No one loves to face a mountain-pile of laundry during their rest day. What’s more, it is facing the costly utility bill. If you notice that the culprit of your high electricity and water bill is your washer and dryer, you need a new one. There are several energy-efficient options available in the market.
However, you have to expect that these new washer and dryer models are expensive. So, if you do not have enough money yet, you have to look for ways to reduce laundry costs.
Look into these tips in reducing laundry costs.
1. Use Cold Water in Laundry
Today, most laundry detergents are performing best with cold water. However, you have to be cautious in using cold water. Powdered detergents are an exception. Using powdered detergents in cold water will leave white residues on your clothes.
Using cold water rather than hot water will reduce your energy consumption. More than that, you will be surprised at how good cold water cleans dirty clothes.
2. Do Laundry in Full Loads
No matter the size of your laundry load, the washer will use the same amount of energy to clean them. Thus, it’s best to maximize its use. Do your laundry in a full load. However, do not overload your washer.
The same with using the dryer. Do not place too much. An overloaded dryer will only make the clothes longer to dry. Apparently, a small load also takes longer to dry.
3. Use Vinegar as Fabric Softener and Whitening
6 cup water and 1 cup distilled white vinegar– an excellent alternative for fabric softener and whitening. Vinegar’s acid helps loosen the detergent residue on the clothes. Detergent residue will cause your clothes to become stiff. Thus, make it soft with vinegar solution.
Opting for distilled white vinegar for fabric softener and whitener saves you money and helps protect the environment. Fabric softeners and whitening products have harsh chemicals that dramatically affect the environment. In this approach, you are hitting two birds in one stone.
4. Air Dry Clothes
It’s pretty apparent that the sun and air are free. Make use of it! Install an outdoor clothesline or purchase a clothes rack. Line dry your washed laundry on the line. Do not directly place your clothes under the sun because it might cause their color to fade.
5. Keep Washer Clean
As your washer works hard to clean for your dirty clothes, detergent residue, dirt, and lint builds up over time. If you do not clean your washer on a regular basis, it will work harder to wash your clothes. Moreover, an unmaintained washer will start to smell.
Always check and clean your washer on a regular basis. In that way, you will not damage your washer, clothes, and your bills are reduced.
6. Bring Dirty Clothes to Laundromats
Laundromats are not an expensive approach to do laundry. Are you not aware that bringing your clothes to the nearest laundry service helps you save? If you calculate the utility bills you pay between the cheap laundry rates, you will realize that laundromats will help you save more.
Laundry services offer competitive rates. You can find a reliable laundromat that provides the best quality service at cheaper rates. You do not only save money from bringing your dirty clothes to the laundromat but also time. Instead of doing all the work, let laundry experts do the task.
Although some of these approaches are free and some only give you a few pennies to save, a frugal person appreciates that. A few pennies saved on each load will add up to a considerable amount when added up.