Healthy and Green Living

Annie loves the drying line that runs from her back porch to a pully on a tree. She finds them to be the most convenient way to hang-dry clothes, and believes that there is no better deodorizer and whitener than the sun. She’s been looking for other ways to save energy while doing laundry, too, and so investigated. Are top-loaders really better? What is the simplest energy-saving tip that also makes the most difference? Find out, here:

The two best and most remarkable tips for saving energy (and money) when doing laundry are to 1) wash your clothes in cold water, and 2) hang-dry your clothes (costs nothing in electrical usage or carbon use).
Up to 90 percent of the energy needed to wash clothes is attributed to heating water, so using cold water is the biggest energy saving action you can take when washing clothes. You also save $60 a year for an average family.

Eight Energy Saving Tips for the Washing Machine
1. Wash full loads only (but don’t overload) to save water, time, and energy.
2. Weigh a load of clothes once to get an idea of what 15 pounds looks and feels like. When buying, size your washer and dryer for equivalent load sizes.
3. Use cold water.
4. Adjust water level to the lowest practical setting.
5. Use the shortest cycle needed.
6. Avoid using too much detergent to eliminate the need for extra rinse.
7. Pre-soak especially dirty clothes.
8. Use a front-loading washer to reduce water use and drying time.

Top-Loaders or Front-Loaders?
Top-loading washers use from 30 to 60 gallons of water and 300 to 500 watt-hours per load (not including water heating up).

Front-loading (horizontal axis) washers use about 200 watt-hours per load for the longest possible load. The water well pump requires an additional 33 watt-hours to pump the 25 gallons (with extra rinse) needed by the machine. If you have municipal water, you’ll save on water and sewer costs. The front loader’s action is gentler, reducing wear and tear on clothes, and it spins much more water out of the clothes, allowing for shorter drying time.

Clothes washers are rated for efficiency using the Modified Energy Factor (MEF), a figure that considers washer capacity, electrical energy used, water heating energy required, and how dry the clothes are when they come out of the washer. The higher the MEF, the more efficient the washer is. When buying new, look for a Modified Energy Factor of 1.42 or higher.

Hang Dry Your Clothes
Hang dry your clothes instead of using the dryer and save 700 pounds of C02 a year.

Top Energy Saving Hints for the Dryer
Drying Hints.