23 laundry tips to save money and reduce impact

Washing and drying clothes can adversely affect your wallet and the planet.

In fact, Americans love so much clean clothes that we make around 660 million sheets a week. Imagine all this water and energy, it's beyond the mind.

While highly efficient washing machines can reduce water consumption by 30 to 60% and can consume half the energy than traditional machines - and dryers offer similar high levels of efficiency - doing a lot of laundry is as efficient an process as possible. On top of that, our passion for products that are dreadful things to our health and have found in clothing as False-feather cleaning and grasslands found ecosystems, and that seems a good idea to clean up our act. ,

In this sense, the following tips are simple ways to reduce water consumption, save energy and promote a toxic environment. Think of them as simple ways to lighten the burden of your purse and the planet.

The laundry

The consumption of electricity and water varies from machine to machine, but also depends on the way in which the machine is used. The first step is to wash your clothes less often, saving money, water, energy and extending the life of your clothes. Then consider these suggestions.

1. Instead of washing two medium loads, save and load more, but make sure you do not overload your machine. Check the load capacity of your washing machine in pounds and then weigh a few items of clothing to get an idea of ​​the amount of clothing your machine can handle.

2. Set the water level (load size) to the lowest setting that makes sense. In other words, do not think that washing a small load in "big load" mode will make things cleaner.

3. Use the shortest cycle required for the job.

4. Many people use much more cleanser than they need; more is not better Readers Digest summarizes: "too much detergent use can cause more problems, odors including stains or residue on clothes, caught in the excess wash fees debris left not wearing clothes to be drained properly. in the pump and wash motor, which acts as a brake, and more energy is needed to wash the clothes as the machine automatically adds rinses and pauses to remove excess foam. Read the instructions for your detergent and follow them.

5. Washing and rinsing temperatures have a considerable influence on the total energy consumption and thus on the costs. In general, the temperature of the rinse water has no influence on the cleaning. Therefore, the washing machine should always be configured for rinsing with cold water. For pre-cooling, a cooler wash temperature can be good.

6. Experiment with different detergents to find a product that works well with cold water.

7. Lower the thermostat of your water heater. Many manufacturers set the thermostat to 140 ° F, but a setting of 120 ° F is sufficient for most household needs . By reducing the temperature of your hot water, you save energy with hot or hot wash cycles.

the drying

According to Energy Star Program EPA are drier, the most energy devices by far. They argue that if all the dryers sold in the US were Energy Star, Americans could save more than $ 1.5 billion a year on electricity and avoid greenhouse gases equivalent to more than 2 million vehicles. However, even highly efficient dryers still consume a lot of energy.

Hanging clothes to dry instead of the dryer can save 700 pounds of CO2 per year. Besides, there is nothing better than dry clothes in the sun and in the wind! But it is true that online drying is not practical for everyone, and some communities do not even allow it. If you can not dry online, try following these tips.

8. If your dryer has a sensor that allows an automatic cycle, you should use it instead of a drying timer to avoid wasting energy. Excessive drying can also cause shrinkage, static electricity and shorten the life of your clothing.

9. A high centrifugation cycle in the washing machine enables better water extraction and reduces the energy required for drying; The mechanical extraction of water by spinning is much more efficient than using the heat of a dryer.

10. Separate clothes and dry similar clothing. Lightweight synthetics, for example, dry out much faster than bath towels and natural fiber clothing.

11. Take off your clothing before it is too dry and when used to avoid ironing, another great energy consumer.

12. Do not add wet items to a load that is already partially dry, it will simply slow everything down. In the same way you can remove lighter items from the dryer that have been dried faster.

13. Dry the charges one at a time to use the heat still in the dryer with the first charge.

14. If you can only dry a few items, choose the sponges that are known as towels. Also, try hanging clothes made of synthetic materials in your bathroom; They dry quickly and when they are removed from the dryer, static electricity is reduced.

15. Always clean the dryer filter between loads. A clogged filter limits the flow and reduces the performance of the dryer.

16. Dry the full load if you can, but be careful not to stuff the dryer. Drying small charges is wasting energy, but the air should be able to circulate freely around dry clothing.

17. Check the ventilation of the outdoor dryer. Make sure it is clean and that the outer cover door opens and closes freely.

18. For washing machines and dryers I can not stress enough: read the manual! Nobody knows your machine better than the manufacturers who did it. The manuals are full of intelligent instructions adapted to your machine.

laundry products

Conventional detergents contain a wide variety of chemicals that cause skin and eye irritation, cause allergic reactions and asthma, that can damage the environment and have long-term detrimental effects. Here you must infuse your clothes with the smell of Moonlight Breeze. (This is really the name of a detergent smell.) What really smells like the breeze of the moon?) Scientists suspect that some of these chemicals cause cancer; Others interrupt the endocrine system and affect human and animal reproductive health. Most of these chemicals have not been tested for their long-term effects on humans, and our requirements for most household chemicals do not help much. In this sense, it is better to look for natural components in your green laundry products.

19. The corn, coconut and soybean nutritive surfactants create soft foam and have much less impact on the environment and human health commonly used as alkylphenol ethoxylate (APE) surfactants as endocrine disruptors. Although many companies are phasing out EPAs, it is impossible to say whether synthetic alternatives are safer.

20. Instead of using chlorine to bleach clothing, hydrogen peroxide, which in water and oxygen, or sodium percarbonate, obtained by the combination of hydrogen peroxide and non-toxic carbonate decomposes mineral sodium. Chlorine can irritate the lungs, eyes and mucous membranes. Bleaching agents, even at very low concentrations, can cause respiratory problems, asthma attacks and even neurological and behavioral effects.

21. Look for products that use natural essential oils and citrus oils. Chemicals that give more detergent, softener and dryer sheets "creative" flavors are synthesized from petroleum and can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, asthma and nerve damage. Some ingredients used in perfumes are also known as carcinogens and contain phthalates.

22. Use soft fabric softeners with vegetable softeners and essential oils instead of dryer cloths as needed to soften and process scented garments. According to Scientific American, "the harmful ingredients in the leaves and softeners of liquid tissues include benzyl acetate (pancreatic cancer-related), benzyl alcohol (upper respiratory irritation), ethanol (related to central nervous system problems), carcinogen limonene) and chloroform ( Neurotoxin and carcinogen), among others. "

23. To avoid the leaves from drying, add 1/4 cup baking soda or 1/4 cup white vinegar to the wash cycle. To reduce static stickiness (a goal I've never understood, to miss something?), Dry synthetic materials separate from natural fiber clothing.

This list is not exhaustive, but it is a good start! If you have any other advice, we would like to know in the comments. For more information, see the following stories.

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