With inflation still on the rise and food prices high, the cost of living crisis is still biting. This has a knock-on effect on everything, including the cost of running everyday household appliances such as TVs, fridges and washing machines. Doing the laundry is an essential task that is carried out cyclically every week, sometimes even multiple times a week. So when it comes to looking for a new laundry appliance, or even getting the best out of your existing machine, there are a few tactics you can adopt to ensure you’re making your money go further when it comes to laundry day, without having to cut back.

Search For Energy Efficient Appliances

When shopping for a new laundry appliance, you should also be looking at how much your washing machine or tumble dryers costs per use as much as the initial price of the appliance. One thing that affects the cost per use is the energy consumption per load, and the amount of energy used by your laundry appliance can vary.

Energy-efficient appliances will have higher ratings, with A+++ being the most energy-efficient. It means when they’re in use, less electricity will be used, allowing you to save on energy usage and the costs related to it. For washing machines you should look at the energy rating, whilst with tumble dryers you can expect to find heat pump dryers which are much more efficient than a regular tumble dryer.

Wash At A Lower Temperature

A lot of energy usage from a washing machine comes from washing your clothes at a higher temperature, which requires the water to be heated. However, not everything needs to be washed at a higher temperature, with some items being able to be washed effectively at lower temperatures such as 30°C and even 20°C.

By dropping from 40°C to 30°C you can still wash your everyday clothes effectively whilst saving on energy usage. Good quality detergents can make the transition down to the lower temperature seamless. 60°C is generally only recommended for bedding and towels, and washing at this high temperature kills bacteria and can remove stubborn stains.

Wash Full Loads

Sometimes if you have a small bundle of dirty clothes, it can be easy to bung them into the washing machine and start the cycle. However, by doing that you could be using up a lot of water and detergent on not many clothes. Instead, to maximise water usage and energy efficiency per item, it’s recommended that you wash full loads whenever possible. Washing full loads can also decrease the amount of times you use the appliance.

If you need something cleaned quickly, then you can always look to see if there are more clothes you can wash with it. Or alternatively, you can find out whether your appliance has a half-load setting that you can make use of.

Utilise Machine Settings

On a modern washing machine, tumble dryer or washer-dryer, there are many different settings you can choose from to wash your clothes. Sometimes these can be overwhelming, and when you don’t have the time to think and map out all the different options for your laundry pile, there’s the temptation to stick with the standard settings, no matter what you’re washing and no matter how much you’re washing.

However, you can utilise your washing machine or tumble dryer to ensure that each load has suitable settings, meaning no water is wasted, the temperature is not too high and the clothes are washed fully the first time round.

These tips can help you to save money on laundry and your laundry appliances to survive the cost of living crisis.