Use Less Energy Drying Laundry

Quick Facts Affordability Cost Savings CO2 Reduction		After the refrigerator, an electric clothes dryer typically uses the most electricity of any appliance in a home. Reduce your energy use by hanging your clothes to dry whenever possible. An outdoor clothesline uses heat from the sun and the flow of air. An indoor clothes rack may take longer to dry, but it can be an energy-efficient alternative to the clothes dryer. When you do need to use the electric dryer, make sure you are using it as efficiently as possible, or use it in combination with line drying to save energy and reduce wear on your clothes. Affordability No matter how efficient your dryer is, drying clothes on a line in your yard or on a rack on your balcony is even better. It is free, easy and uses no electricity. With sufficient airflow and warmth, even heavy fabrics and towels will dry quickly. Check the bylaws in your municipality to ensure this is allowed in your area. Cost savings Hanging clothes to dry more often will save more energy than switching to a more energy-efficient dryer. If you do eight loads of laundry a week and use your clothesline for 50% of those clothes, you could save $22 a year. Health & comfort Hanging clothes to dry reduces shrinkage and fabric wear. Many people love the fresh smell and feel of clothes dried in the sun. Be careful to avoid humidity problems if you dry your clothes indoors during the winter months. Condensation on your windows is a sign of moisture problems. Do not hang clothes indoors on wet days and hang them where there is good ventilation. Environmental considerations Clothes drying can be a heavy use of energy. Reducing your energy draw is an important environmental contribution. With less energy use, fewer generation plants are required and greenhouse gases will be reduced. The most effective way to reduce the energy of clothes drying is to hang laundry outside to dry in warm weather.

What you need to know

• If you do not like the feel of sun-dried towels, pop them in the dryer for five minutes at the end to soften them.
• Sort clothes for drying. Lightweight synthetics dry much faster than bath towels or natural fibre materials such as denim. Put items with similar drying times together. Lightweight items will dry faster hung on their own than in the dryer combined with heavier fabrics.
• Take clothes out of the dryer while they are still slightly damp. This will reduce the need for ironing. Over-drying causes shrinkage, static electricity and shortens fabric life. Use the dryer’s moisture sensor feature, if it has one.
• Do not add wet items to a load that is partially dry. This will cause the dryer to run longer.
• Drying full, but not oversized loads, is more energy-efficient than drying smaller loads or overloading the machine. Clothes should dry in 40 minutes to an hour.
• Dry multiple loads back to back to make the most of the dryer’s heat.
• The 'perma press' (cool-down) cycle does not use heat for the last few minutes, but drying continues as cool air is blown through the tumbling clothes.
• Clean the lint trap after each use. A clogged lint trap will reduce air flow and dryer performance, driving up your energy usage. It can also become a fire hazard.
• Check the vent to the outside. Proper ventilation is important for the proper operation of your dryer. Keep it clean and free from obstruction. Avoid locating your dryer vent next to air intakes or windows.
• ENERGY STAR® does not label clothes dryers as there is less difference in energy use between models than other appliances.

Taking it further

• If you are in the market for a new dryer, compare the EnerGuide ratings to find the most efficient model available.
  • Most efficient: 898 KWh per year
  • Least efficient: 950 KWh per year
  • For standard clothes dryers, based on 416 loads per year.
• Select a dryer with moisture control settings. This wastes less energy as it shuts the dryer off when the load is dry, so you do not have to estimate how long to set the time for.
• Also select a model with a perma-press feature that tumbles the laundry with cold air for the last few minutes.
• Depending on how you use your dryer, a compact model may use less energy than a full-size dryer. If you use your dryer only for small loads, a compact unit may work well for you. If you use the dryer for larger loads, a full size model is likely to use less energy as it will require fewer loads.
• Put a timer on the outlet for the washer and dryer to reduce phantom loads when not in use.

FAQ

Will my clothes fade more quickly if I hang them in the sunlight to dry?
No. Putting clothes in a dryer will break the fabric down and fade them more quickly than sunlight. The lint a dryer catches is the fabric of your laundry being broken down. Sunlight is a natural bleach, clothes look brighter and smell fresher after drying outside than they do when dried in a clothes dryer. Just like with a dryer, avoid letting them get over dry and they will fade less and be softer.

Is it better to mix the laundry in your dryer, some heavy items and some light so the load is not too heavy?
No. It is better to put materials in that dry at similar rates, so you are not wasting energy drying a full load when only some of the things are still wet. Put like materials in the machine together and use the moisture sensor setting so the heat will shut off automatically when the load is dry. Fill, but do not overload, the machine.