Saving Money on Laundry

Laundry is one of those things that everyone has to do sooner or later. Let's discuss ways to save money while doing our own laundry. 

Michaelbluejay.com has a really neat laundry costs calculator located here: 

Laundry Costs Calculator

According to this website, in our home, it costs us 44¢ to do one load of laundry in the washer and 33¢ for 45 minutes in the dryer. We are on a well and do not pay anything for water, but our house is all electric, so we do pay to pump the water into the house. 

Make It Yourself

There are multiple ways to make your own laundry detergent. I don't make my own laundry detergent because we have enough laundry detergent, bought on sale and with coupons, to last us for a long time. 

I also don't make my own laundry detergent because of this article, Why you Should Stop Using Homemade Laundry Detergent. I read the article a long time ago and thought about this and realized how true it was. 

A bar of soap will leave soap scum in your bathtub and in order to be removed your tub will need to be cleaned and or scrubbed. 

The homemade laundry detergents made with soap will do that same thing to the insides of your washing machines and hoses and there is no way for you to get inside those hoses and clean that soap scum. This is why I steer clear of homemade laundry detergent. 

You can also save money by making your own homemade fabric softener and vinegar also makes a frugal fabric softener. We used to make and use the homemade softener, but don't use anything these days as it makes the cloth pads less absorbent. 

You can save money by making your own stain remover using one part Dawn dish washing detergent to two parts hydrogen peroxide along with some baking soda. This has gotten old stains out for me, so I keep it under the sink with a toothbrush for stubborn stains. 

Treating stains before washing helps to ensure the stain is removed and multiple washings are not necessary. 

There is also the stain remover recipe in The Tightwad Gazette you can use. 

Also, the University of Illinois had a stain solution guide on their website that can help with those stubborn stains. 

University of Illinois stain solution  

Other Ways to $ave on Washing

Take your clothes out of the washer right away. Letting clothes sit in the washer until you end up having to rewash them is a waste of time, energy, and water. Steer clear of this bad habit. 

Do your clothes need to be washed after every wearing? Check them and see if they can be worn more then once. Oftentimes, items like jeans and pajamas can go longer between washings. 

Hang your towel after bathing and showering, so it will dry and you can use it multiple times before needing to wash it again. 

Protect your clothing. Use cloth napkins and wear an apron when you're cooking in order to avoid any splashes on your good clothing. 

Back when I was growing up our neighbor was a great seamstress. She made herself a beautiful apron to wear over her good work clothes since she usually always started cooking the minute she came in from work. 

Use Less Everything

Always measure your detergent as it is too easy to overuse detergent. And, use less detergent than the laundry detergents experts call for and see how clean your clothes become. 

If you can get away with even less try that and see how low you can get it before you can tell the difference and then bump it back up again. Also, cut fabric softener sheets in half and they can be used more then once.

Wash Only Full Loads

Common sense tells us to wash only full loads of laundry to save the most money. If you have one or two items that need washing before laundry day, consider hand washing them and hanging them to dry. 

Wash in Cold Water

According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the hot water used to wash your clothes uses 90% of the electricity while only 10% of the energy is used to operate the washing machine motor. 

Switching to cold water can save the average person anywhere from $30 to $40 per year while washing full loads and can save more than 3,400 gallons of water per year. 

Dryer Savings

The best way to save money on drying clothes is to NOT use the dryer. 

Now I know that is impractical for some people, but one time I did state that  If my dryer broke down again I was not going to replace it. But, for those of us who do use a dryer, here are a few ways to save. Again most of these are common sense. 

Use the dryer less or for a short time to remove wrinkles and then hang your clothes on clothes hangers to finish drying.  

Use an outdoor clothes line or a shower rod indoors or a homemade drying rack. 

Laundry drying racks can be expensive unless you find them inexpensively. My solution until then is to use homemade drying racks like the one I made here using the backs of two chairs and two broom handles: 

If you do use the dryer to dry clothes and your machine has a moisture sensor use it to automatically turn your machine off when the clothes are dry. 

Make sure to clean your lint trap after each and every load. Your lint trap can be an important energy saver. If your lint trap is not clean it will take longer to dry your clothes, which will use more energy and cost your more money on your electric bill. 

Do you have other ways that help you save money on your laundry? Please share your tips and suggestions in the comment section, so we can all learn from each other. 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~