Clothes washing and drying

Illustration of Clothes on a Clothes Line

Each year, the energy used to run an average clothes washer produces about 90 kilograms of greenhouse gas, and supplying warm water for washing adds another 475 kilograms and costs around $30. Typical use of a dryer (once a week) adds another 150 kilograms and costs another $20.

Is your head spinning from all the different options?

Select a washing machine that uses the least energy, water and detergent, and has a high spin-dry speed. Front-loading models usually rate best, but some top-loaders now perform well. Check the energy label. For more information on choosing an energy efficient clothes washer or dryer visit www.energyrating.gov.au.
Choose a size that suits your household.
If you use a warm or hot wash and have a gas or solar hot water service, select a clothes washer with dual hot and cold water hoses in preference to a single hose model. Single hose models must heat their own water using expensive and high greenhouse impact electricity.

Using the washing machine effectively

Wash clothes in cold water: you will generate less than a third of a kilogram of greenhouse gas per wash. Heating the water for a hot wash generates up to 4 kilograms of greenhouse gas.

Avoid washing more loads than necessary: washing a full load or a few socks generates almost the same amount of greenhouse gas.
Don’t waste detergent: it is expensive and making it generates about a third of a kilogram of greenhouse gas per wash for top-loaders—front-loaders use half as much. Using more than the recommended amount of detergent doesn’t make clothes cleaner.
Some detergents made from natural substances involve much less generation of greenhouse gas during their manufacture.

Dry clothes efficiently

Drying a load of clothes in a dryer generates more than 3 kilograms of greenhouse gases. Put them on the line or over a clothes rack!
But if you have to…
Some dryers automatically sense when clothes are dry. These generally save more greenhouse gases than those controlled by a timer, which often over-dry clothes.
Spin-dry your clothes (on a highspin speed) to remove as much water as possible before you put them in the dryer.
Save up to 2 kilograms of greenhouse gas per load by hanging clothes on a rack for a while before finishing them off in the dryer.