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polkanut

polkanut

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Mar 14, 2005
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Location
Wausau, WI
On May 8th my wife had surgery for trigger finger on her right ring finger, and since then she's been on a 10lb weight restriction.  During that time I've had complete control of the laundry.  In that entire time I've only used the dryer 3x.  The only things that have gone in the dryer are dark colored clothes that will show any specks of lint very readily.  Everything else has been line dried.  Items such as undies, towels, bedding, shirts & blouses, etc., it all goes on the clothesline.  I'm curious to see how much of a difference it will make on our electric bill.

 

I know I've posted this link many times in the past, but for those that haven't seen it before, here goes.  This show the type of clothesline we have.  We have the 20ft version.  I like that it can be easily moved when mowing the lawn or to catch a better breeze.

[this post was last edited: 6/3/2012-08:20]

 
That so funny, I've been doing the same thing. I'm tired of $130+ electic bills every month. My biggest culprits are the water heater and the dryer and since I can't do much about the water heater I thought I would focus on the dryer. Everything else in the house has been looked at, compact flourescents, energy star appliances and a/c's, timers, nothing left on or plugged in that shouldn't be etc. So far, by line drying almost everything, my electric bill has dropped about $20 per month and that makes me happy. When I do use the dryer, its only for about 15 minutes and then the items go out on the line.
 
We usually run our electric appliances during off-peak times so that we utilize the cheaper electric rate.  Our central air can be temporarily shut off by the power company during high demand times, and this gives us an $8 dollar monthly credit.
 
Out of necessity...

I have been line drying as well...but in the basement...

My '70's Westy Spacemates dryer is awaiting an overhaul in the coming weeks...

I bought an indoor dryer/rack on clearance at Target for $20...

It's about 5 ft. long, 2 ft. wide, and has enough bars and racks to hold 2 regular-size loads...

Whatever I wash in the morning is dry by the evening...

The only thing I miss about the dryer is the softness of jeans...

I am surprised how quickly the clothes dry...

 

George

 
 
We would love to hang out our clothes but with all the pollen and dust in the air (from New Mexico) our sheets would be green or gray instead of white. Down here clothes hanging time starts in late June, early July when all of that goes away.
 
Jim/JMM63

To help reduce you electric bill with your hot water heater you need to get the Timer for it.  Will sure save you on your electric bill.

 

We had a total electric home and first month bill was $450.00 was told by friends at work to get the timers.  Purchased both for about $40.00 each and set then to the times we used water.  Bed room side from 5:00 am til 8:00 1m and then at night about 9:00 pm to 11:00 for night showers (had kids at home)The kitchen and laundry room side from 6:00 am to 9:00 am incase running DW.  Night was 4:00 pm until 9:00 pm for DW or laundry.  Both had over rides to turn onn like company or weekends.  First month $45.00 saving.

 

Here is link to The Home Depot site.

 

I enstalled them myself just cut the power at the breaker and cut the wire to the heater as instructed and splice the wiring like the instructions said abd set the timmer time.

 

Second month we even put the thick balnkets on the heters and saved $5.00 per month more.

 

 

 
Thanks Charles, never really thought of a timer on the water heater. It is wrapped in a thermal blanket though. You know, the circuit breakers are right in my kitchen.. I think I'm going to try flipping the switch at night before going to bed and turning it on in the morning to see if that helps any.
 
Yes, timers on an electric water heater will make a big difference. I put them in for tenants in an apartment house I owned and they all said their bills went down considerably. I did the wrap also on all of them. Remembering to flip the breaker sometimes is hard but in the meantime that will definitely work to save cost.
 
Jim try the breaker thing you  could even do it before leaving for work and back on when you get home.  You will see a difference just don't forget to turn back on.  Turning off durning the is if no one is at home.  Keep me posted on how it helps.

 

 

 

 
 
You might also want to insulate your hot water pipe runs as much as possible. That nice foam insulation is slit on one side to slip on the pipes easily. It really saves money when the water in the pipes stays hot and you're not having to bleed extra water when you need hotter water than is at the tap. I did that shortly after moving to my house and my mom noticed on her first visit that the water stayed hotter longer in the pipes.

Do any of you with electric dryers have the option of switching to gas? Have any of you with electric water heaters explored switching to a heat pump water heater? There have been rebates from the power companies down here and they also are very good dehumidifiers.

One way you can save money on an electric dryer is to switch it over to 120 volt operation. It does not save if it is an air conditioned place because you are pumping more cooled air through the dryer and outside because of the longer drying time. In the mid-60s, GE even had a button marked "Economy" on some of their dryers which cut the voltage to 120. When I first moved to Greenbelt, I did not have a 220 volt outlet for my HOH dryer so I used it on 120. Because it uses the moisture sensor system to determine dryness instead of the time/temp auto dry, it dried perfectly and shut off dependably.
 

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