Your clothes dryer is one of the bigger energy sucking devices in your home. More so if you use it incorrectly or at least, if you use it in a less than optimal way. While you may only use your dryer once or twice a week on laundry days, every bit you can save is after tax money staying in your pocket.
While you can hang clothes out in the sun to dry during the summer, winter time is usually a different story especially if you live in the north and get harsh winters.
Below are some things to try to reduce your dryer time which will save you money in the long run while also reducing the depreciation and wear on your dryer. You can use these suggestions during the winter and any other time you can’t use the outside sun to dry your clothes.
Try these to save money drying your clothes in winter:
- Use your dryer during off peak times only
- Use wool dryer balls
- Select the correct spin speed to properly wring clothes out
- Use the moisture sensor
- Choose an ENERGY STAR-certified dryer
- Use lower heat and more time
- Use the cool-down cycle if you have it
- Clean the lint filter regularly
- Use the sun when possible
- Don’t over pack your dryer with clothes
- Consider an electric drying rack
Below we will discuss each savings method in more detail along with some commentary on each.
Use your dryer during off peak times only
Many electricity companies in states including Texas, California, Arizona and Massachusetts and Canadian provinces like Ontario have adopted time-of-use electricity prices. You pay more for electricity during peak times – typically the middle of the day – and less during off peak times – usually evenings, overnights and all weekend.
You may also pay more/less during certain months of the year.
How can you save money?
Use your dryer – and your washer, dishwasher, etc – during off peak periods only.
You only tend to do laundry at set times anyways so do it during off peak periods. The difference can be significant as in some locales, off peak pricing is upwards of 50% cheaper than on peak.
Use wool dryer balls
Dryer balls are added to your clothes dryer to fluff up clothes, prevent them from clumping while tumbling while also reducing static. And if you choose wool dryer balls, you can also potentially reduce your dryer time by 30% or more.
While plastic dryer balls claim similar dryer reduction times, tests seem to indicate no such evidence. But wool dryer balls have been known to offer these benefits while also helping to collect excess lint too.
Wool dryer balls may also help to absorb some of the moisture from your clothes.
If you can’t find wool balls, rubber dryer balls may help reduce dryer time.
Select the correct spin speed to properly wring clothes out
The more water you can wring out from your clothes, the less time (and thus less electricity) you’ll spend drying it. While you want to pay attention to instructions on your clothing, you might be amazed how dry clothes can feel out of the washer when they are properly wrung out.
Some items of clothing feel dry to the touch to the point where you might wonder if you forgot to turn the washer on or perhaps left the water line shut off. Thin shirts, bed sheets, wool clothing and other items can be very close to being dried after coming out of the washer when the correct spin cycle is used.
High speed spinning your clothes more efficiently reduces drying time which also minimizes the amount of potentially damaging heat that your clothes will experience each time.
Use the moisture sensor
Modern dryers have features such as a moisture sensor which will sense that clothes are dry and will automatically shut off the machine rather than continuing to operate needlessly.
This will help to minimize dryer usage while also keeping your electricity bill down.
So even if you choose a time-cycle to run for a specific period of time, the dryer will shut off when the clothes are sensed to be dry.
The moisture sensor is typically located next to or is attached to the lint trap. It’s usually two metal strips that detect clothing moisture or lack thereof. Check your owner’s manual regarding sensor maintenance as you might need to clean it off to ensure it operates correctly.
Choose an ENERGY STAR-certified dryer
An ENERGY STAR
appliance (click the link to search by appliance type) is one that is shown to use less energy and offer higher efficiency than other models and older model dryers.
The ENERGY STAR website also points you in the direction of rebates and federal income tax credit and other ways to save money by choosing certain appliances.
Compact ENERGY STAR dryers can be found that use as little as 125 kWh/yr and standard sized dryers using as little as 217 kWh/yr. Non ENERGY STAR-rated dryers typically use 20% more energy which ENERGY STAR says will cost you $215 over the lifespan of the appliance.
Similarly, an ENERGY STAR washer can also reduce your electricity costs, more so when you pair it with an ENERGY STAR dryer.
Use lower heat and more time
Higher heat uses more energy than lower heat. Lowering the heat level of your dryer while extending the dryer time can result in overall energy savings. It takes more energy to keep the heat higher than extending the tumble time, all things being equal.
Is it widely known that operating your dryer on lower heat and longer time uses less energy than higher heat and lower time. It can also protect your clothing and increase its lifespan as higher heat can damage fibers over time.
On Whirlpool dryer models, the EcoBoost feature increases dryer time by up to 40 minutes while reducing the heat.
You can also select the NORMAL dryer setting (or similar, depending on your model) rather than a higher heat choice.
Use the cool-down cycle if you have it
The cool-down feature shuts the dryer heat off for a period of time towards the end of the drying cycle (5 -15 minutes is common) while the tumbling continues. This lowers energy costs while still effectively drying your clothes. The cool-down feature of your dryer enables you to take advantage of retained heat inside the dryer, thus saving energy costs while continuing to dry your clothes.
As mentioned above, high heat is the large culprit in terms of how your dryer uses energy. The metal drum inside your dryer heats up and stays warm when the dryer door is kept shut even when the heat is turned down or off.
So it stands to reason that you can benefit from continuing to tumble dry your clothes with the heat turned off because of the high temperature inside the dryer for a period of time. And you’re reducing your energy costs too.
Clean the lint filter regularly
A full lint filter (lint trap) can restrict air flow and negatively impact dryer performance. Ultimately it can also become a fire hazard.
Modern dryers may also have a “Check Vent” feature that can warn you if the machine detects that your air vent might be clogged and need to be cleaned, perhaps professionally. Not only can this reduce the efficiency of your dryer but can also be a fire hazard.
Check your lint trap after each round of laundry and clean it. It only takes a few seconds and over time will improve your dryer efficiency.
Use the sun when possible
While you can use a clothes line or rack and dry your clothes outside on a nice sunny and/or windy day in the summer, the autumn, early spring and winter months don’t offer the same opportunity. But the direct sun even in winter, shining inside your home, can help to dry clothes manually.
Open your drapes on a sunny winter day and place damp clothes on a rack. Not only will the direct sun help to dry your clothes, it can also help to warm your home rather than having to use your furnace or space heating.
Small items such as socks and intimates can often be placed on an inside window sill which will dry them not only from the sun but from the warmth of the sill itself.
And if you have a fireplace whether gas or wood, setting up your laundry rack(s) near it will also help to manually dry your clothes with or without the sun.
Don’t over pack your dryer with clothes
Pay attention to how much clothing you actually put in your dryer. When you over pack the dryer it will reduce efficiency and increase the time and cost of drying.
Having said that, under filling your dryer can also negatively impact performance.
Your dryer size will impact how much clothing you can and should put in there. Also, larger items such as blankets might need to be dried on their own. Pillows should be dried in pairs (two at a time).
Tip: In some rare cases such as washing and drying sports equipment and oversized items such as rugs, you might consider taking your laundry to a coin laundry and using their high capacity washers and dryers. They are big enough and powerful enough to handle large loads that home appliances can’t offer.
Consider an electric drying rack
While you can lay your damp clothes on a rack to manually dry them in the sun as we mentioned above, you can also choose a plug in model that will dry them faster. They use heated tubes to dry clothes that you lay on them which can additionally help to reduce wrinkles and either replace your dryer or at least complement it.
Electric dryer racks use electricity but at 200W, they use much less energy than a dryer which is usually in the 1500W – 5000W range.
Electric dryer racks are also much smaller and more compact. Plus, they are very quiet.
Lastly, they can help to marginally heat a small room so you might find that the heat radiated can also help to keep your room slightly warmer.