9 Ways To Save On Laundry

Doing laundry at home is convenient, but the costs can be expensive when you add everything together.  Unfortunately, most people don’t know a lot of the costs involved because they go beyond the traditional costs that you think of.  Laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets make up only a fraction of the costs of doing laundry.  Things many people don’t think of are the water, gas, and electricity that go into each article of clothing you launder.

Here are nine tips on ways to save money doing your laundry:

1. Use quick wash – Most washers nowadays have a quick or speed wash setting.  This will handle stuff that you’re washing for everyday use and will use less water and electricity along the way.
2. Pre-treat your clothes – If you have a stain or got grease on clothes, pre-treat it before putting it in the wash.  This will make washing it easier and will likely give you more success on getting everything fully out, allowing your clothing to last longer.
3. Do full loads – Some people wash on a certain day of the week.  This is fine if you have full loads, but if you’re only doing a few articles of laundry, you’re likely using a ton of electricity and water per item of clothing than you would be with a full load.
4. Use the dryer at the right time of day – If you are doing laundry in the middle of the summer when the air conditioning is running, try to run your dryer at night otherwise you’ll be fighting with the air conditioner, making both appliances work extra hard and costing you money in the process.  Conversely in the winter, use the dryer to add heat to your house at times that you’re home anyways.
5. Split dryer sheets for smaller loads – If you have a small load going into the dryer, tear a dryer sheet in half and save the other half for another small load.  It’s only a couple of pennies, but otherwise it’s just going to waste.
6. Use a gas dryer – If you already have an electric dryer, don’t run out and get a new one, but if you’re shopping around at any point, keep in mind that drying a load of laundry with gas is about 30% cheaper than with electricity.  They’re typically a bit more money but the savings over the life of the machine will more than exceed the extra cost.
7. Measure your soap – Most people put way too much soap in their machines.  Unless you have a very full load, you don’t need the amount that is called for.  Use less and you’ll find that your clothes will be just as clean.  Actually, less soap may keep your clothes cleaner, because it’s been found that when you use too much soap, it doesn’t fully rinse out, and that residue left in the clothes actually attracts dirt, making you wash your items even more frequent.  Who would have guessed?
8. Don’t overdry – If you have a dryer that sense the dryness level, make sure to use that.  If you get in the habit of just setting the machine to dry for a particular length of time, chances are you’re often running the machine long past the time where the clothes have been dry.
9. Air dry what you can – Darker clothes, items that wrinkle easily, or items that you’re afraid will shrink should be air dried.  Avoiding the dryer for your darker clothes will prevent them from fading, saving you money as they last longer.  Items that wrinkle or may shrink, you can often get away with putting them in the dryer and taking them out when they’re damp, but make sure you don’t forget about them!

What other tips do you use to save on laundry?

Thank you for reading.