How An Eco-Friendly Laundry Will Slash Your Bills

This article is sponsored by Westinghouse.

I know usually we make eco-friendly swaps at home to better the environment, but here’s a great selfish reason to do it: extra cash in that back pocket, baby!

You can save big bucks by becoming more water-efficient. And honestly, out of all the household bills we get, water has to be the worst. It’s easy to forget, so any amount is a shock, let alone how much it actually clocks in at.

Today let’s hone in on saving water in the laundry. It’s the room you’d least expect when it comes to a steep water bill (surely we’re willy-nilly with it in the kitchen and bathroom?) but the laundry wastes a lot.

Here’s how to make the laundry more eco-friendly and cut that bill right down.

Choosing your washing machine

By choosing water-efficient products, an average house could save around $120 in reduced water bills each year — and an extra $120 in energy costs. We love to hear it.

Those cute and colourful stickers on the front of a washing machine will steer you in the right direction. It’s called the WELS star rating – the more stars on that sticker, the more water-efficient it is. (Go for 4.5 or 5 stars!)

Also, front-load washing machines use far less water than your top-loaders. Give a machine like the Westinghouse 10kg EasyCare Front-Load Washer a go to slash bills. Not only is it a front-loader, but it also has a setting that cleans a full load in one power hour and a 5-star energy rating.

Use it right

Turns out you can make many-a-wasteful faux-pas in the laundry. What you should do to start saving some drops, is only do full loads of laundry. No socks-only loads like my old housemate used to do!

If your washing machine has a time-saver option, put it on that and use a low water level, too.

And hot tip: cold washes can save you up to $124 a year on your energy bill. So, if you’ve spent years believing warm washes are the only way to really clean those clothes, it’s time to stop. Modern washing machines have come a long way — now you can count on them to properly clean when cold.

Check those taps

Similarly to your washing machine, a different model of tap just straight-up saves you water. Swap to mixer taps and always sort out a drip immediately — those drips all ad up if you keep putting off fixing it.

So there you have it, now you can do it for the world, but also for you and that wallet!