"What am I going to wear today?" The question I ask myself every day, but today I open my drawers and oh no! nothing to wear...darn. This means laundry day. One of the most dreaded chores, most of us like to avoid it for as long aswe can, but it has to be done. Separate the clothes out by color, throw them into the washing ma average chine, then toss them in the dryer. Sounds about right, huh? Well here's something to think about...
Washing machine: Each year, the energy used to run an average washing machine produces 90 kilograms of greenhouse gas.
Warm water: If you wash your clothes using warm water, add another 475 kilograms of greenhouse gas to this. This works out to be around 4 kilograms of greenhouse gas produced per wash.
Dryer: If you use a dryer, add another 150 kilograms to that.
Detergents: For top loading washing machines, the production of washing detergent generates around 0.3 kg of greenhouse gas per wash. For front loaders, it’s around half of that.
Wow! That's a lot of greenhouse gases. When I came across these numbers I was pretty shocked. The most shocking was definitely how much greenhouse gas was produced when washing your clothes with warm water, 475kg, that's more than 3 times the greenhouse gas produced when using a dryer! That's it, it's cold water washes only for me. Although getting rid of your washing machine is rarely a viable option (at least not for me), there's still a lot of greenhouse gas production that can easily be cut! Here are a few things that can be done, most of which i've personally applied with great results! :
Wash clothes in cold water. Simple and easy, doing this can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 4kg per load!
Use Eco friendly laundry products. Most of these Eco friendly laundry products contain natural elements that are derived from natural biodegradable resources that don't contain regular polluting ingredients found in traditional laundry products. Therefore no toxins that harm the environment.
EcoSense laundry detergent is a good option.
Don't waste washing detergent and use concentrated liquid instead of powder. Solid capsules of detergent have the highest
carbon footprint. Powder has a slightly lower footprint; liquid has a lower one still; and concentrated liquid has the lowest of all.
Avoid using a clothes dryer. Clothesline!Conserve energy and save money while reducing your carbon footprint.
Our clothesline!
In case you're not convinced, advantages of
line drying:
Save Money
Conserve Energy
Reduce carbon footprint
Sunlight acts as a disinfectant and natural bleach
Clothes smell fresh and clean without being exposed to toxic chemicals
Clothes last longer
Physical activity that can be relaxing
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