Does it save more energy to do several loads of laundry in one day, or spread them out over a few days?

Question

My mother always told me to do all of the laundry in one day because the electricity bill would come out smaller, but I never understood why that would be true. However, the older I get, the more I realize that she was right about most things that I thought sounded illogical.

Answer 1

You use the same amount of energy if you spread it out or do it all at one time.

the big issue is to do it at what is known as off peak hours.

for example on a hot summer day all of the air conditioners are going and the power grid is over loaded.

Later at night when it has cooled off the air conditioners are not running as constantly there is a lighter load on the power grid. that is the time to do your laundry so you are not placing an additional load on an already overloaded electric power grid.

Answer 2

We didn't have a clothes dryer growing up ~ and my mother used to say the exact same thing. It had to do with the hot water recovery time in the water heater & saving the laundry for several big loads instead of a bunch of smaller loads.

Until 30-40 years ago, most fabrics had to be washed & rinsed in the hottest water possible to get them clean. Detergents were designed for hot water use, plus we didn't have all the laundry additives available these days. So, many of those older machines didn't even have a "cold" option ~ I remember my Mom having to crawl beneath her machine to turn off the hot water spigot for cold washing delicates.

Washing all the laundry in rapid succession meant the earliest loads got the hottest water; the later loads were washed in lukewarm, and towards the end, you were out of hot water completely and washing in cold (and there's the energy savings).

Yeah ~ the water heater was running the entire time and took an hour to recover after the laundry was done BUT, it consumed less electricity than spreading the laundry out over several days.

These days, laundry doesn't have to be washed in such hot water and we have the ability (and detergents!) to let us do cold water washes. The energy savings now, is in making the best possible use of the washing machine with large loads and how you use the dryer, as has been mentioned earlier. I don't use an electric clothes dryer, which of course, is the best energy savings of all :)

Answer 3

The Handyman speaks the truth using the dryer while it is already warm will save you in your power bill. The Dryer uses much more energy than the actual washing machine so if you use a dryer that is where the biggest potential for energy use or savings is. That is why dryers need a 250V power plug and washers only need a regular 120V plug (in the US that is )

All of the people who mention the peak-hours issue have a good point but if you could do all of your washing and laundry off peak hours and all at once you would save the most power. The heating and cooling of your house issue shouldn't be that big of a deal as long as you are not trying to cool your laundry room at the same time as you are drying your clothes. I always have the door closed to the laundry room for noise reasons anyway. Unless it is winter time and you want to heat your house, then open the door and let that heat spread.

Answer 4

There is a good reason to do all your laundry at the same time. The time it takes to heat up the dryer, electric especially, is wasting electricity. If the washer takes 30 minutes to compete a load and the dryer about 45 -60 minutes, you can have the next load ready to put in the dryer right away. Immediately put the damp clothes in the dryer when the previous load is finished drying. By not letting the dryer cool down and lose the heat is has attained, you conserve that energy, allowing the next load to dry a little faster, saving electricity.

Answer 5

Isn't just annoying how Mom turns out to be right as we get older? I guess the only consolation I have at times is knowing my baby will experience the same thing.

For me, two washer loads of laundry can take a couple of days. The dryer doesn't dry well. Things still come out damp, so I just hang them up. (Works okay with my blouses as I don't have to iron them, though my husband still likes his button downs ironed which makes sense, they look more professional that way.) When the baby is born, I'll be doing more laundry with all of her clothes and diapers. I've already asked my husband to rig up a clothes line in our new basement so that I can hang things up instead of putting them in the dryer.

Speaking of which, I have clothes in the dryer now. What doesn't dry and what is still in the washer I'm just going to hang up. I want to get everything washed today.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Answer 6

The way to save energy on laundry is to wash only full loads and to use cool or cold water. So, if she was talking about saving up laundry until you had a full load, she'd be right.

As others have said, when it is time to replace your washer, get an efficient front-loader.

Answer 7

It depends on the season. If it is summer, then you probably want to keep your house cool. WHen you run your washing machine, it produces heat, and doing it all in one day would give your ac less time to recover, therfore making it work harder. If you spread it out, then your ac can recover quickly and use less energy.

In the winter, you probably want to warm your hous up, so if you do iut all in one day, your heater will have to do less work that day.

This is only a difference of pennies though, so generally i would say it is best to spread it out or do what is more convenient.

Answer 8

I can't back up your mom on this one, sorry. But don't do laundry during peak hours during periods of high demand. It spreads out usage and in the long run, if enough people do this, can offset costs somewhat to the utility. In theory that gets passed along to you, the consumer.

Answer 9

neither....

The modern washing machine doesn't do like some of the OLD machines did.

OLD machines... you could wash a load.. drain... rinse.. add soap.. wash, drain.... (reuse rinse water to wash the next load)

The old method... you started with hot-hot for whites... then the warm (it cooled down while rinsing the whites) for general fabrics that you didn't mind fading, then cold...

Very important... you were hand pumping the water from a well... or carrying it.... because some of these machines were powered by... you turning a crank. and you didn't have indoor plumbing.

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You want to save water and energy now? get a front loader.

Answer 10

oh the wonderful wringer washers! I want another one of them they work so good! Stains just didnt happen..

No, all on the same day or spread through the week the only difference is the amount of energy YOU use to pick it up and move it all t once or day by day. :)