by natenatmom

Created on: June 15, 2008   Last Updated: January 12, 2012

With just about everyone pinching pennies these days, it's important to find ways to stretch your household budget. One of the best places to do this is in the laundry room. A great deal of water and electricity goes into washing the family's clothes, but you can save quite a bit of money by making a few simple changes.

COLD WATER

The very first change you should make is to switch to cold water for everything. Over the years, I have found that very rarely does a load of laundry require hot or even warm water. Clothing that has simply been worn and not heavily soiled does not need hot water to get clean. An exception to this rule is on greasy stains when hot water is sometimes necessary. In this case, the best bet is to pre-soak the item in a bucket of hot, soapy water and then wash in cold. By using cold water for your laundry, you'll find your electric bill going down and your water heater will have a longer life. Another bonus is that cold water is easier on fabrics and your your clothes will look better longer.

FULL LOADS

Another simple way to save money on laundry day is to only wash full loads. It takes the same amount of electricity to run the washer and dryer no matter how big or small the load. If you are concerned about delicates, try placing them inside a pillowcase and tying a knot at the top. You can then throw them in with a regular load. The pillowcase will protect them from the tossing and turning but they'll still get nice and clean and you won't have to run a separate load.

FRONT LOADERS

One of the biggest money savers is to switch to front-loading machines. This will require an initial investment, of course, but you'll immediately start to see savings in your water and electric bill. When our old washer died and we bought a new front loader, our water bill went down $25 per month. Front-loaders use significantly less water than top loaders. This means clothes don't come out sopping wet and drying time is cut nearly in half. This is good for your wallet and for the environment. Also, front-loading machines are much easier on your clothes because they don't use an agitator.

DRYING

Your dryer uses up a large amount of electricity but luckily, there are many ways to save here. The best way, of course, is to hang your clothes to dry. If you don't like the stiffness of hung clothing, a good compromise is to hang them until they are almost dry and then toss them in the dryer to finish them off.

Another way to save on drying costs is to do all your

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