50 Acts of Green: Day Two - Cold Water
Cold Water
When I was a RA in college, one of my number one duties was to teach all the freshman girls on my floor how to do their laundry. Sadly, most of them hadn't learned how to do laundry at home before coming to college, but no one else was going to do their laundry for them. They had to learn the symbols, the techniques, the practicalities of life.
I knew how to do laundry, so it wasn't a hard lesson to impart, but being the sort of person I am, at the time I decided to do some more research on laundry techniques so that I could answer all the really hard questions.
One of the things I learned at that time was that different loads should probably be done at different water temperatures, but that the most eco-friendly was to wash in cold water. While most people think that temperature affects the soap, that isn't really true, usually temperature affects the material. So while different temperatures of water are suggested for different color loads, all clothing can be washed, and actually get washed, in cold water.
When it comes to laundry washing, hot water is the largest energy consumer. Most of the electricity used in running a normal washing machine is used in heating up the water, not in actually running the washing machine. The washing machine motor is a distant second in overall consumption of energy.
I've converted to washing all my laundry in cold water.
The Rectory's Mayfair washing machine. I set the knob to cold almost four years ago and haven't touched it since.
One small act of green, saving energy consumption!
When I was a RA in college, one of my number one duties was to teach all the freshman girls on my floor how to do their laundry. Sadly, most of them hadn't learned how to do laundry at home before coming to college, but no one else was going to do their laundry for them. They had to learn the symbols, the techniques, the practicalities of life.
I knew how to do laundry, so it wasn't a hard lesson to impart, but being the sort of person I am, at the time I decided to do some more research on laundry techniques so that I could answer all the really hard questions.
One of the things I learned at that time was that different loads should probably be done at different water temperatures, but that the most eco-friendly was to wash in cold water. While most people think that temperature affects the soap, that isn't really true, usually temperature affects the material. So while different temperatures of water are suggested for different color loads, all clothing can be washed, and actually get washed, in cold water.
When it comes to laundry washing, hot water is the largest energy consumer. Most of the electricity used in running a normal washing machine is used in heating up the water, not in actually running the washing machine. The washing machine motor is a distant second in overall consumption of energy.
I've converted to washing all my laundry in cold water.
One small act of green, saving energy consumption!
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