Conserving Water and Energy With High-Efficiency Washing Machines

Being environmentally conscious comes in many forms from all angles. From reducing how much we use to reusing what we can and recycling what’s left. Conservation and preservation go hand-in-hand with these efforts.

Newer High-Efficiency (HE) washing machines conserve both water and energy, making them incredibly popular among environmentalists.
“High-Efficiency washing machines were introduced in to the consumer market in the late 1990’s in response to federal mandates requiring appliance manufacturers to conform to energy-saving standards.

HE washers save significant energy over traditional washing machines by decreasing the amount of water needed per load, up to 1/5 to 2/3 less. According to Consumer Reports, “Most agitator top-loaders we tested 18 years ago used over 40 gallons of water to wash an average size load. Since then, federal standards have gotten increasingly tougher, requiring washers to use less water and energy.

Today, any washers scoring excellent in water efficiency in our tests used about 13 gallons or less to do our 8-pound load. A very good score means the washers used 13.5 to 17.5 gallons. Washers scoring poor in water efficiency used about 26 gallons or more. Our tests also found that despite using less water, cleaning remains just as good in many of the washers, but wash time is longer.

Spin mechanisms used in HE washers get laundry drier than older machines and save more energy by reducing drying time.” When clothes aren’t as wet going into a clothes dryer, the energy used can be cut by as much as half.

Along with using less water and energy, high-efficiency washing machines use different, and far less, detergent. HE “detergents are formulated to be low-sudsing, quick-dispersing, and to hold soils and dyes in suspension in low water volumes so they don’t get re-deposited onto cleaned laundry.”

“Water-saving laundry tips

• Do full loads and use cold water when possible.
• Measure laundry detergent and use HE detergents for HE top-loaders and front-loaders. Regular detergents are too sudsy and using too much can cause these washers to use more water by extending the rinse cycle.
• Choose the right soil setting for the load. Using the heavy-duty soil setting can use more water and extends wash time. The normal setting works for most loads.
• Pick the appropriate water level setting—often small, medium, large—for the load if that’s how your machine works. Front-loaders and most HE top-loaders have auto-load sensing, and a few agitator top-loaders that recently came out have it too. This feature automatically determines the load size and the amount of water need.”

Replacing your old washing machine and following these simple tips can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars, along with saving water and energy. Imagine how much could be saved if all old washing machines were replaced with high-efficiency counterparts.

For more information on recycling and conservation visit www.wasteawaygroup.com.

healthyhouseinstitute.com
consumerreports.org
motherearthnews.com
myria.com