Saving Water When Doing The Laundry

You’ll need a lot of water when doing the laundry. As such, it follows that the task is why you get a high water bill each month. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to save water (and, by extension, money) when doing the laundry. These methods of saving water when doing the laundry are highlighted below.

* Use the correct washer.

In terms of water efficiency, the front loading washing machine is often considered as the best option. Standard washing machines use about 151 litres of water per load. On the other hand, high efficient washing machines use just 105 litres per load.

Another thing to note about the front loading washing machine is its design. It gives your clothing a thorough wash at just a fraction of the water normally required for a top loading washer mainly due to the tumbling action gravity provides.

* Select the right cycles and load sizes.

Washing clothes at the maximum possible load allows you to save water. If there only are a few clothes to wash, then adjust your settings to accommodate the few clothes that need to be washed.

Also, you might want to skip that additional rinse cycle, unless you’re dealing with a specific issue. Generally speaking, as long as the right amount of detergent is used, and the washer is properly loaded, that extra rinse cycle is unnecessary.

Pre-treating stains properly, which helps avoid the need for rewashing clothing, is another good way to save water.

* Wear clothing more than once.

This approach allows you to save water since this can reduce the total amount of time you spend doing the laundry each week. Just make sure the clothes have no stains or odd smells after a whole day spent wearing them.

Along the same line, you should never toss newly-purchased or newly-washed clothes to the floor.

* Look for leaks and get any fixed ASAP.

Even the tiniest leaks will cause your water bills to climb steadily, no matter the amount of effort to ensure you do not use so much water. So make sure to schedule the checking of leaks once a month, then have any leaks promptly fixed.

One of the best ways to check leaks is to shut down the supply of water to your home, then noting down the water reading as of that time. Do the same after an hour. Any changes to the reading that you find is a sure sign of a leak.

* How to conserve water when you wash clothes by hand.

Clothing made of delicate fabric should be washed by hand. To save water when doing so, here are a few tips.

– Limit how much detergent is used. The recommended amount goes a long way, and fewer suds mean less water will be used for rinsing.

– Place a stopper on the basin or sink drain when doing washing and rinsing.

– Never let the tap run non-stop.

– Gather those items which need to be washed by hand and use that same mixture of water and detergent for many different garments. Rinsing should be done last.

* Go to the laundry shop.

This is not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to saving water when doing the laundry, but you can actually save water when you head to the laundromat instead of doing the laundry at home. After all, washers used in laundromats are water-efficient.

* Use filtered rainwater when doing your laundry.

Rainwater comes from the sky, and as such, it follows that the use of filtered rainwater reduces your consumption or usage of the earth’s supply of water. To truly benefit from the use of rainwater, make sure to build your own rainwater harvesting system, complete with a clean and durable tank and pump for water tank.