My friend and colleague, Erika gave me a tip on washing clothes - Use Less Soap, or even None at All! I could not believe it would actually clean my family's dirty, smelly, often stained clothes, but it actually works. I started using just a quarter of what my detergent tells me to use. Guess what? The clothes are just as clean as they were when I used the recommended amount. Amazing! Erika told me that the amount of soap residue left on clothes from just the first wash, last for several washes. I'm saving money from using a lot less soap, plus it is a bonus for Mother Nature. Seriously, try it!
Bravo!
ReplyDeleteI have a "gray water" system in my home that refines the recycled water from all the bath, laundry, and kitchen plumbing then mixes it with captured rainwater. This is then used to water the vegetables and plants in the garden using ZERO water from the city system.
Using no soap in the laundry at all is best but I've been able to use as little as a teaspoon of concentrated biodegradable soap for a full load of stained or very dirty clothing.
In addition, I only use cold water regardless of clothing color or type. Doing this, besides saving on gas to heat the water, your clothes will be just as clean and LAST much longer because cold water is gentler on fabrics.
I only wash on weekends or after 5PM to further lower my electricity costs.
I use a small rack dryer or, if absolutely necessary, the electric dryer turned to the low heat (knit) cycle. If necessary, I use half a dryer sheet (which doubles as a lint filter cleaner when finished) to avoid the cost of heating an iron.
Hope that helps you save even more!
Eric