Laundry
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It takes water and energy to wash clothes but there are ways to be clean and green in the laundry. Here are some tips for reducing water and energy use in your laundry:
- Wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents whenever possible. It can save 90 percent of your energy consumption.
- Warm water wash is only needed for a few items, such as to kill dust mites in bedding or remove tough stains like grease.
- Only wash full loads. If you must wash a small load, use the appropriate water-level setting.
- Use the sun where possible to dry clothes. Clothes dryers are most efficient at drying full loads. Also, try to put materials of similar weight together. It takes less time to dry cotton clothes like t-shirts and pillow cases if they aren't dried at the same time as a pair of jeans.
- Separate your wet clothes into heavy items and light items. Drying your light items takes less time, and you can use the existing heat in the drying drum to help dry your heavier items.
- Don't over-dry your clothes. Over-drying wastes energy, generates static, and can shrink your clothes. Use the moisture sensor in your dryer if it has one.
- Clean the lint filter in the dryer after every load to improve air circulation.
- Use the cool-down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the residual heat in the dryer.
- Consider using phosphate-free detergents, especially if you are using your rinse water as greywater.
