Do Your Laundry This Way and Save Money on ...

American families are facing a lot at the moment: expensive groceries, fluctuating gas prices, back-to-school shopping, and an ongoing uptick in utility bill costs due to increased air conditioning useage this summer. These things might leave you wondering how you can save some money around the house. 

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Lowering your energy and water bills is one option, and your laundry room is a good place to start. Washing machines and dryers can use a lot of water and electricity (or gas, if you have a gas dryer), particularly if you have an older model in your home. If you typically wash weekly loads of towels, bedding and clothes, you might notice your monthly bills are consistently expensive. But there are several things you can do to help save money in the laundry room -- no handwashing or line-drying of clothes required. 

Here are some simple changes you can make to lower your washer and dryer's energy consumption. For more ways to save around the house, start by unplugging your appliances and consider what temperature you should set your thermostat to this summer to save big. 

Wash your clothes on cold

Unless a clothing label specifies a certain temperature, consider choosing the cold setting when starting a wash load. A full 90% of the energy used to wash a load goes into heating the water, according to Consumer Reports. So, you can save substantially on power usage when you use cold water.

Don't worry about your clothes not getting clean in cold water, either. Most detergents are actually designed to work better in cold water. By choosing the cold setting you are actually getting cleaner clothes. An added benefit is cold water helps prevent color fading, as well.

For some loads, like towels and sheets, hot water is a better choice to kill bacteria. But everything else will be fine in cold water.

Set your dryer to cooler heat

A higher heat setting on your dryer uses more energy. Go with a lower heat setting (and a longer drying time) to use less energy.

Make sure to use your dryer's cool-down option, too. It will finish up the load with the heat that is already in the dryer, instead of producing more.

Improve your dryer's efficiency

We still hold that lowering the heat setting and slowing the drying time will save money, but the faster your clothes get dry, the less money you spend on electricity. Improving your dryer's efficiency can help make sure you don't have to run your still-damp clothes through the dryer a second time. 

First, make sure your dryer is cleaned out. The airways that carry humid hot air away from your clothes should be free of lint and debris. Clogged airways will keep the moist air trapped in the dryer drum with your clothes, making them take longer to dry. Every time you put in a load, make sure to clean out the lint trap thoroughly. Once a year, vacuum out the vents and the air hose coming out of the back of your dryer, too. Here are some tips on deep-cleaning your dryer.

Second, you can make the transportation of the humid air more efficient by shortening the accordion-like hose on the back of your dryer. A shorter hose can make your dryer work 20% faster because it doesn't need to push the moist air as far. If the hose doesn't have any excess length, move your dryer closer to the exit vent in the wall or floor, then trim the hose to a shorter length.

Third, give your clothes an extra spin in the washer. Getting rid of excess water can speed up the drying process by as much as half.

Finally, don't pack your dryer. Clothes need room to tumble around to get dry. A good rule of thumb is to only fill your dryer two-thirds of the way full.

Always run a full load of laundry

Washers and dryers use about the same amount of electricity to wash a small load as they do a full load. So, it's more efficient to wait to do laundry until you have a full load, but remember -- don't over-stuff your dryer. Need to wash right away and don't have enough clothes and towels to fill up the basin? See this gallery for some household items you can clean in a washing machine that you may not have considered.

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Consider peak and off-peak hours

If your utility company charges extra for peak usage times, a simple change to your routine can help. Peak hours refer to certain times of the day where usage increases in your area. When that happens, a utility company with a time-of-use service will charge you extra to run your dishwasher or wash your clothes during peak hours. Using your non-essential appliances during off-peak hours instead can make a significant impact.

Contact your utility company to determine whether you're part of a time-of-use plan and when it charges extra for peak hours. You can also check our time-of-use energy explainer for more details. For more laundry tips, check out how to clean your workout clothes the right way, and how to clean mold out of your washer.

More money saving tips 

As household costs continue to rise, many people will be looking for the best ways to dry laundry inside without sending their energy bills through the roof this winter.

Put your clothes on an extra spin cycle

After a wash, you may want to put your machine on another spin cycle to get rid of any excess moisture. Your clothes will come out much drier. Be careful as this can sometimes cause some fabrics, such as cotton and linen, to crease.

You may want to adjust your machine to a lower spin setting – faster is not always better. It is also a good idea to give the washing a good shake once out of the machine, so you are not stuck with wrinkles.

Use a dehumidifier

When there is too much water in the air your clothes will not dry properly even if they are spread out on an airer, so they may smell musty or dank, which is never a good look. Dehumidifiers draw excess moisture from the air, and many people swear by them when it comes to helping prevent condensation and damp problems. Some people will already have one, while others may wish to invest in one – smaller budget dehumidifiers cost from about £35 onwards.

A desk fan will circulate the air, helping to dry your clothes faster and fend off mould.

Dig out your desktop fan

It doesn’t scream winter but if you want to turbocharge your indoor drying time, some people say you should put a desk fan by your airer and open a window or two. The fan will circulate the air, helping to dry your clothes faster and fend off mould. At just over 1p an hour, according to Sust-it’s electricity cost calculator, a standard desktop fan is a cheap dryer substitute and, thanks to the summer heatwave, you may already have one stuffed in a cupboard.

Create a heated cocoon using your radiator and a fitted sheet

Most of us are trying to avoid putting the heating on until absolutely necessary but when you cave in, use the heat from your radiator and a bedsheet to create a tent of warm air around your clothes dryer without using any extra energy. The sheet acts like a clothes drying pod by trapping and circulating the warm air inside. Tip: if you don’t have a fitted sheet, use clothes pegs to secure it.

Towel-dry your clothes before hanging

Wrapping your clothes in a towel can remove excess water.

This may sound odd but wrapping your clothes in a towel is a really effective way of removing excess water and saving on drying time at no extra cost. Fold your towel lengthways and place your clothes along the top edge, then roll the towel up tightly into a sausage. The clothes will be so much drier than straight out of the machine, so will take less time to dry when hanging up.

Use hangers on an airer or clothes rail to create better airflow

Instead of layering your clothes on the airer, try hanging some. Most airers have holes for hangers on the corners but you can also hang clothes off the rungs. You can often fit more in this way and are helping to speed up the air-drying process by creating good ventilation between the garments. You can do the same with clothes rails – just leave a couple of inches between each hanger to ensure there is good airflow.

Get a retractable line or pulley airer

Not everyone has room for extendable airers, so try using a pull-out washing line. If you put one in a room designed to deal with condensation, such as a bathroom, you often don’t have to worry about damp or excess moisture in the air because of the extractor fan. Pulley clothes airers are also great for saving space because they live near the ceiling, so are out of the way. Just make sure you leave the door open after a shower so you don’t trap in more moisture.

Use a heated clothes airer

Many people swear by a heated clothes airer. They can cost about £50 to £100 but at about 10p an hour, they use a lot less energy than a tumble dryer, which can cost £1.27 a cycle, Sust-it estimates. If you are really savvy, you may be able to find one secondhand on a site such as Facebook Marketplace or eBay.

Clean your dryer filter after every cycle

You can cut costs by drying the load at a launderette.

Dryers can cost a lot but there are a few hacks you can try that may mean you don’t have to stop tumble drying completely. It can be easy to forget but make sure you remove any lint buildup from the filter after every cycle. Lint is made up of fibre particles that shed from clothes during the cycle, and if these clog the filter, it can stop the dryer working as efficiently and take longer to dry your clothes. You can clean the filter with a damp cloth or, if there is a lot of buildup, you can wash the filter with warm water under the tap. Make sure it is completely dry before you put it back in the machine. It only takes a couple of minutes and will save you money on your energy bills over time. It also reduces the risk of fire, so it’s really a win-win.

Place a dry towel in with your wet clothes

Meanwhile, if you put a dry towel in with your wet clothes for the first 15 minutes of the drying cycle, it can speed up drying time by absorbing some of the moisture in the load. This can help save you money because you won’t have to run the whole cycle. Your towel will also dry out pretty quickly if you hang it over a door.

Consider investing in dryer eggs or balls

There are a few types of dryer balls (sometimes called eggs) that you can chuck in with your clothes to speed up the drying process if you are feeling the pinch. Most of them cost less than £10, are designed to be reused over and over again, and can reduce drying times by about 25%. They work by stopping clothes sticking together, which allows the warm air to circulate better and dry clothes faster. Some even add a slight fragrance to your laundry, so you won’t have to keep buying fabric conditioner. Natural wool balls are a good eco-friendly option, and a must if you want to keep the noise down.

Take heavy items to the launderette

When you have a washing machine and dryer at home, launderettes may seem unnecessary. However, you can cut costs by washing at home and taking the load to the launderette to dry. It may not be practical to do this with every wash but if you have a heavy load, spending £2 to £3 once a week alongside air-drying could save you time and money.

This article was amended on 12 December 2022. It costs just over 1p an hour in electricity, not 1p a minute, to run a standard desktop fan.

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