Green in the Laundry Room
The Laundry room is probably the most easiest room to go green as far as knowledge but one of the most expensive rooms to go green in because of appliances. Here are a few tips from what we have found works:
- Use only natural detergents and laundry aids- Allens Naturally, Oxy Boost, Oxy Prime are just a few natural detergents on the market that are better for our ground water and environment in general.
- Evaluate your laundry- is items REALLY dirty? or are they just worn. With the bathing habits of people today (most people in the U.S. average one or more showers per day) most people’s clothing do not get as dirty as they might believe.
- Have a laundry system down- don’t do half loads, don’t waste water, and streamline
- Use the least amount of water you can while washing- if you have a big load set it on large out of necessity however if you have small loads reduce your water size.
- Purchase energy efficient appliances (HE Appliances) they use less water, less power (electricity or gas) and less detergent which saves you money all the way around.
- Consider line drying- we have a family of seven and we can get upwards of seven loads of laundry done in one day by line drying most/all our loads during peak weather (hot, sunny, breezy). There are many solutions out there these days- rotating lines (umbrella clothes line), retractable lines, and traditional pole lines.
