Green Your Laundry Routine
May 22, 2009 by Jennifer
If you’re a tree hugging family with kids you’ve probably got loads of laundry going on all the time, so the laundry room is a good place to go green. Try the following tips.
Make sure your washer and dryer are Energy Star rated for maximum energy and water efficiency.
Grab a cord, some clothes pins, and hang that laundry to dry. I actually hang my clothing year round. If it’s too cold outside, you can hang your clothing directly on hangers, and hang them on the shower rod to dry. This also saves time – right from the washer to closet.
In the summer, do your laundry in the early morning or later in the evening. This will cut energy costs because your air conditioner won’t have to work as hard to keep things cool.
Wash full loads only to conserve water and energy.
Wash everything on cold. It’ll work, even if you’re washing diapers. Yup, it will.
Use eco-friendly laundry detergent and skip dryer sheets (mainly these are a waste). If you like fresh laundry out of the dryer, sprinkle a few drops of organic essential oil onto a washcloth, and place it in the dryer.
Skip the fabric softener and add one-half cup of baking soda to your rinse cycle OR choose an eco-friendly fabric softener.
ALWAYS skip traditional bleach.
If you send items out make sure you look for a more earth-friendly dry cleaner.
What else can you think of?
[image via stock.xchng]
I’ve switched to detergent in a box instead of a plastic jug, which lasts a lot longer and eliminates even more plastic from my recycling bin.
I also toss a tennis ball or wool dryer ball in the dryer instead of dryer sheets.
Oh – and Borax. I use it in every load as a laundry booster.
I bought these really intesesting laundry ‘balls’ at the dollar store recently. Although I mostly hang the laundry up to dry sometimes in Toronto we get weather where it is almost impossible to get things like towels and sheets to dry. These little laundry balls get in between the clothes, seperate them and can decrease drying times between 30 and 50%. They come in packs of two and I recommend using between 4 and 6.
I’m sure tennis balls and the like are another alternative.