On first thoughts, you may figure you know everything you need to know about how to save money on washing your clothes. You have probably figured you need an energy-saving and water-saving washing machine, and a modern dryer that re-uses its own warm air. However, on second thought, have you really spent that much time thinking about saving money on your washing? For most of us, this is a disposable issue that doesn’t require a lot of thought. Consider some of the tips in this article if you want to save a little money on clothes washing.
Use The Short Cycle More Often
If your clothes are getting dirty outside, or you are doing some heavy cleaning, then by all means give your clothes a good washing. However, if some of your clothes are only a little dirty because you have mostly been indoors and haven’t been doing anything too strenuous, then don’t put them on for a full wash. Run the 30-minute cycle or the quick wash cycle every now and again. Some clothes don’t always need a full wash. It will save you money, and it will stop unnecessary wear on your newer clothes.
Run a Cold Wash Rather Than a Hot Wash
Unless your clothes are very soiled or they have special requirements, you should be running your washing machine on the cold wash setting or the 30 degrees Celsius setting. Modern washing powders and detergents do not need warm water to operate effectively. Ergo, under most circumstances, clothes do not need to go through overly expensive hot wash cycles.
Also, if you are using added chemicals because of hard-water issues, then don’t. There is no need to use water softening for washing your clothes. The chemicals in washing up powder and detergent are more than enough to soften water.
Hard water may damage your washing machine over time, but if you live in a hard water area, just use a descaling solution in your washing machine at least once per year. There is no need for added chemicals or added washing powder if you live in a hard water area because hard water doesn’t affect how well your clothes are washed so long as you use washing up power or detergent when you wash your clothes.
Use Less Washing Powder
Detergents and washing powders reach their saturation point very quickly these days. Even the cheap powders you buy are very concentrated to the point where using less is okay. In fact, using too much is a waste of money. Most people think that the more washing up powder they put in, then the better the wash will be, but that is not true. Once the detergent reaches its saturation point, it doesn’t matter how much extra you put into the machine because it won’t make a difference.
Pick Your Washing Additives Carefully
If you are using things like laundry washing sheets made in China to improve the quality of your washing, then you can save money by being a little more selective with your clothing choices. For example, if you are washing a bunch of clothes that you normally hang around the house in, do you really need them to shine and burst with colour?
If you are washing your going-out clothes or your work clothes, then perhaps laundry sheets are required for a better wash, but they don’t have to be added to every wash. Similar arguments could be made for fabric softeners. It may make sense to add it to your sheets and pillowcases, but does your jacket need to be super soft when it never touches your skin?
Let Your Dirty Washing Build Up
This is perhaps one of the less agreeable ways to save money on your washing, but consider how much easier it is to wash your clothes when you actually have a stockpile of dirty ones. It is easier to put your underwear together in one wash, or your synthetics, or your cottons, or your thick clothes and such. If you are washing different sized items and clothes with very different compositions, then some items are getting a better wash than others.
More importantly, when you are drying said clothes in a drier, they should be the same size and composition. It takes minutes for synthetic underwear to dry and it takes much longer for thick cotton items to dry, so it makes no sense to put them both in the drier at the same time.
It’s not the most glamorous area of life but laundry is a necessity and with a little thought you can save money, prolong the life of your clothes and washing machine and also do a wee bit towards saving the planet.
