"Clean your dryer lint screen, and don’t overload the dryer. You’ll save up to 5% on your electricity bill. If everyone did it, we’d save the equivalent of 350 million gallons of gasoline each year. Better yet: use a clothesline when possible."
- Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen in The Green Book.
Laundry is very environmentally unfriendly by the sheer nature of how we do it nowadays. Sure, it’s more effective cleaning and much more time conserving, but the environment is not doing better because of it. I’m still very much in love with my washer and dryer for the simple reason I have no time to hand wash or line dry, but there are some things that us “technology-loving” folk can do to lessen the environmental impact and still have our clothes clean in a timely fashion.
One recommendation I’ll mention here, but it applies to many aspects of daily life is to buy as large of a container as you can reasonably use and store. Rather than buying a box of 170 dryer sheets, how about a box of 300? This requires less packaging in the long run and therefore less landfill. Same for detergents and other laundry products. And always
remember to RECYCLE whatever you can.
$ Inexpensive Fixes (may even save money!)
· Cold-water wash more often. Any medium to dark clothing is better off being cold-water-washed but many of the lighter clothing will do just fine in cold water as well. Cold water also has a tendency to keep clothes in good condition longer,
particularly cotton since it won’t shrink as much, and is less fading on the dyes in the fabric. Cold water wash saves in electricity and/or gas by using less energy, therefore less resources necessary to produce that energy.
· Half-it! Use only half a dryer sheet instead of a whole sheet in every load. I find this to be more than adequate, and the box lasts much longer- saving money in the long run. Fewer dryer sheets means fewer resources to make them as well as
less land-fill used.
· Fill ‘er Up!- Make sure that washer is full when you run the load. The amount of power used in a half load verses a full load is comparable, but the savings are not. Running only full loads when possible will greatly reduce your energy expenditures and your power bill as well by requiring fewer loads. (Same goes for the dryer!). Careful not to overload either machine as they become much less efficient!
· Dryer Balls- use in lieu of dryer sheets for money savings and to save resources
that would be used on dryer sheets. Also reduce water pollution caused by liquid fabric softeners. Many people find these more than adequate- and for difficult static clean, try the Static balls as well! $9.99 for Dryer balls and $2.99
for Static Balls at Bed Bath and Beyond!
· Clean the dryer lint trap- not only will this save you up to 5% of energy cost, but it is also a necessary step in protecting your homes from fires. According to TheGreen Book if everyone did this, we would save the energy equivalent of 350 million gallons of gasoline a year.
· Let the dryer to the work- Remove clothing from the dryer promptly and they usually won’t need ironing. If they do, often times hanging them up on a hanger in a bathroom while someone uses the shower will help bring those wrinkles out. Uses less energy than drying AND ironing combined. If clothing frequently needs ironing even if removed promptly from the dryer, you may be overloading the dryer. Some materials cannot be helped- and will almost always require some ironing.
· Line dry- I have to throw it in there because it’s free and the most GREEN
way to dry your clothes, however not everyone can do this because of time,
space, or weather limitations. It saves an enormous amount of energy and will
reflect positively on your power bill, too!
$$ Moderate Expense Fixes- will cost a little more, but still achievable for most people.
· Use environmentally friendly laundry products. They’re out there, I haven’t really tried them myself because they tend to be hard to find and expensive when you do. Melaleuca boasts an environmentally friendly laundry detergent called MelaPower. It’s liquid, only use 1 oz at a time and runs about $12.99 for 64 loads up to $29.99 for 192. They also have MelaBrite color rightener, and MelaSoft fabric softener. Also available is a Prespot Stain remover and a wrinkle relaxer. My best friend uses these products and believes they are very good. (Prices are Preferred Customer prices).
- Method home products also makes Eco-friendly laundry products. I'm an avid fan of Method cleaning products but have yet to find their laundry products for sale locally. If anyone has tried Method laundry products- please let me know what you thought of them!
· Open to more suggestions of environmentally friendly laundry products. What have you found? What worked well and what didn’t? Respond in email or post a comment.
$$$ Expensive Fixes- for the truly ambitious
· Replace your old washer and dryer wit h Energy Star rated, more efficient appliances. Some power companies will pick up the old appliances for you, saving you the dump fee, and give you a small amount of money as a rebate. Remember, just because it has an Energy Star symbol on it doesn’t make it the most efficient product out there. Read the labels and familiarize yourself what each of these ratings mean. The more efficient machines tend to cost more in the short term, but will make up for it on your power bill and their tax on the environment in the long run!
· Not only new, but bigger- upsizing your machines can also reduce energy usage by requiring you to do fewer loads at a time. This is a great idea for someone transitioning from single life to family life- you’ll be thankful for the space and the environment will be thankful for less energy used! (Upsizing is most helpful when the new units are larger AND Energy Star rated). Caution: larger machines may end up using more energy if running only partial loads.
Have a suggestion for other people looking to greenerize their laundry? Post a comment and let me know. If it’s a good one- I’ll add you to my list- with the appropriate quotation, of course!
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