Low-Flow Washing Machines Save Twice

Nowadays, with fresh water becoming scarce, energy costs shooting up, and population levels booming, there is a great need to use less energy and water with everything we do, including the way we wash clothes. This applies to all laundry users - hotels and resorts, hospitals, laundromats, and home laundries alike.

Manufacturers have responded to the need by designing more efficient clothes washers and dryers. Governments have responded by devising stricter manufacturing standards and labels (EnergyStar) and by passing laws that require the phasing out of inefficient appliances sold by stores. Water and energy suppliers have responded by educating the public and by encouraging purchases via rebates and, in some cases, free installations. How will you respond?

When you switch now, you start saving now. You'll save on water bills, energy bills, and sewer bills (for those of you billed by water used). Utility rates are going up all across the country, so retrofitting now will save you the higher rates on water and energy you don't need to be using. Incentives like rebates and installations are available now from energy and water suppliers, but won't be in the future. And just as good, your linens and clothes will start lasting longer as soon as you treat them better in the way you wash and dry.

In the United States you can find both types of machines, although the energy efficient top loading machines seem to be more prevalent. The main differences have to do with the type of space you have and how well the machine fits into it.

Top loading machines enable a person to add items during the laundry cycle without water spilling out. Dryers will need to be placed next to them, rather than on top, so as not to obstruct the door. If you have room horizontally, but not much vertically (like under a cupboard or clothes hanging bar) and the laundry room is narrow, the top loader will be your best bet.

Front loading machines have a smaller footprint overall. They use more space in front to open the door, but dryers can be stacked on top of the machine (or underneath), instead of using up space on the side. On the other hand, if you don't have vertical space, but have plenty of walking space and counters with space beneath, you can place them side by side under the counter.

Both types of energy efficient machines can save up to 30% of electricity and 55% of water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

New machines use a different sort of drum inside. With the older, top loading machines, you push your clothes down into a cylindrical inner drum and fit them around an agitator that rotates back and forth after water is added, mixing water and clothes. The agitator can be set at different speeds for different types of laundry. When water drains from the drum, it drains out the sides, which leaves some on the bottom and the clothes fairly wet.

In energy-efficient front loading and top loading machines, you put your clothes inside a cylindrical drum that itself turns. The drum tumbles the clothes and water top to bottom, round and round, so they mix together well. Because the clothes are tumbled, rather than soaked, this method needs less water than the agitator type. In addition, when the water drains, it drains down through holes in the bottom, helped by gravity, so clothes end up drier after the spin cycle than they do with the older machines. And since there is more room without the agitator, you can wash more clothes at once.

In the older top-loaders, the agitator and outer drum are driven by a heavy electrical gearbox and its related parts, which uses energy and is absent in the front-loader. Water is also recirculated from the bottom of the washer to the top using an electric pump, which is not necessary in a front-loader. These differences result in a savings of electricity, which may or may not be offset by other factors. Most manufacturers do not publish the amount of electricity their washers use, so it is difficult to tell how much is actually saved. The EPA estimates a savings of 30%.

However, because the front-loader also uses less water, the energy (gas or electric) that would have heated that water can be calculated and be substantial . . . like up to 90%, if you wash with cold water too. In addition, clothes end up drier after the front-loader spin cycle, so they take less drying time in a dryer to finish the job. This saves even more electricity, and wear and tear on the clothes as well.

1. Washing only full loads will maximize the use of the water and energy you use to run a load. Depending on how you have washed in the past, you could save two or three loads a week this way.

2. If you wash early in the morning or later at night, when businesses are closed and less energy is being used city-wide, you can save money in areas where higher rates are charged during peak demand times.

3. You can also save energy costs by using hot water for heavily soiled loads only, and cool water for the rest.

4. And you can save a lot by hanging laundry from a line to dry outside, instead of using an electric or gas clothes dryer.

Pull out your energy and water bills or go online to the websites of your water and energy providers. By looking at the website and/or contacting someone via phone or email you can find out the following information:

• What kinds of incentive programs they offer (rebates or installations).

• What their requirements are for applying for rebates or free installations.

• When they're likely to be raising energy or water rates next and by how much.

• Whether sewer charges are a single monthly rate or vary by the amount of water used. If they vary, then you will save money on sewer, in addition to water and energy.

• Basic savings information, like how much electricity or water can be saved by switching out your washer.

• Other types of incentives they offer for other types of retrofits.

Here is an example of rebates offered: MWD Washing Machine Rebate