Clean Green: Lower the Impact of your Laundry Loads

Think about it: doing your laundry is a symphony of water, chemical, and electricity usage. The planet is obviously being affected when billions of people do it hundreds of time per year. Fortunately, there are ways to green it up.

Unless you are dealing with heavy stains or bedding, try to wash your laundry with cold water. Only 10% of the electricity a washing machine uses runs the motor and washes the clothes. The rest is used to heat up water. By reducing the hot water you use, you can cut CO2 emissions and save money and energy.

In case all the warnings on the bottle hadn’t tipped you off – chlorine bleach is bad. When it reaches the environment, it combines with carbon-containing matter (like leaves) to create toxic byproducts, which can poison animals or enter groundwater supplies. Instead, use bleaches made from hydrogen peroxide or oxygen.

Like bleach, standard laundry detergent can be full of chemical environmental offenders. Primarily, you want to watch out for ingredients like nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) – an endocrine disruptor and estrogen mimic – and phosphates, which cause harmful algal blooms in waterways. Unfortunately, companies are not required to disclose the ingredients in their detergents. So, you will have to evaluate the eco-friendly claims on each bottle before purchasing.

Another energy hog in the laundry room is the dryer. It’s comfortable and convenient, but not all that necessary. Line drying just half of your laundry can save a ton of energy.

And of course, there is also the option of upgrading your washing machine and dryer. If they are more than ten-years-old, it may be a good idea for you to upgrade to a more water or energy efficient model.

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Clean Green: Lower the Impact of your Laundry Loads