Saving Energy in the Laundry Room

I know, everyone's favorite topic...laundry (not in my house!).

Okay, so it's not my favorite past-time and probably not yours as well but I did find an interesting article on the National Association of REALTORS site on saving energy (which equals saving money) in the laundry room and thought it made some good points. We can all use some cost saving strategies during the holidays, right?

#1.Use cold water. According to Michael Bluejay (also known as Mr. Electricity), if you switch from just hot to cold, it can cut as much as $215 a year off your electric bill. If you already have a high-efficiency washer the savings would be about half that.

#2. Full loads only. It takes the same amount of electricity to run a small load as it does a large one. If you can scale back by 1/4 you could save about $15 a year. $15 may not sound like a lot but that could buy me three grande frappuccino's so I'm all for it!

#3. Spin it faster. Setting the washer to the fastest spin cycle will reduce the amount of time in the dryer. Cutting the time reduces the amount of energy it takes to dry the clothes.

#4. Clean lint filter and exhaust. If your lint filter is full, it takes the dryer that much longer to dry because it's not running as efficiently. It is recommended to clean the lint filter before drying a load and the exhaust line once a year. I don't think I've ever cleaned the exhaust line but I think it's about time I start!

#5. Activate energy-saving features. If your dryer has an automated moisture sensing device, use it. Hmm, no idea if my dryer has this but I'm going to check it out!

#6. Dry like with like. Some items take longer to dry than others and therefore, extends the drying time for everything which increases energy costs.

#7. Skip it. Hanging clothing to dry outside or a rack inside costs nothing. Well - probably won't work right now in Chicago but come spring I may try it! 

Do you do any of these things already? Have any of these items really made you think about other ways to save energy? Let me know! I always want to hear from you!

Information taken with permission from Houselogic, a website created by the National Association of REALTORS.