How much does it cost to run a washing machine and how can you make it cheaper? (2023)

FAQs

What is the cheapest way to run a washing machine? ›

Wash clothes on the shortest cycle (often referred to as "quick wash") that's practical for your needs. This means less water, heated to a lower temperature and a shorter spin cycle to save water and energy. Bonus - this cycle causes less damage to your clothes over time so helps them last longer.

Wash with cold water.

Using warm water instead of hot can cut a load's energy use in half, and using cold water will save even more. Cold water detergents can be helpful to ensure items get clean, and high-efficiency detergents (indicated by the "he" symbol) should be used when required by the manufacturer.

Combining all of these factors, the average cost of a load of laundry is $1.27. At this cost, if you do one load per week, doing laundry costs $66.04 per year. If you do four loads per week, doing laundry costs $264.16 per year.

The cheapest time to do laundry is during off-peak hours.

Avoid the seasonally specific peak hours shared above, as well as the hours between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., when people are getting home from work and using high-demand appliances.

What is the cheapest time to use your washing machine? According to the Daily Record, the most expensive time to use your washing machine or tumble dryer is between 4pm and 7pm. Energy prices are at their lowest between 10pm and 5am, but make sure you never leave it on over night as this could be a fire risk.

You Could Save Money By Using the Laundromat

And the average cost per load at home is about $2-3 but this doesn't add in the cost of buying and maintaining your washer and dryer.

Use shorter cycles for less soiled and delicate clothing, and longer cycles for heavily soiled and bulky items. Always opt for the shortest possible cycle to get the job done; the less time garments spend being spun around in the wash, the longer they'll last.

The largest proportion of most household's electricity bill comes from running appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and electric showers. Every appliance has a power rating, usually given in watts (W) or kilowatts (kW) (1000W = 1kW).

Do washing machines use a lot of electricity? ›

In fact, wet appliances account for nearly 10 per cent of a typical household's energy bills. While there's going to be no return to the days of the wringer, there are options to consider to cut washing expenses and emissions.

There is no definitive answer to this question. Washing your clothes by hand will use considerably less water than using a machine but unless you use cold water, the energy required to heat the water in your home probably outweighs the electricity usage by your appliance.

Washer and dryer: 5%

But, when you do run the washer and dryer, they tend to suck up a lot of electricity, especially if you run your washer with hot water. On average, doing laundry accounts for about 5% of your annual electricity usage.

Clothes dryers have a reputation for being energy hogs, but how much do they really cost to operate? In the U.S., it costs approximately 45 cents to dry a load of laundry in an electric dryer, based on a 5,600-watt dryer, 40-minute run-time, and a 12-cent-per- kilowatt-hour rate.

Off-peak electricity times are those when the grid is experiencing less demand for power. Off-peak times are generally throughout the later evening and early morning on weekdays, usually 10pm to 7am. The middle of the day and weekends are typically considered to be 'shoulder' periods.

Try washing before 4 p.m. or after 7 p.m. – Many energy companies charge extra for electricity during their “peak hours,” which see increased energy usage. During the summer, run your washer early in the morning – energy use peaks on hot afternoons.

It's cheaper at night, when demand for power is at its lowest. This quieter period is called the off-peak hours, which usually falls between 10pm and 8am. Conversely, peak hours are during the daytime, when more people are using electricity and demand is higher. Not all energy suppliers follow time-of-use tariffs.

Prices are higher during times of day when demand for electricity is generally higher and the cost is greater, called peak times. Monday through Friday 4 to 9 p.m. are the only hours that are higher-priced (peak). All other times are lower-priced (off-peak).

The answer to when to do laundry to save money

Most people will see that they have a lower tariff overnight, usually between 11 pm and 7 am. This is the best time to do your washing as you'll save money. Saving money on electricity is only part of the equation.

Is it cost effective to do laundry at night? ›

Run your washer and dryer early in the morning or at night to avoid the surge. During the winter, electricity demand is highest in the morning hours between 7 and 9 am when people are waking up and turning up their heat. Doing laundry in the evening is your safest bet.

The bottom line is that if you're a household that only does a few loads of laundry per week or you don't want to invest in home units, then it makes more sense fiscally to visit a laundromat. But if you're a large household that's always doing laundry, home units are likely the better option.

In 2021, the average expenditure on laundry and cleaning supplies in the United States amounted to 178.45 U.S. dollars per consumer unit. In comparison, the country's average expenditure on laundry and cleaning supplies amounted to 147.55 U.S. dollars per consumer unit in 2014.

Laundry Cost Per Month

Based on an average of eight loads of laundry per week, multiplied by four weeks in a month, the average monthly cost to do laundry is $166.72, or $41.68 x 4.

Using a washing machine during the day or late at night can make all the difference and alleviate the pressure on household bills. Those on a time-of-use tariff will pay half the price to use energy gobbling appliances outside of the 4pm to 9pm peak hours.

"If you're wearing something for a few hours, and not sweating, it's probably okay to wait 2 to 4 wears before washing. Or, after a full day's use," says Dr. Gonzalez. "If you're working from home, it's probably okay to wait after 3 to 4 wears before washing your clothes."

Every three to four times you wear or use them: bath towels, bras, slips, dresses, sweaters, skirts, pajamas, slacks and jeans. Weekly: sheets, pillowcases and bath mats. Monthly: mattress pads, bathrobes and pillow liners.

Surveys indicate that American households average five loads of laundry per week, with many families doing laundry more than once a day.

The Department of Energy estimates you could save 10% every month when you unplug appliances when not in use. Unplugging appliances can save electricity, so make it as much a habit as when you turn off the lights to conserve energy.

How much does it cost to run a microwave? ›

It depends on the microwave's energy rating and the power setting used but using the calculations above it would cost less than half a penny to run a microwave with an average of 1kWh for one minute.

Using a washing machine during the day or late at night can make all the difference and alleviate the pressure on household bills. Those on a time-of-use tariff will pay half the price to use energy-gobbling appliances outside of the 4pm to 9pm peak hours.

If you want to know if a plugged-in charger uses energy, the straight answer is “Yes”, but that's not the whole story. The truth is that the consumption is negligible.

Feel the heat? That's wasted electricity—technically, it's called "no load mode," but in reality it's just another vampire. According to the Berkeley Lab's testing, cell phone chargers in no load mode consume around 0.26 watts, and laptop chargers, 4.42 watts.

So, if you're in the US and reading this article, then the odds are good that you have access to a washing machine. But did you know that most people in the world still wash their clothes by hand? It's true.

The average family does their laundry once a week. Depending on the family size, this can take anywhere between 2 to 5 hours. For a family with pets, doing the laundry can take much longer.

Let's say you have a 60-watt incandescent lightbulb and you are paying 12 cents per kWh of energy. Leaving the bulb on the whole day will therefore cost you: 0.06 (60 watts / 1000) kilowatts x 24 hours x 12 cents = approximately 20 cents in one day.

How much electricity does a TV use if left on all night? ›

Average TV energy usage

Research shows that, on average, modern TVs use approximately 58.6 watts when they're “on” or in use, and approximately 1.3 watts in standby mode.

Combining all of these factors, the average cost of a load of laundry is $1.27. At this cost, if you do one load per week, doing laundry costs $66.04 per year. If you do four loads per week, doing laundry costs $264.16 per year.

So how much money are you really saving? Well if your average electricity rate is at 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, it averages out to about 50 cents per drying load. Average four loads of laundry per week, and you're looking at just over $100 in savings per year.

How much does it cost to have a TV on 24 hours a day? The average cost to run a TV is $1.34 per month ($16.04 annually). Per hour, modern TVs cost between $0.0015 and $0.0176 to run, with the average costing $0.0088. Running a TV 24/7 in Standby mode costs between $0.66 and $3.94 per year.

Wash with a cold cycle

This is the easiest way to reduce electricity use, regardless of kind of washing machine you have. Washing with a cold cycle can save you more than 80% of your energy consumption and cost. This is because most of the energy is used just to heat up the water in warm washes.

Washing machine is still the better option between the two. It's true that you would save a lot of money by hand washing your clothes. However, it would use up plenty of your time and effort. This means that instead of doing something more important, you would be stuck cleaning clothes for a long duration of time.

You can quickly wash a few clothes without using a lot of energy, in fact, a quick wash can save up to 60% of energy* compared to a regular cotton cycle, and that's not all.

It's cheaper at night, when demand for power is at its lowest. This quieter period is called the off-peak hours, which usually falls between 10pm and 8am. Conversely, peak hours are during the daytime, when more people are using electricity and demand is higher. Not all energy suppliers follow time-of-use tariffs.

Putting your washing in during the evening and setting the machine to run into the early hours of the morning could greatly reduce your electricity costs, as energy prices are lowest between 10pm and 5am.

Is quick wash OK to use? ›

While it may be tempting to use the quick-wash cycle every time you need to clean a load of laundry, it should really only be used for freshening up garments. An example would be items such as a blouse and pants that are only lightly soiled and that you want to wear last-minute.

The answer is yes.

The laundry must not be heavily stained or soiled either - you'll be very much disappointed with the results! If you follow these rules, you should be left with some fresh clothes, even if 20 minutes doesn't feel like enough! Handy when there's so much else to be doing outside.

The 15-minute cycle is the shortest of the washing programmes. It predicts a 5-minute wash, a rinse and a fairly energetic centrifuge. Speed is obviously the highlight of this programme, but its effectiveness is limited to underwear or stainless clothes you only wore once, simply to freshen them up.