GREEN AND SIMPLE TIP: Harry the Pug says, “Wash Your Laundry In Cold Water!”

Harry the Pug says, “Wash your laundry in cold water!” What a great tip to conserve energy.

That’s just the beginning of how you can save energy AND MONEY when doing laundry.

Front-loading washing machines use 40% less water than top loading machines. Quite often they have a superior spin cycle as well which helps pull more water out of the clothing. This ensures a quicker dry time in a dryer machine.

If you do not have a front loader, use the suds-saver cycle. Suds-savers reuse most of the soapy laundry water for a second use. Some suds-savers can cut water use by 30-50%.

My family has severe dust-mite – and yes – dog allergies. Therefore, we have to wash our bedding on the “extra-hot” setting to kill any dust mites trapped in the blankets. All clothing gets washed in cold. If the proper detergent is used, hot water is not needed to get your clothing clean.

This summer I want to take the Coronado family laundry to an all-time “green-diddy-green-green” height and start hanging my laundry on a clothes line to dry just like my Grandma used to do. That will eliminate even more energy waste. The goal is to save energy, but also to SAVE MONEY. Why are we spending all this money on energy in a difficult economic time when we do not need to?

Harry the Pug is all about conserving energy – so remember his advice (and mine) – wash in cold and try to hang the laundry once in a while to help make a difference!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com or The Blogs - www.gardeningnude.com or http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Comments

[ndslotnick]

Additional bonus to washing your clothes in cold water is that your clothes last longer as it reduces shrinking and fading. I use hot for towels & white cotton and warm for sheets, but cold for everything else. BTW, your front-loader also requires approx. 1/3 as much detergent because it uses less water - no need to spend extra money on HE detergent, just use less of your preferred detergent (mine is dye free/fragrance free).

[Shawna Coronado]

::LAUGHING:: You cannot have Harry the Pug - he is a fixture here at the house. Although he could probably use a good bath. SO - I welcome volunteers willing to come over and bathe the dog. He's stinky! LOL!

[Julia]

I'll wash everything in cold water if I can have your dog...:)

[Samantha]

I didn't know that there is a difference between the front-loading and the top loading machines! Most of the washing machines I have seen are top loading though.

[Monica the Garden Faerie]

Fiona the cat says "Lick yourself clean!" Oh, wait. That only works for cats, rabbits, and, um, well, no one who has clothes to wash. DOH! :)

[Kylee from Our Little Acre]

Unless you hang your laundry outside, it's not a great idea to hang things like sheets out there if your family has allergies. My husband is allergic to everything but dogs and cockroaches (yes, I'm serious - that's what the tests showed!) and hanging the bed sheets outside made for some miserable sleeping for him. Any pollen, dust, or molds in the air will become embedded in the sheets and then sleeping on them - well, you get the picture.

We hated it when we had to stop hanging things out because we loved how they smelled, but it wasn't worth the congestion it caused my husband.

[TeresaR]

I try to use cold water for laundry (except for bed sheets and underwear which I feel compelled to wash in hot water). Our two clothes lines get a good bit of use when the weather is not too cold or not too humid to dry things.

Thanks for the reminder! :)