Cut your laundry costs this autumn

As we head towards autumn, Which? magazine have given some great ways to save money on your laundry.

Here are our top tips, taken from their article:

Reduce your washing temperature

Wash at a temperature of 20°C or 30°C to save money. Which? Say that if you wash at 30°C, it could save you £25 a year, or at 20°C the saving is £40 a year.

Tips

• Switch to a liquid laundry detergent to help shift stains. Which? found that tough stains lift more easily with liquid at lower temperatures.

• Pre-treat tough stains with diluted detergent or stain remover before the wash.

Fill your machine

Rather than putting several smaller washes on quick programs, try less washes on longer programs, but fill the drum.

Which? found that by doing bigger washes four times a week it used 17% less energy than three smaller washes on quick programs.

By doing this you’re also using less washing detergent, so it’s a saving on both.

Maintain your tumble dryer

Which? tested a range of heat pump dryers with over 20 loads of washing.

They were shocked to find out that some machines used 50% more energy on the last load compared to the first load. This is because of the filter being blocked.

Tips:

• Wait until your machine is cooled.

• Find your lower filter at the bottom of the dryer. Once unlocked, remove larger fluff and hair from the heat exchanger.

• Rinse the filter if it’s removeable. Dry thoroughly before putting back.