Conserving Electricity at Work and at Home > Clothes Washing

• Consider using a clothesline (the original solar appliance) to dry clothes.

• Avoid doing laundry during peak demand hours (5-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m.). 

• Load washers and dryers to full capacity and wash with cold water when you can.

• Don't use too much detergent (follow the instructions on the box); extra soap causes more suds, which makes your machine work harder and use more energy.

• Do not over-wash delicate clothes; they don't need as long a wash cycle as work clothes.

• Presoak heavily soiled garments.

• Clean the lint trap before dying clothes.

• Separate clothes and dry similar types together.

• Dry two or more loads in a row to take advantage of the dryer's retained heat .

• Use the cool-down cycle (residual heat in the dryer) to finish drying clothes.

• Locate the dryer in a heated space (a cold or damp basement makes the dryer work harder and less efficiently).

• Vent the dryer using the straightest and shortest metal duct available (flexible vinyl ducts restrict airflow, can be crushed, and may not withstand high temperatures).

• Check periodically to make sure the outside dryer exhaust vent closes tightly.

More Things You Can Do