This is one of our peaceful pockets ideas, which are easy, earth-friendly ways to save money. Today we'll talk about 6 ways you can save up to 12% of your electric bill from drying your laundry.
Reduce Drying Time
Dry your clothing less time to save money. You can use either of these tips or combine both, if you have a thicker load. Toss a dry towel in with the load for 1st fifteen minutes to cut drying time. Switch to air dry setting for last 15 minutes. Since the dryer has already heated up, it is already warm enough to use just air to get the load finished.
Care for your Dryer
Be sure to clean and keep up your dryer. By cleaning your dryer's lint screen after every load, you increase its efficiency by as much 30%. If you use dryer sheets, be sure to scrub the lint screen with a toothbrush,soap, and water to get the dryer sheet scum off. Also, clean your dryer hoses every 1-3 months to keep it running efficiently and to cut the risk of a dryer fire.
Unplug your dryer
One drying tip that no one seems talks about is to unplug your dryer after each use. This reduces the phantom power that it uses every minute that it's plugged in. To find out how much you can save from unplugging your dryer, you'll want to buy a Kill-a-Watt meter to measure its electric use. If you completed a DIY Home energy audit, then you already have one!
Extra Heat Device
If you live in a dry climate, you can reuse the moist heat from your electric clothes dryer to heat your home. To do this, you need to buy a device called the Deflecto Extra-Heat Dryer Saver. This redirects the moist heat that vents outside, to heating your laundry room. It can also be switched to just venting outdoors in warmer weather as well.
Change Your Dryer
Switch to a spin dryer which gets your clothes 90% dry in about 3 minutes and finish hang drying overnight. You can save between $67-$113 a year, depending on if you use gas or electric. It is also safer, as there isn't the fire hazard of lint build-up.
Use an outdoor clothesline
Using an outdoor clothesline is by far the best way to save money on drying laundry. The average dryer accounts for 12% of your electric bill or $196 a year. However, there are hidden savings unique to outdoor laundry hanging.
Every time you dry your clothing in a dryer, fibers are beaten out of them in the form of lint. This wear and tear on your clothing mean you have to either repair or replace your clothing more often! You also don't have to worry about shrinking your clothing by drying.
The sun also bleaches clothing, can remove stains, and is better at sterilizing your laundry with UV radiation than your gas/electric dryer. Outdoor drying can save you time and money on bleach and stain removers. If you don't want your clothes bleached, you can turn them inside out to dry so only the inside gets bleached.
Use an indoor clothesline
Second best to using an outdoor laundry line, is using the indoor clothesline. This doesn't even need to be an actual line. You can just place clothing on hangers and hang or drape your laundry wherever gets air flow. We use the backs of chairs, the bed-frames, and the shower curtain bar.
You still get less wear and tear on your clothing and a reduced electric bill. What you don't get are the sun's benefits of bleaching, stain removal, and sterilization.
However, indoor drying has its own benefits. The most obvious advantage is that you can dry in any weather, unlike outdoor drying. You also get better air quality for dry climates, since most of our homes are too dry with air/conditioning and forced-air heating.
Customized Electricity Savings
Ultimately, it's up to you to see which of these 6 options work for your family to save the most money. You could use any combination that fits your family's needs.
What is the best and most affordable for your family to dry laundry? Be sure to share this post so other people can save money on drying their laundry!
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Great tips. I used to be SO much better about hanging laundry outside than I am now . . .
ReplyDeleteGreat motivation here!
I never knew about unplugging the dryer! That is a new one for me. I will start doing that. #fortheloveofblog
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I used to wash clothes by hand but have solely relied on using the washing machine. When it's hot outside, I hang a few of our clothes especially the ones that aren't dryer friendly!
ReplyDeleteMaureen | www.littlemisscasual.com
Big fan of the outdoor and indoor clothes line. Saves ton of money. Found you on Simple Homestead Hop.
ReplyDeleteWhen the weather is nice, there's nothing better than getting the washing outside to dry! We don't really have air con or forced air conditioning in the UK, so for us it's the opposite problem, having clothes drying inside is often seen as a negative thing as can make the room too humid. Thanks for linking up to #fortheloveofBLOG
ReplyDeleteI love the Deflecto attachment! We used to use the leg of an old pair of pantyhose, but you couldn't easily switch it back to venting outside when you needed to. Thanks for sharing this with us at the Homestead Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteGlad to help, Michele! We hang most of our laundry except for towels and cleaning cloths, I usually cheat and dry those. Always something to improve on!
ReplyDeleteGlad to help Tracy! I've become a serial unplugger since we owned our house, much to Mr. Greenie chagrin. Remembering to replug in your stove can be frustrating when you're used to being able to just turn on the kettle.
ReplyDeleteNice Maureen! I haven't done much handwashing, but now you've inspired me to do better. I grew up in Las Vegas with a big covered porch and it made all of the difference to be able to dry laundry outside nearly year-round.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Candy! Good to see you again.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Kelly! I didn't know that about the UK. You are correct, indoor drying works well with wood-burning stoves, air conditioning, and forced air heating, all of which take out humidity. If you live somewhere with a different kind of system, you are more subject to weather.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Ann! I love the Deflecto too, definitely sounds easier than using pantyhose. What a neat and frugal way to go!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips for saving money on something we all have to do every week. Congrats, you're featured at the This Is How We Roll Link Party.
ReplyDelete