Laundry & Environmental Responsibility, Part 1

Usually, we don’t think very much about our laundry, except perhaps for trying to figure out how we can delay doing it as long as possible. However, laundry has a significant environmental impact in terms of fossil fuel consumption, water consumption, and the release of contaminants into the air and water. But there are some sound practices that we can follow to keep our clothes clean while at the same time preserving God’s creation (and in many cases saving us money as well):

• Wash in cold water. Besides eliminating the power consumption needed to heat cold water, washing in cold water has several other advantages. The first is a saving of about $150.00 per year in energy costs for an average household. Second, clothes last significantly longer. This in turn means that fewer polyester fibers will find their way into rivers and the ocean and seriously affect marine plant and animal life.
• Use the tap cold rather than the cold setting, if your washing machine has one. The cold setting heats water coming from the water supply line to a preset minimum temperature; the tap cold setting does not.
• If possible, only do full loads of laundry. The carbon footprint of a single load of laundry washed and dried in a vented dryer is about 2.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). The fewer loads, the smaller the carbon footprint.
• If you do less than a full load, use the appropriate water level setting if your washing machine has one.
• If it is hygienic to do so, wear clothes more than once.
• Wash small, delicate items by hand to save water and preserve the life of the garment.
• If you have a front-loading washer or a high-efficiency top-leader, use detergents labelled as high-efficiency (HE). They produce less suds and disperse more quickly and so require less water.
• Be careful to use the right amount of soap for the load to avoid an extra rinse.
• If you have to buy a new washing machine or dryer, get an Energy Star certified (There are typically rebates and discounts available from your power company.) Front-loaders are more efficient than top-loaders. The most efficient washing machines for 2021 are:
  1. Bosch Series 8 (free standing, 1600 RPM, 9kg load)
  2. Samsung with ‘Ecobubble’ (free standing, 1400 RPM, 8kg load)
  3. Haier (free standing, LED display, 1200 RPM, 7kg load)
  4. Hoover (1400 RMP, 9 kg load)
  5. Beko (free standing, 1400 RPM, 7kg load)

In our next blog post, Laundry and Environmental Responsibility, Part 2, we’ll discuss some additional steps that you can take both minimize the environmental impact of doing laundry.