On average, homes in the US wash 300 loads of laundry. Consider your own number of loads per week and you can quickly calculate the number in your house.
In addition to reducing the number of loads, there are two areas of focus – energy use and products. The sections below provide tips and ideas to make your laundry one shade greener.
Energy Use
According to TreeHugger, almost 90% of the energy used to wash clothes comes from water heating. So, the number one tip is to shift to cold water. I moved to cold water nearly 15 years ago and didn’t see a difference. Beyond the cold water, here are five additional tips to save energy:
- Reduce the number of loads – This saves time too!
- Use the washer high speed spin to get the most water out.
- Try to line dry sheets and towels. Then, consider the rest of the laundry.
- Use the moisture sensor on the dryer so you don’t over dry.
- Clear dryer lint after each load.
The Products
Laundry products have two considerations to make them more environmentally friendly – the ingredients and the packaging. Below, the light green brands have better ingredients and the dark green brands have better ingredients AND packaging.
Light Green
- Method – Method has a full range of laundry products. Their factory is LEED certified and they are continuing to work on their packaging to lessen the impact. www.methodhome.com
- Seventh Generation – This brand is a B-Corp and USDA-certified. Similar to Method, they continue to work to reduce their plastic packaging. www.seventhgeneration.com
- Mrs. Meyers – Also with a full product line. Mrs. Meyers has an ingredient glossary on the site that covers all the ingredients used in their products. www.mrsmeyers.com
Dark Green
- Dropps – The Dropps brand doesn’t use plastic. The laundry pods arrive in a cute cardboard box and they sell dryer balls instead of dryer sheets to reduce waste. www.dropps.com
- Blueland – Blueland has also eliminated plastic containers. On the first purchase, you get a tin to hold their laundry pods. Compostable packaging is used for refills. They also have dryer balls instead of sheets. www.blueland.com
Summary
These are just a few considerations and brands to consider. You can find additional information in the laundry room chapter of One Shade Greener at Home.