How to Save Money On Your Laundry at Home

The quickest and easiest way to save money doing laundry is to use the cold water only cycles. Washing is cold water will not only save you lots of money each month by reducing your hot water bill but it is also good for the environment. With the advent of newer washing machines and specialized laundry detergents it is now possible to get your clothes sparkling clean without any use of hot water.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garden hose connection cap
• Cold water laundry detergent

1. The first thing you should do is convert your washer over to run on cold water only. To do this you have 2 choices. You can turn off your hot water supply line to your washer. You can also cap the hot water inlet to your washer by installing a cap. These can be purchased at your local home improvement store.

2. Purchase a laundry detergent specially formulated to handle cold water. Tide currently makes one in liquid and powder form which I have had great results with.

3. Set your washer to the Cold/Cold setting. Some washers do not have a temp setting. If you open your washing machine lid in most cases there will be information on how to set your washer to run on cold water only.

4. When your clothes are done washing, check for dampness. If too damp run your clothes thru a 2nd spin cycle to remove excess water. This will reduce your energy usage on your dryer because it will not have to work as hard.

Tips & Warnings

• Note your power bill before and after you convert to monitor your energy savings
• When making hose connections or changes in back of your washing machine always check for leaks.
• Spray any heavily soiled laundry with a stain remover prior to washing
• Do not attempt to run your washer with the hot water inlet uncapped or not connected. Doing so will cause a severe leak when you start the machine.