Ways to Save Money on Laundry....

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It could be worse. They do at least allow the use of hot water for loads like underwear and towels. I have seen some frugality experts who wash EVERYTHING in cold. And wash everything TOGETHER.

This has not happened to me as far as I know, but this thought makes me cringe: having dinner at one of these frugality nut's houses, where the kitchen towels used to dry the hand washed dishes and the fancy napkins on the table were both washed in tap cold water with the host's underwear, and then line dried in a dank basement.
 
Well, I can see using this plan if you're REALLY SUPER cheap. Altogether you save what, $200 a year. That's $16.66 a month. Give or take a few dollars. If I wanna save money I want it to be at least 3 or 4 times that amount a month.
 
I do a lot of those things....

and many work on saving money....although, I am proud to say that I don't wash my kitchen towels in cold water with my underwear and hang them in a dank basement...LOL.

I'm all for the line drying and have even made my own washing powder before, but I do like hot water for certain sanitary things, along with sorting my clothes properly. The white vinegar they mentioned, although not a softener, does make a lovely rinsing agent for those detergent sensitive individuals (like me).
 
line drying

I do that that all the time, hardly ever use the dryer! but OUTSIDE where the sun and air are, I think it saves more than what they say it dose. OTOH I hardly ever use cold water! just cant convince myself that anything gets clean in cold. Have dryer sheets but never use them, unless I have ants ! they work pretty well to make them go away? ( Makes me wonder?) Hot or warm water, warm rinse, lined dried! Now that class LOL
 
Well, there are good points on what the author says! But others... let's forget them :)

1- Reduce the amount of detergent you use in each load and save money.

(this couldn't be more true! And the clothes will be better rinsed! I do this all the time, I always use soft water doses even if I have hard water and my clothes are sparkling clean all the time, 280 ml of powder for 5 kg of laundry is just too much! But this is how P&G works!)

2- Reserve hot water for towels, washcloths, bed linens and clothing close to the body, such as undergarments.

(I can only partly agree to this, washing clothes in COLD water in the long run is going to make them smell, expecially if your cold water is under 15°C/59°F, so I wash everything that needs "cold" at 40°C and hot is 60°C or extended at 40°C if stuff is not too dirty.)
PS: the dial on the photo looks like a Candy!

3- "That's going to be your biggest money saver," she says. "Use the free sun and the free air to dry your clothes."

(Couldn't agree more! Clothes spun at just 800 rpm dry indoors overnight, even thick stuff like jeans, plus that adds valuable moisture to the underfloor heating that leaves the house very dry. In the summer I dry on the balcony.) That saves 1 euro per load!

4- Fabric softener isn't necessary to get clothing soft and wearable

(This is just my opinion but I always use the full dose of fabric softener, otherwise, clothes are stiff and not because they're not well rinsed in my case, adding half a cup of of baking soda to EACH rinse or a cup of vinegar to the final rinse?!?!? That is going to cost double than using fabric softener! )

5- Make your own laundry detergent

GROSS! No other words needed, at least over here you can find a perfectly working enzyme, oxi-bleach, optical brightening detergent at less than 10 cents per load, that is going to cost less than homemade detergent too and will work better even if it is a value brand.

6- Buy an Energy Star-certified washer

Well, if I were unemployed I'd rather use my current machine to death before buying a new one...

7- Buy easy-to-clean clothes

Again, if I were unemployed I don't think I'd go shopping everyday...
And easy to clean clothes? Just get 100% cotton stuff!
 
Why would they recommend adding baking soda to the rinse? That is just putting an alkaline salt into the fabrics that is going to make them feel harsh when dried. Vinegar makes more sense if you add it before the final rinse. Drying the clothes with the residue of the reaction of vinegar with the alkalinity of the detergent is not good for the fabrics. This is corporate brain washing that "baking soda" is pure. It's like when Arm & Hammer came out with that crappy no phosphate laundry detergent in the late 60s or early 70s and made people think that baking soda was a principal ingredient in the formula when it was actually mostly cheap, harsh washing soda. When you examined washer tubs of people who used detergents with washing soda and baking soda, you could feel the fine grit left behind when the tub dried. That fine grit or dust was in the clothes, too. I doubt if enough baking soda was left behind to neutralize perspiration odors when the garments were worn.
 
Tom:
How would you rate A&H detergent of today? Do you think there's any comparison to the formula now than when it first debuted (I do use it every so often)?

Vern:
As I've stated in previous posts, I'm also a laundromat user. I do laundry every 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. Depending on if I do some extra loads ( pillow, blankets, comforter, bath and kitchen mats, etc.), my expense for washing is generally in the 8-10 dollar range (1.25 per washer for either Maytag top loader or Neptune, 1.75 for triple load Ipso, and 1.75 for drying).

Although I'd LOVE to have my own washer and dryer (hopefully one of these days), the trip to the laundromat usually takes around (tops) 2 hours. HOWEVER, after my last trip and seeing an illiterate BIOTCH change her baby's diaper on the folding table (the NERVE of some people!), I'll be taking a few Clorox Wipes with me and do a wipe down before I proceed in folding my clean laundry.
 
I used to think that most people use all different temperatures to wash their clothes. Hot for whites & towels, warm for clothing and cold for woolens. But after observing people and asking I can't believe the number of people who wash everything they have in Cold/Cold.
I had Karen ask some of her friends who do this why do they do it. The answers ranged from it's cheaper to "cold water doesn't damage zippers". (????)
 
Ultimate solution: paper clothing...

Better yet! Let's just go NAKED all summer! Think of the savings..... Hmmmm this could be fun!
 
Arm and Hammer Powdered Detergent of today-

Is, I think, pretty good. I have used it as recently as a year ago, and was pleased by its performance. However, for me, for the time being, it is Sears Ultra Plus in the orange box.

As to cold water washing.....I only wash things labeled "cold water only" in cold.
Everything else is in warm or hot! Cold rinse, usually, though. Since it's just me, it does not make a huge difference in my energy bills (I pay for water, gas, and electricity. My landlord pays trash removal, but I pay for recycling.)

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
Lawrence:

I agree with you. I think the cost difference may be just a couple of bucks per month using different wash temps vs just using cold all the time.

Doing laundry is not that hard! Just sort according to fabric type and colorfastness, use warmer temps for sanitary items and cooler temps for delicates or things that may shrink. Remove promptly from washer or dryer. That's it.

How can so many people screw this simple formula up?
 
Wash full loads. An underloaded machine will not get the clothes as clean.

Measure detergent carefully, especially the new X2 liquids. Using the cap to measure does not work as well as a small measuring cup, many caps are too big around to get an accurate reading.

Ken D.
 
Keep in Mind...

....that it's just me and my furbabies here, but I did one of those online energy audits where you plug in how you use your appliances and all that stuff. I was looking to buy a new washing machine at the time and wanted to see if going Energy Star would be a good option for me. Here is what I found.

By changing my habits, and going with all new Energy Star appliances, I would be able to save a whopping $19 a YEAR....$11 a year if I bought an energy star washer alone. I decided to go with an old design top loader for cheap instead....and do more line drying. That saves several dollars a month....more than what a lot of these sites promote as green and frugal.
 
I don't know nothing about Arm & Hammer detergent. Sorry.

I realize that because of my parents' careers, I am way too concerned about germs. Friday morning, on the way into work I watched a man who had been holding one of the bars as he stood in the Metro car, release the bar and then use that same hand to rub his face: mouth, nose and eye areas and I honestly wondered how anyone with an ounce of knowledge can do that. My father predictd the rise in bacteria resistant to ways we have controlled them. He predicted and saw the rise of infections when they pulled hexachlorophene out of the hand soaps used in hospitals because it was found to permeate the skin of babies. In that case, don't bathe babies in it, but let people caring for babies and others in the hospital use it to wash up between caring for one patient and moving on to the next. The thought of doctors sitting on the edge of beds in their street clothes as a way of showing their caring relationship and warm bedside manner SCREAMS to me of spreading filth from all manner of public surfaces onto the bed linens of an already sick person. Doctors' ties are among the most efficient germ spreaders known. Laundering in cold water not only does not kill germs, it leaves organic matter such as oily dirt on which the microbes can feed. Yech.
 
"By changing my habits, and going with all new Energy Star appliances, I would be able to save a whopping $19 a YEAR....$11 a year if I bought an energy star washer alone."

I've often wondered what the real world savings are...or aren't. Not that there aren't probably cases where people would see a huge savings by going with an Energy Star machine. (Expensive electricity plus many loads using hot water a week will do it.) But I'm guessing there are a lot of people who won't see a significant energy saving. The worst case are those who use tap cold for every load, and then buy a front load machine. I'm sure at least some people like this get sold on the idea of saving energy, even though they never use anything but cold.
 
Hexachlorophene Based Products

Are still available via perscription, but many doctors won't bother any longer.

Problem with using any product for bathing, hand washing and or even cleaning surfaces is that there is always a chance of residue. The remaining chemical can cause the same reactions upon exposure as if the full product had been used.

Years ago there was a series of deaths in newborn nurseries and the culprit was found to be that housekeeping had cleaned the surfaces including bassinets with a product that contained phenol, a highy toxic substance especially to infants. This is one of the reasons you don't see such cleaners in hospitals/healthcare much and why the traditional Lysol of old (in the brown bottle) no longer is what it once was. With the phenol compounds removed the product isn't even EPA registered as a disinfectant IIRC.

Back to hexachlorophene:

Because the United States is so court happy doctors and others are hard pressed to suggest using a product with a "past", even if they think it is safe and or a person makes a request.
 
Energy Star appliances

By far the biggest savings one can get is to replace a pre-1990's fridge with a modern energy star fridge.

I replaced two fridges in my "new" old home ten years ago. One used 1500 KWh/yr. The other used 1700 KWh/yr. These were the figures GE gave me when I called in the model numbers. I replaced these two with modern KA fridges that use 570 and 640 KWh/yr.

Now, I pay $.26/KWh for electricity in excess of what I currently use. By replacing these two fridges, I'm saving $517/year. After six years, these fridges paid for themselves in energy savings.

Now, I agree that the same savings won't be had by switching from a traditional top loading washer to a front loader. But that's not really the reason why I prefer a front loader. It cleans better, is more gentle on clothing, and you can wash bulky items with less grief than in a center agitator washer. Plus the sight of the laundry going round and round in that window is cheap entertainment. I've never really bothered with computing how much I might be saving after I replaced an old top loader with a front loader. It really was more apples and oranges. I know I wash items more frequently than I would with the top loader, and more different types of items, which a front loader can handle better than a traditional top loader, such as comforters, throw rugs, covers, etc.

Yes, there are high efficiency top loaders. The Maytag Bravos and the Whirlpool Calypso seem to be the best of the lot. But darned if I'm not fairly convinced that they will never clean as well as a front loader, esp front loaders with internal water heaters. The only HE top loader I know of that *might* have a in internal water heater is the LG, and I would avoid buying a washer (or anything else) with the LG logo on it. Too many horror stories of awful warranty service.

Your mileage may vary, but the smart thing to do is to get the appliance that you think will work best for you, and perhaps also save you $$$ in water and electricity costs down the line. You're doing the smart thing by pricing out the alternatives.
 
Agreed; fridge is a biggie.

RE "By far the biggest savings one can get is to replace a pre-1990's fridge with a modern energy star fridge.

I replaced two fridges in my "new" old home ten years ago. One used 1500 KWh/yr. The other used 1700 KWh/yr. These were the figures GE gave me when I called in the model numbers. I replaced these two with modern KA fridges that use 570 and 640 KWh/yr."

The old Sears (Whirlpool) Fridge from circa 1989 died a month ago. It was a vertical
double door unit of 21 cubic foot, with built in icemaker and water thru the freezer door. Its measured power consumption was about 1300 KWHR/year for the summer time and about 1200ish in the winter in an little/unheated house.

The new 18 cuft GE fridge I got at Home Depot has an icemaker, but no thru door water. It is a freezer on top and fridge on bottom. It is not as fancy as the old one; but only uses 335 KWHR per year on the yellow tag . My measured data over the last month is slightly less than 0.9 KWHR per day.
 
Mum knows best

Whites on their own 60 to 90 deg
Towels on their own hot wash 40 to 60 deg
Color fast Cottons shirts bedding light colored under wear 40deg
Dark wash trousers socks synthetics etc 30 to 40 deg
Denims on their own 30 to 40 deg
non fast coloreds seperate wash by hand rinsed thourghly and short spin in spin dryer or if there is a few items put in washer for short spin cycle
A small load if needed in a hurry 30 mins quick wash at 50 deg (my washer)on quick wash 3 rinses low spin turn on to full spin after quick wash ends

Most modern detergents do the job well, I would never consider a cold wash for the likes of towels or under garments ewwwwww.
 
For me the whole idea of the FL was water usage, not the tiny drips of today, but with my Neptunes, I can use three of these at one time, wash in either hot or warm water, even a warm rinse, and still know I am saving versus the TL, without even putting a dent in the water heaters supply......

I went from a Kenmore Limited Set, electric dryer too!......for me I have the best of both worlds, meaning I can wash 2 times the size load of the Kenmore, with half the water and detergent.....and I got a matching GAS dryer, cheaper than electric......unless I am trying to reduce my black jeans from fading so fast, there is NO reason to ever wash a load in COLD water.....

Whats the most HOT water would you really use in a FL......people who insist on saving energy from hot water usage, waste more taking a shower, or boiling water for spaghetti, or boil a pot of water for a lobster, than you would use in a FL machine......and a lot of todays FL machines use half of what my Neptunes use!
 
take your clothes down to the closest creek or pond ...

Don't you have to have an Environmental Impact Study or something to do that? I don't think it would be cost effective.....
smiley-laughing.gif
 

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