Laundry

There are simple things you can do to save power and money in your laundry and reduce carbon pollution.

Washing machines

• Only do full loads when using your clothes washer unless you have a self load adjusting machine.
• When buying a washing machine, choose one with a high energy and water efficiency star rating. The more stars on the label, the more efficient the appliance and the less power and water it uses.
• Front loading automatic washing machines generally use less power and water than top loading machines.
• Use the cold water setting on your clothes washer when you can. Cold water washes just as well as warm water and switching your temperature setting from hot to warm can cut a load's power use in half. Clothes are also less likely to shrink and fade.
• Some clothes washers have a 'suds save' option, which can save water and detergent if washing more than one load at a time.
• Choose an environmentally friendly washing detergent and reduce your impact on the environment.

Clothes dryers

Most clothes dryers use large amounts of power and are expensive to run. For example, a medium-sized 2-star clothes dryer used just twice a week will use more power in a year than a medium-sized 4.5 star two-door fridge!

• Avoid using your clothes dryer whenever possible.
• Hang your clothes outside to dry and save on your power bills.
• Avoid overloading the clothes dryer - it means a longer drying time (using more power) and can cause wrinkles and drying unevenness.
• Use correct temperature settings to minimise the amount of power used.
• Clothes should never be placed in the dryer while dripping with water.
• Clean the lint filter on the dryer after each operation to maximise the drying efficiency.
• Try to do several loads one after the other. This makes use of the heat in the machine from the previous load.
• Make sure there is lots of ventilation and airflow in your laundry when using your dryer. This helps prevent high humidity, which slows down drying time.

Ironing

• Iron large batches of clothing at one time to avoid wasting power reheating the iron several times.
• Sort ironing by fabric type and iron lighter fabrics on lower settings first.
• Do not overheat the iron.
• If the fabric does not require a steam process, use a dry iron. The steaming process uses more energy.