By Rami Moorosi
Just because you are going green, it does not mean that your clothes will have to suffer.
Replace your old washing machines
The main consumer of electricity in the laundry room is the washing machine and dryer. If you can, the most efficient way of reducing electricity consumption is to replace your old washing machine and dryer with the newer and more environmentally-friendlier options.
Getting more from your old appliances
If buying a new machine is not an option right now, learn how to use your old appliances more efficiently. Save energy by doing full loads of washing only – when filling a 9kg washing machine with a 6kg load, the machine will use the exact same amount of water, time and energy that is required to wash a full load, which is a huge waste.
Also choose the shortest cycle possible to clean the clothes effectively.
By doing cold or warm water washes, you reduce the electricity cost and energy consumption by avoiding heating the water in the machine – only use hot water for heavily soiled clothing. You can also reduce energy consumption by reducing the time of the spin cycle.
Dryers
Avoid using a tumble dryer when possible, so whenever possible take advantage of sunny days to dry clothes outside. If you must use a dryer, always try to fit the maximum load in your tumble dryer. Choose a high spin speed from your washing machine. It takes less energy to spin clothes than to heat them to dry.
Don’t forget to clean your dryer’s lint trap on a regular basis – a blocked lint trap means the machine will use excess time and energy to get the job done.
Ironing
Use a thermostatically-controlled iron that switches itself off when the correct temperature is reached.
Iron low temperature fabrics first to reduce warm-up time.
Detergents
Be on the look out for detergents that are made with renewable, plant-based ingredients and that are bio-degradable. This means that the washing powder is broken down rapidly by natural processes into harmless substances.
Final tip
When it comes to washers and dryers, apart from energy efficiency ratings, buy the best quality machines you can afford because the longer a machine lasts, the less of a carbon footprint it will leave.
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