Laundry is part of our everyday lives. Why not be more energy efficient while you are at it? These simple tips won’t cost a cent and will help save on your electricity bill!
1. Run a full load
Only use your washing machine once a full load of dirty laundry has accumulated. Automatic washing machines use the same amount of electricity for a full load as they do for a single item.
2. But don’t overload
Overloading your machine will reduce the cleaning action. Varying the sizes of garments in a full load improves the cleaning action by allowing free circulation.
3. Use cold water
Use cold-water or lower heat settings as often as possible. Bed linen can be washed at 60°C (instead of 90°C) to cut back on the amount of electricity you use.
4. Skip pre-wash
For clothes that aren't heavily soiled, you can skip the pre-wash. This can cut down hot water usage by up to 20%.
5. But don’t skip the special features
Take advantage of special features on your washer that can save money. For example, soak cycles remove stubborn stains in one wash cycle.
6. Air-dry laundry
Hang your clothes outside to dry. If possible, avoid using a tumble dryer altogether. Check the weather forecast and do your laundry on a sunny day, or use an indoor drying rack to dry your clothes.
7. Only iron what really needs to be ironed
Certain clothing will appear ironed with careful folding.
8. Iron large batches of clothes at a time
This saves the iron from needing to be reheated.
9. Switch off
Complete the last of your ironing with the iron switched off. An iron consumes as much energy as ten 100 W light bulbs so let some of that stored energy work for you.
10. Only use distilled or boiled water in a steam iron
This will keep your iron clean and energy efficient.
Which of these tips will you implement the next time you do the washing? Or are you already practicing some of them? Tweet us WCGov110Green.
All information provided by savingelectricity.org.za