Green Daily

Use cold water in the washer

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 90% of the energy used for washing clothes is spent on heating the water. By washing your clothes in cold water, you will reduce most of the environmental impact of running a wash. It's estimated that you can save up to $145 per year in energy costs just by washing your clothes in cold water. In addition, your clothes will last longer, as warmer temperatures can wear down the fibers and fade the color.

Choose an eco-friendly detergent

Switch to powder detergents whenever possible. Laundry detergent liquids are mostly water, consuming a lot of energy and packaging to transport to the consumer.

If you don't want to go back to powder, double and triple compact concentrates are better, cutting the amount of water used, at least in half. Some popular eco-friendly brands are Ecover, Seventh Generation and Method. Also, as long as you don't absolutely have to have a fragrance, choose an unscented detergent when possible.

Fabric Softener

Think twice about that fabric softener, whether the kind you add to the wash or to the dryer via a sheet. If you're wearing natural fibers, you may not need to use one anyway, since such fibers are less likely to have static cling.

For a natural solution, try adding 1/2 cup baking soda to the rinse cycle of your wash. For a commercial fabric softener, try one from an environmentally-responsible company like Seventh Generation or Ecover.

Line dry your clothes

If you live in a community where you are allowed to hang your clothes out to dry, or you have suitable space indoors, air dry your clothes whenever possible. Clothes dryers are estimated to account for 6% of power consumed by U.S. households! Running a clothes dryer is estimated to cost the typical household $80 per year.

Unfortunately, many of us live in clothesline-free zones, whether due to town laws or a homeowners association. If you have the space inside, you can hang lines indoors. If you do have to stick with your dryer, make sure to dry only full loads. If you are in the market for a new clothes dryer, buy one with a moisture sensor that ends the run when the clothes are dry, not according to a timer.



Dry Cleaning

Finally, some of your clothes may require dry cleaning and this is often dependent on your line of work. Traditional dry cleaning of clothes usually uses perchloroethylene (perc), which is neither earth-friendly nor human-friendly.

Try to find a dry cleaner that uses carbon dioxide (CO2) dry cleaning. CO2 dry cleaning is safer for you and for the earth, and is endorsed by Greenpeace and the EPA. Additionally, according to Consumer Reports, CO2 dry cleaning actually cleans clothes better than perc anyway. To find a CO2 dry cleaner near you, see this website here.

If there are no CO2 dry cleaners near you, here are some tips from the Sierra Club to make your traditional dry cleaning a little bit safer:

• Remove the wrapper outside or in your garage. Let your clothes air out for at least a day, preferably four or five before wearing them.
• In the meantime, try to move towards clothing that doesn't need to be dry cleaned.
• Dry clean as infrequently as possible.