One of the small changes in trying to live a little more green this year in our household was swapping out our top-loading typical style clothes washer for a high efficiency front loader and high efficiency dryer.

Okay, it wasn’t really done in earnest to live more green at first thought, it was mostly because our other cheap washing machine broke, and I was left with a pile of dirty laundry, the and the laundromat is not an option.  We wanted to buy something better, that would use less energy and less water, because we I do an ungodly amount of laundry for six people.

Why “High Efficiency?”  Why not just buy cheaper?  We would typically just buy a washer or dryer based solely on price, just being honest here.  But, once I realized I could save money on detergents (they add up, quickly in household that does too much laundry) and then the very important added benefit of saving so much water and energy costs, I was sold on a high efficiency washer.

From http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=clotheswash.clothes_washers_save_money:**

“The average household does almost 400 loads of laundry each year, consuming about 13,500 gallons of water.  (My house easily doubles that or more.)

Selecting an ENERGY STAR qualified washer instead of a regular clothes washer provides the following benefits:

I will add, we did buy a modest machine, there are some out there** that I would think you should be able to get in and drive for the cost**, but ooh, they’re pretty.  I would suggest you check out all levels** and price points** before you choose.

Pay less for water: Front-loading, high-efficiency washers use a lot less water than conventional washers. They repeatedly tumble clothes through a small amount of water, so the water level does not need to rise to the top of the clothes as with conventional washers.

Pay less for energy: Up to 90 percent of the cost of washing clothes comes from heating the water; using less water means using less power. Plus, the high speed spin cycle squeezes more water out of the clothes, so they dry faster afterwards and require less energy from your dryer. Then there is the larger capacity of front-loading, high-efficiency washers: you will do fewer loads overall, another good way to save energy.

Pay less for detergent: Front-loading, high-efficiency washers use less detergent as well, in addition to their low water usage.  Finding a HE detergent is easy, but a eco-friendly one might be more difficult.  Look online, and you can probably find something**.

Pairing your HE washer with a similar high efficiency dryer will get you the best performance for the least energy, and also hanging our clothes out to dry in the sun saves a ton of energy and gives you that special sun-baked feeling that you can’t ever get from a dryer.  My next green task is getting a clothes line back up  outside, to utilize the spring and summer sun and breezes for natural clothes drying instead of running the dryer every waking moment.

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