Low Carbon Diet - Washer & Dryer Economizing
David Gershon's book Low Carbon Diet has seventeen chapters with tips for the things individuals can do to reduce their carbon dioxide output. In an earlier post, I went through our assessment of the first three chapters: recycling, bathing and dishwashing.
Chapter Four is about washing and drying clothes more efficiently. The "to do" list looks like this:
1. wear clothes until they are actually dirty. This is something I do now, which usually means wearing a shirt that is next to my skin once, pants twice, and a shirt that is over another shirt until I spill something on it. This tip reminds me of my brother when we were kids, and how he would throw his used bath towels onto the floor after each shower, as if he were in a hotel. Mom, being the goddess of cleanliness, would pick them up and wash them, so I now know that my brother is responsible for a lot of the CO2 emissions in the late 1970's and early 1980's...
2. touch up creases with an iron or "Tide To Go" or similar product to remove small spots when the garment is otherwise clean, and wear it again.
3. Only wash full loads of laundry, and if you do have a smaller load, set the washer accordingly to save water and energy. Also, always do a cold water rinse. They suggest doing a cold water wash instead of hot or warm, but I'm not so sure about that. Maybe warm instead of hot and cold instead of warm? I also notice that on our machine you can set the wash time from 6 to 14 minutes long, and you can choose one or two rinse cycles. Now, if the wash isn't filthy, why would anyone need to wash their clothes for 14 minutes?
4. Dry only full loads or use a clothesline. Also, only dry clothes until they are dry. My husband likes to bake clothes in the dryer so they come out crispy. Really. I need to work with him on this one. but, we do use the clothesline sometimes, weather permitting.
5. Use the automatic moisture sensor settings rather than the timer - this may take care of the baking issue...
If you switch one load of wash each week from hot to cold, you will save 100 pounds of CO2 a year. If you eliminate one dryer load each week, you will eliminate 260 pounds of CO2 a year.
And, finally, if you replace your top-load washer with an Energy Star front-load model, you get 500 pounds of CO2 savings! (They use less water and less energy to do the same amount of cleaning.
Chapter Four is about washing and drying clothes more efficiently. The "to do" list looks like this:
1. wear clothes until they are actually dirty. This is something I do now, which usually means wearing a shirt that is next to my skin once, pants twice, and a shirt that is over another shirt until I spill something on it. This tip reminds me of my brother when we were kids, and how he would throw his used bath towels onto the floor after each shower, as if he were in a hotel. Mom, being the goddess of cleanliness, would pick them up and wash them, so I now know that my brother is responsible for a lot of the CO2 emissions in the late 1970's and early 1980's...
2. touch up creases with an iron or "Tide To Go" or similar product to remove small spots when the garment is otherwise clean, and wear it again.
3. Only wash full loads of laundry, and if you do have a smaller load, set the washer accordingly to save water and energy. Also, always do a cold water rinse. They suggest doing a cold water wash instead of hot or warm, but I'm not so sure about that. Maybe warm instead of hot and cold instead of warm? I also notice that on our machine you can set the wash time from 6 to 14 minutes long, and you can choose one or two rinse cycles. Now, if the wash isn't filthy, why would anyone need to wash their clothes for 14 minutes?
4. Dry only full loads or use a clothesline. Also, only dry clothes until they are dry. My husband likes to bake clothes in the dryer so they come out crispy. Really. I need to work with him on this one. but, we do use the clothesline sometimes, weather permitting.
5. Use the automatic moisture sensor settings rather than the timer - this may take care of the baking issue...
If you switch one load of wash each week from hot to cold, you will save 100 pounds of CO2 a year. If you eliminate one dryer load each week, you will eliminate 260 pounds of CO2 a year.
And, finally, if you replace your top-load washer with an Energy Star front-load model, you get 500 pounds of CO2 savings! (They use less water and less energy to do the same amount of cleaning.
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