Eco-Laundry

Useful tips on how to save energy on laundry. Much common sense stuff here. Some surprises, eg: "we know about washballs or laundry disks that are detergent alternatives but most lab reports suggest they are ineffective, at best. Some even require the use of hot water to work, negating any supposed benefits." And sensible once you think about it things such as "Buy powdered detergents. Don’t pay for someone to ship the added water, in liquid detergent, around the country. Why use a greenhouse-gas-emitting 18 wheeler, when you’ve already got water plumbed into the washing machine! And make sure your deteregent is phosphate free - our waterways and wetlands have enough to contend with, without high nutrients loads setting off algal blooms."

And this latter tip comes with personal recommendation since it's my normal practice and it works -I am honestly *not* known for being smelly as my fiercest critics [my teenagers] will tell you. "Wear clothes more than once before washing them. Easily practical with pants, skirts, jackets and sweaters. But also possible with shirts and blouses, especially if you choose darker colours, less prone to showing marks. And select natural fabrics less likely to cause you to perspire."

Treehugger: How To: Eco-Laundry