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Friday, May 18, 2012

Pushing the envelope: laundry

I'm always trying to find workable ways to save just a bit more.  Last weekend, I was in the mood to save on laundry.  So for the week I tried something new with wash temperature and drying.  In the AM I loaded the washer full.  I added soap and set it on cold wash/cold rinse.  I left the door up, as that allows it to fill, but keeps it from running.  Our cold water comes out of the tap very cold.  I was concerned that the very cold water would not fully dissolve the super cheap dollar store laundry soap.  So I left the loaded, water and soap-filled washer as it was for the whole day. I had thought that the cold wash water would warm a bit, but over the course of each day the temp only rose about 1 degree.  So much for thinking the ambient room temp would help the water temp to come up.

At the end of the day, I ran the machine.  I tried this on two dark loads, too.  The soap did not leave any white streaks, or other residue.  Perhaps leaving the detergent in the water for an extended period helped it to dissolve.  Doing a dark load on cold usually leaves soapy bits.  After the wash completed, I lifted the lid and stirred up the contents (to allow some evaporation).  I left it opened overnight.

First thing the next morning I transferred all the wash to the dryer and ran it on it's normal cycle. For every load done this way, this week, the items dried in about 15 minutes less time than usual. So, my experiment this week, to see if I could save on the wash with only cold water and the dry by allowing the air to give it a start, was somewhat successful.  Don't know how much $ I actually saved.

I used to use a drying rack with great success (and low electricity bills!), until it met its demise. I'd like to pick up another one.  I saw one at Target, but it had plastic and metal parts.  I'm looking for an all wood rack. But now I'm just rambling. . .

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