6 Tips for Eco-Friendly Laundry Washing
Of course it’s eco-friendly to dry your washing outside in the fresh air. But what about eco friendly laundry washing?
We all need to wash laundry. Most of us have an automatic washing machine, and they’re a huge labour saver over doing the washing by hand. Here are some tips on how we can use them efficiently, in order to save electricity and thus reduce our demand for energy – thereby saving money and helping the environment.
I also cover how to be eco-friendly at the Laundromat.
Tip 1. Use lower temperature settings for eco-friendly laundry washing
Use warm or cold water for the wash cycle instead of hot. Simply switching from 40 degrees to 30 degrees / 104 to 86 F uses around 40% less electricity! So switching from 60 degrees / 140 F to 40 degrees 104 F is good – and to 30 degrees / 86F is even better. Lower temperatures are less damaging to your clothes, too – I notice quite a difference.
(Of course you will have already turned down the thermostat on your home water heater!)
You should get the same results as you would from a hotter wash – modern detergents are shown to be powerful enough to wash as well at a lower temperature. (Sadly, many detergents are efficient but not green and eco-friendly).
Did you know that you can set your machine to wash in cold water? Obviously, this uses vastly less energy. Be sure to choose a detergent that is formulated for cold water (in general, liquid detergents usually work better than powder in this case). Cold water washing helps to prevent fading and helps your clothing look new longer, as well as being more eco-friendly!
Tip 2: Don’t use Long Programs for eco-friendly laundry washing
If you have heavily soiled clothes, you might be tempted to use the heavy-duty (pre-wash) cycle. Or perhaps you use it anyway? Try not to.
Normal clothes should clean perfectly without the pre-wash feature on the machine. If you have heavily-soiled clothes, soak them in a basin before you wash – it is far more energy-efficient than the pre-wash cycle.
Tip 3: Set a Cold Rinse for eco-friendly laundry washing
The temperature of the rinse water does not affect cleaning, so always set the washing machine on cold water rinse.
Tip 4: Wash a Full Load for eco-friendly laundry washing
Most people tend to underload rather than overload their washers.
How do you know when you have a full load? There are several ways. A machine is pretty much full when you can put your clenched fist above the laundry in the drum without compressing them unnecessarily.
Alternatively, check your machine’s load capacity in pounds or kilos, then weigh out a few loads of laundry to get a sense of how much laundry that weight represents. After that, just use your eye to judge the volume of clothes for a load. Washing one large load will take less energy than washing two loads on a half-load setting.
In fact, a recent survey by the Danish consumer magazine Tænk (“Think”) showed that clothes wash cleaner in a full machine compared with those washed in a half-empty one – interesting!
Although it’s tempting to toss things in the washer on a fairly ad hoc basis – e.g. throwing in a couple of pieces that you need right away – you should wait until you have a full load before doing a wash to save money, water and electricity. A little planning goes a long way. But if it really can’t be avoided, then do a smaller wash on a half load or economy programme.
Tip 5: Suds-Saving Feature for eco-friendly laundry washing
If washing lightly soiled clothes, use the suds-saving feature if it’s available on your washing machine. This saves the water to be reused in the next load. Only use this feature though, if the second load is to be washed right away.
Tip 6: Spin thoroughly before using the tumble dryer for eco-friendly laundry washing
Spinning removes excess water from the laundry, which results in less time in the tumble dryer and lower energy consumption.
However, if you’re going dry your clothes outside in the fresh air, then choose a short spin cycle, and let Mother Nature do the drying for you!
Tip 7: Eco-friendly laundry washing at the Laundromat
A lot of the same tips apply. Use the lowest possible temperature setting. Choose the shortest washing program – although for heavily-soiled clothes, pre-soaking may not be as easy if you have to transport it to the Laundromat, so you might need to choose a longer wash cycle. Choose a cold rinse cycle if you have the option to do so. Of course you’ll want a full load – it costs the same for a full or half full load, plus you don’t necessarily want to go there frequently!
And as your washing comes to an end, look around the Laudromat for a recently-used drier. Place your clothes in the already-warm drier, they’ll dry quicker, and get you out of there quicker!
Please spread the green word – sharing buttons below – thank you!
Photo Credits: Microsoft and Royalty-Free/Corbis
Clare, this advice on eco friendly ways to was clothes is a great way to conserve.
Scott Sylvan Bell
The never-ending chore, and how it can have less of an impact on the wallet (pocketbook), and the environment. Great tips!!!
Clare, I absolutely adore the picture of the eco hero…reminds me of my nephew. Like how you use humor in your posts!
Sonya Lenzo
I think people get in their heads they have to wash certain clothes at certain temperatures. I figure since I no longer have grass stains on my knees I can go ahead and wash a little cooler. You’re eco-friendly laundry tips will reduce quite a bit of energy use from your home. Another small way to go green and save the planet.
LOL 🙂 It’s been a while since I had grass stains on my knees – evocative memory!
Thanks for all the tips.
Do you have any hints for odors in the clothes? We’ve tried using essential oils, baking soda, borax, and vinegar to no avail. Help!
Mil, it kind of depends upon what type of odours you need to remove. I’m a great fan of essential oils, so I sometimes pre-soak my laundry in a basin with a few drops of essential oils mixed in. Give it a good, long soak. Then the washing machine cleans it. Baking soda works well with oil / gasoline type smells, try rubbing some directly onto the stained area, then sealing the laundry in an airtight bag for a couple of days, then washing normally. You definitely need to make sure your washing machine is not too crowded to ensure everything gets washed properly and thoroughly.
Some other suggestions: try a hotter wash (not very eco-friendly I know). Or try borax – add it to the water in a pre-soak. There’s also a product called OxyClean (I don’t know this one personally) which releases hydrogen peroxide when wet – pre-soak in hot water with OxyClean, then wash as normal. A newspaper article ages ago suggested using rubbing alcohol on affected clothing – worth a try perhaps. I think vinegar is good but only for mouldy sort of smells.
And I’m afraid air line drying is much better for removing any lingering odours than a dryer machine, but you say that’s an issue due to your bees. After washing, for some extra odour protection, you could try tearing up an old t-shirt into strips, knotting them together, adding a few drops of the same essential oils and throwing it in the dryer with your laundry (store it air-tight and it will last a couple of dryer rounds).
I hope these EcoExpert suggestions are of some help!
Hi Clare,
Thank you for those tips. This issue has confounded me for a while. I think the pre-soaking with the essential oils is a good idea.
What do you think of soap nuts?
Thanks, Clare!
~Mil
I haven’t covered detergents, but after reading your query, I’m thinking that perhaps I should! I like soap nuts, especially if you can get the organic variety. I like that they’re not new but have been used for years. There are a couple of issues with them, firstly, some people do react badly to them (skin irritations) but of course not everyone, and some find they don’t work. People don’t always read instructions. Using them for example as shampoo or dish-washing liquid – they don’t lather and it’s difficult to get used to that, when we’re so convinced (probably by the detergent companies) that lathering helps make things clean. I’m not aware of any tests that have been carried out on them, either on skin or on their effect on the environment once they are washed away. Overall, I like them.
Well, I experimented with the hot water soaking (shhh, don’t tell my partner!), eco-friendly bleach, and filled the washer with less clothes. So we’ll see. I’m also wondering if the reason for the odoriferousness is because we always wash in cold water.
That is an interesting point about sudsiness. I feel that way about shampoo–the more suds the better, but your point made me realize that my hair got clean even with less suds.
Its always good to see eco-friendly conscious posts like this. There are quite a lot of good tips for saving energy during the washing chores. The number 1 item, I believe, is always make sure there is a full load of laundry in the washer. I will have to share this link with my daughter!
Thanks!
Hi Green Goddess,
This is great for aiming to do our laundry in a more ecologically friendly manner!
Happy Dating and Relationships,
April Braswell