Sunday 1 May 2011

Cold Water Laundry - The new Black

Households do around 400 loads of laundry each year, that consumes about 13,500 gallons (51,103 Litres) of water.  So a simple change to your laundry habits could save you up to $100 per year.

Did you know that 90% of the energy used for washing clothes is from heating the water ? This means that 10% of your electricity used is electricity to run the motor.

Using warm water instead of hot water for a load of washing will save you about 250 pounds of carbon dioxide. If you use cold water you will save even more.

Modern day detergents clean as efficiently in cold water as in hot. So when doing the washing press the cold button on your washing machine and do your wallet and the environment a favor.

On top of this hot water does not clean clothes better, Hot water is also tougher on clothes, which will cause them to wear and therefore tear faster. Not only this but it effects the pigments in clothing causing them to fade colors quicker. So not only do you save on energy, but you save on having to buy new clothes!!

36 comments:

  1. well thats a s-load of laundry

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  2. very informative! thanks!

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  3. Always thought cold water caused more tears than warm water

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  4. Awesome, thanks for the info

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  5. great idea for a blog!

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  6. luckily i dont wash my own clothes.

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  7. i never wash my clothes

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  8. I wash at 45 normally, still not happy with 30.

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  9. Definitely really good tips here, hot water and a hot dryer absolutely destroy clothes.

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  10. Following, want to learn moar.

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  11. I do all my washing cold... Just sayin

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  12. Does cold water really clean as well?

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  13. Then if it's a nice sunny day outside, you can put your clothes out on the line to dry. That's what I do, and then to ensure that they will be soft when I wear them, I throw them in the dryer with a dryer sheet for about 10 minutes. So instead of drying them in the dryer for a full 50 minutes, I save some energy and money by mainly using a free energy source- THE SUN! awesome idea for a blog! Going green is where it's at! +follow

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  14. KateKush - Thats going to be another post.

    Nowausj - Yes it does with most modern day detergents, if not at the very least go warm water.

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  15. Good tip! Will try it.

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  16. AnonymousMay 04, 2011

    I always wash with warm water only, but its interesting to see how much impact that really has.

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  17. Interesting, will follow

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  18. Wow never knew that, thanks for info

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  19. Hmmm, I have to look into this.

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  20. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  21. Always had the cold rinse button there, I just didn't know the application of it was so cost effective, thanks.

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  22. Thats over 1 load of laundry a day, people need to get more god dam clothing lol

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  23. We have already implimented all the things you suggest in your blog, looking forward to ones we havnt tried yet, keep it up!

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  24. I have really heard a lot about saving energy and caring about nature but that's completely new to me. Going to try that out thx.

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  25. I live in an apartment, so I go to the laundromat, but I still wash on COLD to save the environment. :) Kudos for spreading the word of COLD wash! I prefer HOT or WARM for my whites... gets the stains out better.

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  26. wow thanks for sharing.

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  27. Awesome OO saving money is always useful! followin ;)

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  28. I am somewhat skeptical on the idea that cold water washing is as good as the hot water one. I like the nature and all, but i like to be clean more!

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  29. Very interesting writing, i like it.

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  30. Very nice to share! Weird though, cause the companies always say a set temperature. Anyhow, going to try this out, thanks!

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  31. AnonymousMay 05, 2011

    Great saving tip and I didn't know hot water was bad for clothes!

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  32. Definitely an interesting read. Thanks for sharing!

    Keep 'em coming as always :)

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  33. thatnks for sharing! also interesting blog.. keep it up

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