Save Energy when doing Laundry

Whether you’re planning to buy new laundry appliances or already have them, it is very important for you to know how to save energy while doing your laundry. Doing the laundry is one of the most energy intensive tasks in your home. It is right behind heating and air-conditioning and heating water (which is actually part of doing laundry). Saving energy while doing laundry will help drastically reduce large utility bills to a more manageable size.
Here are 9 Tips on how you can conserve resources and keep laundry energy usage at a minimum:

1. Adjust Water Heater for Maximum Efficiency- Make sure the thermostat on the water heater is turned down. A temperature of 120°F is usually adequate for most homes. This will not only save energy while doing laundry it will also reduce heat loss from your water heater when it is just sitting there and no one is even using it.
2. Watch Capacity- Load your washing machine according to its allowable load capacity. People usually tend to under-load or overload their machines. Washing a large load in one go will help you save up the energy you will use on two separate washes. But too large a load might result in the clothes not getting clean and having to wash them again.
3. Uniform Fabrics Saves Energy- When drying your clothes, make sure that you dry similar textured clothes together, so that they dry simultaneously. For example, group all the synthetic clothes and dry them at once. This will help save energy since you will be able to dry the clothes in one go. Having a variety of different materials will force you to run the dryer over and over again or half the clothes may be dry while only a few items are causing the dryer to continue to run. Thus, making you waste energy.
4. Low Temperature = Energy Savings.  Keep the temperature settings at the lowest point possible. Try to use cold or slightly warm water for regular laundry. Use hot water only for clothes with heavy and greasy stains and make sure you keep the rinse cycle set to cold water. The higher the temperature is set, the more the energy your washing machine will use. * Use the suds-saving mark (if your machine has it) if you are washing clothes that are lightly soiled. This helps save the water and energy that will be used again in the next round. This will especially be helpful if the next round is to be washed immediately.
5. Save Energy- don’t over-dry your clothes. Take your clothes out when they are slightly damp. Hanging slightly damp shirts on (non-metalic) hangers for instance, will help them dry wrinkle free, eliminating the need to iron them (which will mean another large energy savings). If your dryer has the auto-dry option, make sure you use it instead of the heat regulating timer. This will allow you to avoid wasting energy drying clothes that are already dry.
6. Save Energy- Conserve Heat. When you have heated a load of clothes in one round, take advantage of the heat that is still retained in the machine to dry lighter materials.
7. Don’t Re-Dry Clothes. Make sure you don’t add a wet pile of clothes to partially dried ones, as this will only force you to waste energy running the dryer again.
8. Use Free Energy- Whenever the weather is good, consider drying your clothes outside in the traditional way by using free natural solar and wind energy. This will not only help you save energy and money but it will give your clothes a clean fresh smell.