Laundry vs. Global Warming

With the news full of stories about environmental pollution and global warming, have you ever wondered how to help?  Look no further than your laundry. Time Magazine reported that "60% of the energy associated with a piece of clothing is spent in washing and drying it. Over its lifetime, a T shirt can send up to 9 lbs of carbon dioxide into the air."

Ninety percent of the energy used by a washing machine goes to heating water. You could save $60 or more on your annual energy spending and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 72 pounds per month by washing four out of every five loads in cold water. Today's more efficient clothes washers and laundry detergents make it possible to get even whites clean in cold water. Cold washing is a way to save money and make clothes last longer

If every household in the U.S. used cold water for four out of five loads, it would save $6.7 billion per year and keep nearly 50 million tons of carbon out of the atmosphere – the equivalent of removing 10 million cars from the road. More information can be found at http://c3.newdream.org/.

Clotheslines are one of the latest in "new" idea to save energy and our environment. 6%-10% of all residential energy use is for clothes dryers. The average American uses more energy running one clothes dryer than the average African uses for all her energy needs.

Drying clothing in an electric dryer for a family of four results in one ton of greenhouse gases annually. If all Americans line-dried for just half a year, it would save 3.3% of the country's total residential output of carbon dioxide.  It would also save the average household over one hundred dollars every year in energy bills.  Line-dried clothes last longer and smell better, too. Annual National Hanging Out Day is on April 19. More information at laundrylist.org.

Appliance	Electricity kWh/yr	Cost $/yr	CO2 emitted
Clothes washer (with hot water)	1,080	$86	1,544
Clothes washer (minus hot water)	99	$8	142
Clothes dryer	1,060	$85	1,516