Laundry can have an impact on the environment. Aside from wasted water, traditional clothes washing and drying machines can waste energy, releasing greenhouses gases into the environment. Using these wasteful machines improperly may increase your carbon footprint, reducing the Earth's chances of remaining sustainable. However, implementing a few simple laundry tips to your routine will reduce your carbon footprint.
Maximize Each Load
Small loads of laundry waste water and energy. Washing only full loads of laundry complete with the proper water level setting will ensure that each load of laundry you do is using the optimal amount of energy.
Turn Down the Heat
Most of the energy involved in washing and drying your laundry is the result of heating the water and air needed to do the job. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 90 percent of the energy used by your washer goes toward heating the water. Wash your clothes in cold water as often as possible. If you prefer warmer water, turn down the heat on your water heater to 120 degrees. You should also dry your clothes on a cooler setting to limit the energy used by both components. Any time you save energy in this way you reduce your carbon footprint by reducing your carbon dioxide emissions.
Air Dry
According to an Energy Information Administration report released in 2001, the clothes dryer eats nearly 6 percent of all the energy used in your house. To alleviate this substantial drain of resources, dry your clothes outside on a clothesline on nice days. If you have the space, install a clothesline in your laundry room to dry clothes inside on chilly or rainy days.
Marathon Laundry
If you have always loved that hot-out-of-the-dryer feeling you get when you take a towel or sweater out of the dryer, you can harness this heat to reduce your carbon footprint. Kate Galbraith of The New York Times suggests drying loads of laundry back-to-back to use the leftover heat, shortening the length of time needed to dry each load.
Concentrated Detergents
You typically find laundry detergent in large, heavy boxes and bottles. While you see a bargain, the reality is that these detergents require a lot of gas to ship by plane or truck. To reduce your carbon footprint, buy concentrated detergents. Packed in smaller containers, these detergents offer the same amount of cleaning with a smaller global impact, according to Collin Dunn, contributing author at Planet Green a subsidiary of the Discovery Co.
Energy Efficient Machines
Traditional washing machines use 41 gallons of water per load of laundry, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. You can reduce this number up to 32 percent by buying an energy-efficient washing machine. Energy-efficient washers and dryers can also reduce your carbon footprint by limiting the amount of energy used, therefore reducing the number of greenhouse gases you create.
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