How to do your laundry in order to save energy

**Bournecrazy** · 09-28-2009, 08:29 AM

I do my washing on the cold setting and in economy mode(saves about 9 litres of water i think doing it on this setting)

I use half the amount of washing powder that is needed and a little conditioner and i only run it on the quick wash setting of 30 mins late in the evening after the water rate has gone down.

**lisaflex** · 09-28-2009, 06:53 PM

most clothing in cold except underwear and socks which get done on hot. towels, sheets, dog bedding, rugs, get done on hot.

i do use vinegar instead of softener in sheets and towels. although i do use softener sometimes. just for the smell!!! i also wash stfd animals in hot.

**lisaflex** · 09-28-2009, 06:54 PM

forgot to add that i also use arm and hammer washing soda w/ detergent. so i use less detergen than called for

**RetiredVeryEarly** · 10-08-2009, 03:03 AM

I got a great T-shirt for my birthday. It says Recycled and has the recycling arrows making a triangle. At the bottom it says I wore this shirt yesterday. :-)

**shoiji** · 10-08-2009, 06:51 PM

I have been able to get laundry day to once every other week. Having enough underwear really helps out with this. I also have my at home clothes that I change into when I get home. If I wear a shirt or pants for two or three hours it just gets put back in the closet or drawer.

Since I have to use the laundry room it really saves on both energy and money!! They also just put in two front loading washers that will hold two loads for the price of one load. This is really going to come in handy during the winter when clothes are heavier.

**frugalfranny** · 10-08-2009, 07:16 PM

My whites get washed in hot.........but I only wash with full loads.....about every 7 to 10 days......whenever I have a full load of 'that sort' be it colored or whites.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 10-08-2009, 10:57 PM

I always wash my clothes in cold water.

I know that people recommend that you wash clothes in full loads, but that doesn't work for all types of loads. For example, DS11 has a bedwetting problem and if I put a full load in, the laundry detergent and vinegar won't do its job of removing the urine smell from the clothes. This also works for overly soiled clothing.

When our dryer went out of commission, we gauged the energy savings for not using the dryer. It was about $8-$15 for the month.

Our house has a bad habit of not catching up with laundry. I could wash five loads a day but have five more loads two days later. To remedy this, we try to reuse our towels and I wear clothes more than once per wash. I only do this if I'm not risking the chance of getting food on my clothes.

**mrsfoamy** · 10-11-2009, 08:42 PM

I also wash clothes in cold water and will re-wear clothes that aren't stained. I fill the machine as full of clothes as I can. Provided they are not too soiled, they get clean enough.

**Ali Lee** · 10-18-2009, 10:51 PM

I use a cold h2o wash for all my clothes, except hubby's work clothes. Cold just wasn't getting them clean. So with his clothes I use hot/cold rinse. I also make my own detergent. I have found it's not any better or worse than store bought.

**RetiredVeryEarly** · 10-21-2009, 12:28 AM

We wear our shirts and pants until they smell bad or appear able to walk by themselves. ;-) In the long run, your clothes last longer if you wash them less often and don't put them in the dryer. All that lint in the dryer, that is your clothes disintegrating slowly. Also, if you turn your shirts inside out while laundering they last longer, as the cuffs and seams and things that stick out tend to get more wear and tear in the washing and spinning and so on. So putting the outside inside preserves them a bit.