Going Green with Laundry: The Essentials

Doing the laundry can be an expensive daily task with a high carbon footprint in both residential and commercial spheres. No matter if you’re running a household or a hotel, the appliances used for the job along with numerous cleaning products that are detrimental to the environment can ramp up the utility bill and negatively impact the environment simultaneously. The time has come to optimize your laundry cleaning processes by introducing eco-friendly solutions that will allow you to make long-term financial savings and contribute to the preservation of the environment. Here are the essential steps to going green on your laundry day

Use green laundry products

Firstly, consider eliminating laundry detergents that contain harmful chemicals. Many popular products contain chemicals that can negatively affect the aquatic eco-system while being detrimental to your well-being, and your clothes at the same time.

That’s why you want to look for products that are made out of natural ingredients and don’t contain any toxic chemicals that harmful to your health. Take a look a the toxic chemicals that are in many laundry detergent and make sure you are using green laundry products..  You can also use soap nuts that dissolve when they come in contact with water, and instead of harmful fabric softeners, you can simply add a cup of white vinegar during the rinse cycle. Alternatively, you can also make your own, natural detergents and cleaning products.

Hand-wash what you can

Hand-washing is often not a feasible solution in a busy household, let alone in a hotel; yet it is still a good idea to hand-wash items whenever you can to conserve water and other resources. This way you can also maintain the quality and structure of soft fabrics, and speed up the cleaning cycle if a quick changing of the aroma in the fabric was all that was needed.

Use only eco-friendly appliances

When it comes to optimizing your laundry days, the appliances you use for the job can make all the difference. One of the best long-term solutions is to replace your old washing machine and boiler with contemporary models that have an Energy Star rating, meaning that they use fewer resources and are friendlier towards the environment.

The washing machine should use less water and energy, and it should be easily programmable to fit your needs. Likewise, using an efficient condensing boiler instead of an old, wasteful model will go a long way in conserving water and heating it up with minimal energy consumption. The use of these contemporary eco-friendly devices is even more advisable for laundry businesses that constantly deal with larger-scale laundry loads.

Air dry instead of using the dryer

The dryer, however practical it may be, is an appliance of a wasteful past. While it can help you dry your clothes waster, it will do it at a great expense. Dryers consume vast amounts of energy and they can be extremely harsh towards fabrics while at the same time emitting significant amounts of carbon dioxide.

Therefore, skipping the dryer and drying your clothes “naturally” instead can lower your utilities and truly make a difference in the total carbon footprint of your household or business. This is equally important in the commercial and residential arenas, as preserving the quality of clothes and lowering the overall impact on the environment can greatly influence the expenditure of monetary and natural resources.

Use the dryer the right way

However, sometimes not using the dryer simply isn’t a viable option. In case you do have to use it, you can at least make sure you minimize its wastefulness and environmental impact. Keeping the lint filter clean on a regular basis can significantly decrease drying time and increase efficiency. Have your dryer vent checked out by a dryer vent guy or technician to make sure you have a clean dryer vent that runs efficiently. That means your clothes dry faster, and the dryer uses less energy. A dryer vent cleaning helps you stay safe and save money.

You can also make a big difference by using a contemporary model that has a moisture sensor, which will automatically cut down drying time and even turn the machine off when the clothes are dry. You can also consider running a soft cycle before taking the laundry out to air-dry.

Laundry days can be extremely expensive for a household, and especially for a business such as a hotel or a restaurant. Fortunately, by introducing these small yet effective changes, you will be able to seamlessly and efficiently going green with your laundry days and aid in the preservation of the environment while saving money at the same time.

About the author

Marla

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Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! I believe in living green, organically, and natural in every aspect of our lives. My mission is to help educate you on how to live green, help save our environment and to help you and your family live a happier, healthier life!