In many households, doing laundry is a regular routine. Among appliances in your home, your dryer is one of the highest energy users. So, it’s worth taking steps to reduce energy use in the laundry room.

When it comes to doing laundry, follow these steps to help you save energy – and in turn, money – on your monthly electric bill.

1. Use an ENERGY STAR®-Certified washer and dryer - Newer ENERGY STAR® washers use about 25% less energy than conventional models, and ENERGY STAR dryers use 20% less energy, according to energy.gov.
2. Wash with cold water - Using warm water instead of hot water can cut a load’s energy use in half, according to energy.gov. Using cold water will save even more energy. 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.
3. Dry right-sized loads for your dryer - If a dryer is too full, it will take longer for clothes to dry. Loads that are too small can also take longer to dry.
4. Switch loads while the dryer is warm - By doing back-to-back loads of laundry, you can take advantage  of using the remaining heat inside the dryer for the next cycle; thus saving energy.
5. Wash full loads - A washer uses about the same amount of energy regardless of the size of the load of laundry – so fill it up and wash full loads.

Looking for more ways to save energy in your home? Visit jacksonemc.com/waystosave.