With winter on its way and energy saving on all of our minds, there are simple changes you can make when using your washing machine, tumble dryer and laundry detergent to save money and reduce your bills.
Our unique washing machine, tumble dryer and laundry detergent lab tests give us lots of insights in terms of the best products to use and the most effective way to use them.
We've crunched the data and worked out that you can save around £162 per year by following our advice. Read on to find out more.
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1. Wash at 20°C or 30°C when possible
- Total saving: £48
We tested a range of washing machines in 2020 to see how washing at lower temperatures affects cleaning and energy use.
On average, switching from 40°C to 30°C saved 38% energy, and going down to 20°C saved 62%.
The average washing machine costs about £77 a year to run four washes a week. So switching to 30°C would cut £29 off of this, while 20°C will cut £48.
And lowering the temperature doesn't mean you need to compromise on stain-busting power, either.
Our snapshot test revealed that unless you're washing really soiled clothes, modern machines - particularly our Best Buy washing machines - will still do a good job most of the time.
Tips for effective cleaning at lower temperatures:
- Set your machine to wash at 30°C or 20°C.
- Switching to a liquid laundry detergent will help shift stains. We found that tough stains lifted more easily with a liquid than a powder at 30°C and 20°C.
- Pre-treat tough stains with diluted detergent for the best chance of removing them.
- Run a monthly hot maintenance wash (60°C with the machine empty and washing machine cleaner in the detergent tray).
According to NHS and government advice, the normal washing of clothes will reduce the risk of germs spreading such as coronavirus.
Although there are some cases where you might want to wash at a higher temperature. Read our guide on how to wash clothes and kill germs to find out more.
If you need a new washing machine now, check out our guide to finding the best cheap washing machines for under £400
2. Maintain your tumble dryer properly
- Total saving: £34
When we tested how a range of heat pump dryers performed over 20 loads of drying, we were shocked by some of the findings.
Some machines ended up using 50% more energy than during the first load.
The average heat pump dryer costs around £68 per year to do three loads a week, so you can quickly see how this could add around £34 to your annual laundry costs.
The reason for this is the lower filters getting blocked up with dust and lint from your clothes.
Tips to stop your dryer becoming inefficient:
- Find the lower filter at the bottom of the dryer - it's a sponge that sits in front of the heat exchanger (the condenser) and it can be hidden behind a flap. You might need to push two small levers inwards to unlock it.
- Once unlocked, remove the lower filter, taking out any larger pieces of fluff and hair from the heat exchanger.
- Rinse the lower filter and, if it's removable, the heat exchanger under a cold tap until they're completely free of any dust or debris.
- If you can't remove the heat exchanger, brush any fluff away.
- Only begin cleaning the lower filter when the dryer has cooled down from its last drying cycle.
- Make sure the filter is completely dry before you insert it back into the machine.
If you're in the market for a new dryer, you could save as much as £100 a year in running costs by choosing an energy-saving heat-pump tumble dryer rather than a less efficient condenser model.
Head to our tumble dryer reviews and filter for heat-pump dryers.
For more help and advice, take a look at our tumble dryer tips and maintenance guide
3. Stop doing daily small washes
- Total saving: £13
The most energy efficient way of washing clothes is to fill the drum up, rather than washing one or two items on a quick wash programme.
Quick programs - or speed-up buttons - slightly reduce how much energy is used, but not by the same amount that the capacity is reduced. So it's much more economical to do fewer big loads than daily smaller ones.
When we checked what effect speed-up functions have on cleaning and energy in May 2019, we found dramatic differences between the three machines we tested.
One only reduced the energy used by around 20%, while another cut it in half. But this isn't enough to justify a daily wash. Doing a bigger normal wash four times a week still ended up using 17% less energy than the average of the three fast daily washes.
This would add up to an annual saving of around £13 for the average washing machine.
This may not sound like much, but remember, you'll also be saving by using up your detergent more slowly - more on that below.
Find out more about which temperature to wash your clothes at with our washing machine temperature guide.
4. Switch to a Best Buy laundry detergent
- Total saving: £67
Don't automatically get sucked into buying big brand washing powder, capsules and liquids.
The most expensive detergent we've tested recently costs 40p per wash, but we've found cheap Best Buy washing powder that costs as little as 8p per wash.
If you use your machine four times a week, over a year you'll be able to save close to £67.
Best of all, of course, is that because it's a Best Buy you'll still be getting top-notch stain-busting cleaning power.
Find out which cheap detergent wowed in our testing in our best and worst washing powders and laundry detergents
5. Look for Great Value
If you love a deal or are on a tight budget, make sure to look out for our Great Value badge on our reviews.
While Which? Best Buys remain the gold standard when it comes to product recommendations, when you see our Great Value badge you can be sure that the product does a good job and represents excellent value for money.
Across the Which? site you'll find more than 500 Great Value products from more than 70 product areas.
Great Value washing machines and Great Value heat-pump tumble dryers start at around £400 and you can buy Great Value washing powder from just 8p a wash.
You can also find Great Value TVs from £279, Great Value laptops costing £150 and Great Value rechargeable batteries from £7.
Read more about the Which? Great Value product recommendations that will help to save you money.
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