Your laundry room is an area where you can save energy and money. If only you could funnel that energy toward actually folding the clean laundry. 

Washing Machine

Save that Hot Water

• About 90% of the energy used for washing clothes goes to heating the water. Save energy by cooling off your laundry—washing your clothes in warm water instead of hot will cut energy use by as much as 45%. Washing in cold water can save as much as 90%. Simply switching to cold instead of hot water in the wash cycle can add up to big savings each year.
• Always use cold water for the rinse cycle. Your clothes don’t get any cleaner using warm or hot water in the rinse cycle.
• Wash only full loads.
• Use the lowest water level required to clean your clothes.

Lots of Laundry? Get a Front Loader.

• Front-loading washers are the most energy efficient washers; they use as little as 40% of the water of top-loading models, which reduces the amount of electricity required to heat all that water. Since most of the energy used by your washing machine goes to heating the water, this can be a big energy savings.
• Front-loaders usually cost more—but if your family does many loads of laundry per week, you'll most likely find the increased energy savings worth the additional cost.

Clothes Dryer

Keep it Clean

• Clean the lint filter after every load. Your dryer works less efficiently when it has to push air through a full lint screen.
• If you use dryer softening sheets, they can cause a waxy build-up that isn’t always easily seen, but it’s there. Wash the lint filter with warm, soapy water occasionally to keep your dryer working well. A toothbrush or other soft-bristle brush also can be used to clean the filter. These cleanings can actually extend the life of your dryer!
• If your machine has a moisture sensor, clean it occasionally so the waxy build-up from dryer softening sheets doesn't interfere with the sensor’s ability to detect moisture. If the dryer stops when it’s supposed to, you save electricity.

Dry Full Loads

• Dryers typically have larger capacities than washers, allowing you to dry three loads of washing with only two dryer loads. That’s cutting your energy use by up to 33% depending on the type of clothes you’re drying.
• Dry multiple loads one right after the other to make use of the heat existing from the previous load.
• Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes.
• Don’t over-dry your clothes. If your machine has a moisture sensor, be sure to use it.
• If your clothes have been over-dried and become wrinkled, you can throw a wet towel in and re-run them instead of re-washing and re-drying.

Don’t Heat Your House. (Unless You Want to Heat Your House.)

Close your laundry-room door when drying clothes during the summer. This keeps the dryer from heating your whole home during the summer (causing the air-conditioner to run more). During the winter, open the laundry room door to allow the heat from the dryer to help heat your home.