they are. Extremely soiled clothing will need different treatments than moderately soiled clothing. Wash these separately. This will save on water, energy, soaps, and the number of pre-treatments necessary.
Wash in Cold Water
Very few articles of clothing really need to be washed in warm or hot water. The biggest part of the cost of doing laundry comes from the energy used to heat the water. If you use a good detergent, your clothes will still get clean and you will save a bundle on energy costs.
Choose the Right Cycle Length
Choose the shortest wash cycle your machine has to offer. Unless clothes are extremely soiled, this cycle with get your clothing adequately clean. Only use longer cycles for extremely soiled clothing that need extra agitation and wash time.
Use Store Brand or Homemade Detergents
Many store brands are just as good as name brand detergents. Buy a small box or bottle of each to sample. Try a variety of them until you find that meets your needs and preferences. Many people also use recipes found across the internet to mix up batches of liquid or powdered detergent like the homemade detergent we have previously shared. They also make fabric softener and stain treatments solutions. Making your own can save you big money compared to name brands. You will need to try these to see how well they work with your water supply and machine.
Fill It Up
Never run the machine with only a partial load, unless it is an emergency. While half-loads do use only about half of the water of a full load, they still use the same amount of energy to operate the machine. The most efficient use of the resources involved is to fill the machine and only run full loads. This is equally true of the dryer. If you have a high-spin cycle on the washer, it can help reduce the time needed in the dryer.
Use Moisture-sensing Settings on the Dryer
To save money in the dryer, choose the settings that operate off of moisture sensing. These can tell when the clothing is dry and will automatically shut off. Non-sensing cycles will run long after the clothes are dry. This is a waste of energy and money. Don’t forget to remove the lint after each load so the dryer doesn’t have to work harder.
Line Dry When Possible
It is more work to haul the laundry outside and hang it on a line. The benefit is not needing to run the dryer at all. This is a huge energy savings. Depending on where the dryer is located in your home, it can also help by not heating up the house in the summer. This can cause your air conditioner to have to work harder too. Hanging the clothes outside also gives them a fresh scent no dryer sheet can emulate.
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