Laundry Money

Here’s another simple little tip for saving household expenses. I’m almost embarrassed to say it, but here goes. Do your laundry right!

It takes well over forty gallons of hot water to do an average large load of laundry in a typical home machine. This a money wasting problem for most people. Research shows that the majority of people do not use the proper settings on their washers for the size load they are washing. If you think that by filling the washer half full of cloths and then using the large cycle setting, that the extra hot water will help pull the dirt out of your clothes and rinse it away, you’re wrong. For your washer to operate well and for your cloths to come clean they need adequate agitation. They need to be rubbing and bumping aggressively against each other. Think about how your great great grandmother did it in the wash tub with the wash-board. Your clothes need to be in consistent contact with one another to get clean, otherwise you’re wasting your utility dollars by just letting them relax a while in the hot tub.

In addition, with today’s laundry detergents, you can use much colder water than you could have only a few years ago. So don’t pay good money to heat up a bunch of water just to have it go on a trip through your pipes and down your drain.

Here’s what to remember when you wash:

• The water should just cover the clothes placed in the tub
• You only really need hot water when you are doing whites
• Use the correct load setting for the amount of clothes

If your not doing your laundry right you’re just wasting money. Why not save a little here and there and add it into your retirement fund, education for the kids, or your emergency fund in case something happens. Saving money here is simple now that you know the truth. I’ll bet that if you experiment a little, you’ll be amazed to see that you really can get more clothes just as clean while saving some of your hard earned money.

And that’s not all! If you think you waste money in the old clothes washer, take a look at the water monster you know as a dish washer. This little beauty can use 30 to 60 gallons of heated water, depending on your make and model. Sure it is convenient, but do yourself a favor and at least only do full loads. It is estimated that over 60% of the loads of dishes washed are only partial loads. What a waste. Load that baby up in order to stretch your dish-washing dollar.  For most of us we can shave off a dollar or two here and five or ten dollars there by just being smarter in the way we use our appliances. Make these easy changes and you’ll maintain your lifestyle with zero added sacrifices, and still save money. Give it some thought.

If this seems too petty and too little a deal for you to worry about, fine. I’m happy for you. You apparently have money to flush down the drain since that is exactly what you are doing. If wasting money by using your appliances poorly does not completely satisfy your need to squander your cash, I’d be happy to help by providing my address. You are welcome to send away all the other dollars that just aren’t important enough for you to think about or deal with frugally. I promise to give them a good home.

All these little things add up in a big way. Good luck.