How to cut your laundry bills

It’s time to keep those rising power costs in check

Washing and drying your clothes is a kilowatt-hungry enterprise. Don’t be passive about saving a little money on every load. Pictures: iStock

The key to reducing some of your energy usage could be sitting right there in the utility room. Take our washer and dryer challenges to save money, cut your carbon footprint, and ease up on ageing your clothes into the bargain.

COLD-WASH WISDOM

Do you really understand what your washing machine can do and what each wash is costing in terms of electricity per load and garment wear and tear?

Turning your washing machine down to the virtually cold 20C-30C cycle means the heater doesn’t have to perform as it would for a 40C-60C wash.

Research by the University of Leeds, working with Proctor & Gamble, released in 2020, revealed that washing at lower temperatures and using shorter washing cycles resulted in fewer micro-fibres being released to the environment in our greywater.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

These tiny nasties that shed from textiles account for 30% of the plastics in our oceans.

Try cold-wash temperatures for bright colours liable to run or fade

Ecology aside, this simple act of cooler and quicker washes could also save you as much as 66% on a conventional hot load, according to the UK’s Energy Savings Trust (comparing 20C to 40C) when your machine is working expressly off the cold water supply (typical).

Cool washing is also easier on your clothes as it is not microscopically tearing them apart and it creates less colour and dye transfer.

The programme choices and engineering of newer machines and dedicated detergents can lift all but the worst of bacteria and germs out at lower temperatures, with hotter washes reserved for bedding, towels, baby clothes, underwear, and wool/polyester for example.

If you’re struggling to see results at 20C, 25C (as warm as your local swimming pool) could be a better default temperature for most family washes, if the symbol on the garment label allows.

Try cold-wash temperatures and a full machine for:

• Refreshing clothes that are not too dirty, like seasonal clothes you want to freshen up
• Lightly soiled everyday clothes
• Bright colours liable to run or fade
• When you need a (not too filthy) garment in an emergency for the next day
• Delicate and hand-wash cycles that could be damaged or shrunk by 40C — look for a symbol of a water tub with two lines under it on the label

Keep in mind, these low-temperature cycles can drag on, using a touch more energy.

If you run the machine regularly at 20C-30C, you should do at least one monthly maintenance wash at 40C using a commercial washing machine cleaner (Calgon for instance) or an environmentally-friendly mix of vinegar, lemon juice, and baking powder. Together with an internal wipe with white vinegar, this cleans and sanitises the drum and seals, and flushes out the grey-water pipes preventing that honking, slimy build-up of dirt, calcium, grease and detergent.

Run full loads as much as possible unless your machine is rated to perform equally well with a pinch of teenage ballast.

On that note, it’s worth teaching youngsters that if the washer train pulls out of the station, that’s it. Expect laundry to be presented as far as possible at your convenience to make up full, efficient loads. Tough love and a stained pair of jeans on Friday night? Don’t stand for any feigned incompetence.

When you buy your next washer, you can expect a B-rated machine to consume around 166kWh per year. The EU energy rating for A+ to G ratings have been recently shaken up to provide more clarity.

Putting the cost at, for instance, 30c per kWh and ignoring the potential for overnight and even free one-day weekend tariffs, this comes in at under €50 — great value if the machine suits your needs in terms of sizing.

Still fighting the idea of a smart meter or (don’t tell anyone I said this) the fabulous economy of a NightSaver meter? You could enjoy up to four tariffs on a digital meter including discounted kWh rates.

Think about using this for dryers in the early hours of the morning when you are up and about before work. Large appliances are best supervised as there have been some fire and safety issues for these relatively hot appliances, even in the recent past.

USING THE DRYER

Dryers are kilowatt-hungry disasters for many householders. While it would be lovely to simply swap out that old vented E-rated antique for a smart new energy-efficient heat-pump model, the capital outlay may preclude it — and you cannot dry outside every day without the aid of a fully roofed-in dryer unit. This is Ireland.

Unless you have perfect ventilation, be wary of following grinning Instagram housekeeping hacks and throwing clothes onto radiators or even on clothes horses indoors. This can lead to sneaky condensation problems that will spatter the walls in mould if you’re not savvy about it.

Draping clothes over space heaters and electric radiators is outright dangerous behaviour.

Washing and drying your clothes is a kilowatt-hungry enterprise. Don’t be passive about saving a little money on every load. Pictures: iStock

Pick up a small dehumidifier if you want to split the load between using the machine, drying outdoors, and drying inside — generally a good approach. There are two elements to the machine that dries your clothes — the heater and the mechanical action of the machine.

A typical machine, vented or condensing (not a heat pump machine) would consume around 4.5kWh per 6-7kg load. Let’s try to track current kWh pricing and add a little discount and call that 30c per kWh.

When you’re buying a machine it’s all on the EU energy labelling, so there’s a rough guide to the cost of doing an annual laundry run. Most of us are rolling our way through €1.35 per drying load.

With that expense in mind, let’s maximise what we can get out of every run:

• Match your dryer size to your needs. The Good Housekeeping Institute suggests the machine size to load as follows: 7kg: 35 T-shirts or one double duvet; 8kg: 40 T-shirts or one queen duvet; 9kg: 45 T-shirts or one summer king duvet; 10kg: 50 T-shirts or one winter king duvet
• A vented machine will generally perform better than a condenser, while a heat pump will use about 40% of the energy of a similarly sized vented machine
• Ensure the clothes are very dry already. Set your spin cycle on the washing machine to wring out as much water as possible
• Empty the lint collector/collectors and any condenser tank not pumped to the outdoors every run. Show everyone in the household how to do this
• Check the vent hose and any wall vent is clear of debris;
• Don’t put the dryer in the garage. A cold room means the dryer is sucking in cold air, which takes more energy to warm up
• Run full loads and ensure they don’t tangle as they dry. Button up duvet covers to prevent them swallowing smaller garments
• Don’t overload the machine — this stresses the motor, potentially lessening the life span of the machine
• Sensor dryers will stop when they are done, but otherwise, you need to know your machine well
• Don’t rely on manual settings and timers without question
• That said, repeatedly stopping the machine and checking the load releases heat and energy (just like opening the oven door)
• Throw a dry towel into a smaller load — it will sop up and evaporate off water quickly, shortening the cycle;
• Try your machine’s “steam refresh” cycle if it has one. It’s great for perking up a lightly soiled outfit in a jiffy and is energy efficient into the bargain