Energy-efficient laundry tips

With the average household doing five loads of washing each week and your washing machine alone accounting for 7% of your energy bill, it makes sense to ensure your laundry habits are energy-efficient.

Read on for top tips for saving energy when you're washing and drying your clothes and advice on choosing an energy-efficient washing machine.

It's worth noting that a good starting point is to check that you're not washing your clothes too frequently. Excessive washing wears out clothes more quickly and can cause colours to fade, so if an item has only been worn for a few hours, isn't dirty, then maybe it can be worn again before washing. Sometimes, it's tempting to put clothes in the wash, rather than putting them away - if this is you, think of the energy you'll save if you do hang your clothes up instead!

1. Wash clothes on the shortest cycle and with the lowest water level that's practical for your needs.
2. Use a cold water or 30°C cycle where possible.
3. Soak heavily soiled items before washing, and rub collars or other stains with household soap, rather than choosing a longer wash.
4. Wait until you have a full load before washing.
5. If you have to do a wash in a rush, for instance if you need a particular item of clothing, make sure you fill up the machine with other clothes too.
6. Think about the type of clothes you buy; if you frequently do washes because you haven't got enough clothes of a particular type, then it may make sense to invest in a few more.
7. Types of clothing affect washing and drying needs, for example heavy cotton takes a long time to dry. Check fabric types before purchasing clothes, and factor this into your buying decisions.
8. Similarly, bath sheets are typically heavyweight cotton and excessively large, consider choosing standard lightweight bath towels to save on energy.
9. Where possible, use a high spin speed so clothes come out of the washing machine almost dry, with little need for tumble drying.
10. Include occasional hot washes if you mainly do low temperature ones - to get rid of bacteria and the build up of odours in your machine.

Washing clothes is only half the story, what about drying them? If you have outside space, pick a sunny or windy day to do your washing so you can line dry it. 

Or, if the weather isn't on your side, use a clothes airer (also called a clothes maiden or clothes horse) indoors. You can even buy ones that fit onto your radiators, which will help to speed up the drying time. One word of caution though, the clothes will release moisture into the air as they dry, so don't use an airer if you have damp problems.

1. Dry similar fabrics together.
2. Clean the filters every time you use your dryer to make sure they are free from fluff, your dryer will operate more efficiently.
3. Use auto-dry rather than a timed cycle, that way you won't be using more energy than required.
4. Only dry clothes as much as necessary; slightly damp is good for ironing, and if hung up straight away, ironing will be kept to a minimum.
5. Resist the temptation to add wet items part way through a drying cycle.
6. Plan your washing so items that you want to tumble dry are all washed in the same load.
7. Make sure the machine is full and if possible do all your drying in one go, a second load can take advantage of the heat that has already built up in the machine.
8. Remove clothes from dryer once they are dry, modern machines will continue to rotate to prevent creasing.
9. If your machine is vented, check the outside vent is in good working order.
10. There is a wide variation in the efficiency of machines, and as they are big electricity users, it's worth checking carefully how efficient yours is.

If your machine is over ten years old then the chances are it will be making your energy bills unnecessarily high, and it could be time to replace it. 

Washing machines, tumble dryers and washer-dryers all have much improved energy-efficiency compared to the past, due to the EC A-G labels, with A++ being the most energy-efficient. One point to note though, energy ratings for washing machines are currently based on 60°C cotton washes, so may not totally reflect how you are going to use the machine.

Modern machines also allow for better customisation of wash cycles, which means you can choose the most energy-efficient option for your needs. Some have weight sensors for accurate loading, and to determine how much water and heat to use. Such features mean that efficiencies are much easier to achieve. Likewise modern tumble dryers have built-in sensors that prevent clothes from over-drying and they operate in such a way that clothes dry more quickly and evenly.  

Water consumption is another consideration too, and will impact your bills if you are on a water meter.  This applies not only to washing machines, but also to washer-dryers, which consume a lot of additional water in drying mode due to using a continuous run of cold mains water to condense the warm vapour from the drying clothes. The amount of water used for drying varies greatly from machine to machine, so if you only have space for a washer-dryer then check this out carefully.

See more energy-saving tips.