How To Save Money On Laundry

How can you save money on your laundry? Doing laundry costs a lot. Think about it, hot water, detergent, softener, electricity, lots of places to save money in there.

An anecdote. I used to work as a veterinary technician when I was in the Peace Corps in Guatemala. Our trainer was an actual veterinarian, and he taught us how to determine the correct drug dosages to use for various sized animals. He had us use a particular formula, calculating the concentration of the drug and the weight of the animal to find the correct amount of drug to use.

Then he had us recalculate the dosage using the manufacturer's recommended dosage. It was double. Both dosages were in the safe and effective range of the drug, but if you followed the guidance of the maker you would use twice as much drug, spend twice as much money, and they would make a lot more money! And the extra drugs didn't do the animal any good! It was just wasted. You can probably see where this is going.

The 'dosage' of laundry detergent and softener recommended on the bottle is easily double what you actually need to get your clothing clean. Try it and see. Cut it in half, or even less. All the rest is just overkill. Wastage. Lost money for you and extra profit for them.

The recommended detergent amount is for really dirty clothes, like if your kid played football in the mud. Even then, spot treating will probably work better and waste less detergent. Just try it and see for yourself. You will not be able to tell the difference between them. If the clothes really are dirty, try soaking them overnight in the detergent. Detergent takes time to work, and just throwing the clothes in the washer and turning it on, doesn't give the detergent enough time to do its job.

How about if you have bad spots or stains? I bet you have never tried GOOP. It is a hand cleaner used by mechanics and farmers to get grease off their skin. It is safe enough to use on your own skin, and cheap. It will take ring-around-the-collar right out. It takes out almost any stain. Just rub it in, let it sit overnight, and then throw the stained item in the wash with the other clothes. Cheap, safe, biodegradable. And it doesn't smell funny either.

Softener. Well, my wife uses it. I don't know why. I never used it as a bachelor and I don't notice any difference except that my clothes smell funny now. I don't like those scents, and most guys don't. It's a girl thing, I guess, like those strong perfumes so many women use.

Did you know that clothing washed with softener absorbs less water? That means that your towels don't work as well. Waste of money, as far as I can see. Unless you like that fake flower smell... Cut the amount of softener at least in half. More than that is just wasted. It doesn't work any better, and excess just runs down the drain. You lose money, and the environment gets another dose of poison.

Bleach is your friend. You don't need expensive bleach sold specifically for clothing. Except for non-colorfast cloth, regular kitchen bleach works just as well and it is dirt cheap. A single cap-full added to the wash is all you need normally, unless you have stained whites. Do be careful with colored clothing though, as regular bleach will ruin it if it isn't color-fast. Do it the old-fashioned way, and separately wash whites and coloreds.

Hot water. Again, unless you have stained whites you don't need hot water. Modern detergents work great with warm or even cold water for normal washing. Save your hot water for showers! You save a lot of money washing in cold water.

In some regions electricity is cheaper at night. Wash during off hours. Don't use the 'heavy' cycle unless it really is a heavy load. The next time you have to buy a new washer, try one of the new high-efficiency washers. They really do save a surprising amount of water and electricity.

Do you use a dryer? We bought a nice, expensive dryer when we moved in, and have only used it a dozen times or less. I am lazy, so I use it sometimes, but my wife never does except for pillows. Everything gets hung up outdoors. It gets fresh (kills most of the softener stench), saves money and the clothes don't wrinkle. On rainy days she either doesn't wash, or hangs stuff up indoors. In the winter this adds humidity to the air, a good thing. Hang the clothing over the heater vents for quick drying in the winter.

Live Green! Save money and the environment. Remember that all those detergent and softener chemicals go down the sewer and end up somewhere down-river. I don't think fish need to wash in detergent, and I am sure they don't need softening.