A Beginner's Guide to More Efficient Laundry

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By Contributing Editor
Nancy Hulse

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By Contributing Editor Clay Anderson

Save water, time and money with Grow and Make's Green Laundry Guide.

Whether you're looking to save water, cut down on energy use, or simply find a greener alternative to commercial laundry detergent, this beginner's guide to green laundry is for you!

Fortunately, getting started with more sustainable laundry practices can be as simple as switching your wash cycle. Troll down this stellar list of twelve suggestions for tons of eco-wise laundry ideas.

1. Whenever possible, consider hanging clothes outside and using totally free solar energy to do the drying. If the weather is bad and you have room in your laundry room or basement, consider installing a permanent clothesline, a retractable clothesline, and/or using a drying rack. Your dryer uses a tremendous amount of energy and air-drying your clothes will save you more energy than anything else.

2. Use warm or cold water for the wash cycle instead of hot (except for greasy stains), and use cold for rinses. Experiment with different laundry detergents to find one that works well with cooler water. By pre-soaking heavily soiled clothes, a cooler wash temperature may be fine. The temperature of the rinse water does not affect cleaning, so always set the washing machine on cold water rinse.

3. Turn down the thermostat on your water heater. A setting of 120 F is adequate for most home needs. By reducing your hot water temperature, you will save energy in the laundry and throughout your home.

4. Load the washing machine to capacity when possible. Most people tend to under-load rather than overload their washers. Check your machine’s load capacity in pounds, then weigh out a few loads of laundry to get a sense of how much laundry 10 or 18 to 20 pounds represents. Washing one large load will use less energy than washing two loads on a low or medium setting.

5. If washing lightly soiled clothes, use the suds-saving feature if it’s available on your washing machine. This saves the wash water to be reused in the next load. Only use this feature, though, if the second load is to be washed right away.

6. When drying, separate your clothes and dry similar types of clothes together. Lightweight synthetics, for example, dry much more quickly than bath towels and natural fiber clothes.

7. Don’t over-dry clothes. Take clothes out while they are still slightly damp to reduce the need for ironing - another big energy user. If your dryer has a setting for auto-dry, be sure to use it instead of the timer to avoid wasting energy.

8. Don’t add wet items to a load that is already partially dried. Air dry them instead.

9. When possible, dry two or more loads in a row to take advantage of the heat still in the dryer from the first load.

10. Clean the dryer filter after each use. A clogged filter will restrict flow and reduce dryer performance.

11. Dry full loads when possible, but be careful not to overfill the dryer. Drying small loads wastes energy. Air should be able to circulate freely around the drying clothes, and you may also want to experiment with dryer balls. These balls tumble with your laundry and prevent clothes from sticking together thus allowing for freer hot air circulation Nellie’s Dryer Balls are a well respected brand and inexpensive.

12. Check the outside dryer exhaust vent. Make sure it is clean and that the flapper on the outside hood opens and closes freely.

What steps are YOU taking to make your laundry as efficient and "green" as possible?

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