Save Time and the Environment with Green Laundry Tips

Although doing laundry is a necessity it can be harmful on the environment emitting toxic chemicals from fabric softeners and dryer sheets, not to mention a time consuming task the majority of people don’t look forward to doing. Regardless of the laundry machine in your home or apartment you can follow a handful of steps to helping create a green laundry room.

• Only wash full loads: Not only will this help reduce the amount of laundry you’ll have to do on a weekly basis but it also saves water, energy usage and money. The recommended load size for most top load washing machines is 3/4 of the drum.
• Use cold water: Although some specific fabrics need to be washed with warm or hot water the vast majority of clothes can be washed using cold water. Nearly 90 percent of energy used during the laundry process is due to heating water, according to Energy Star. Keep the water cold and enjoy fresh, clean clothes and big money savings.
• Use dryer balls: What are dryer balls, you ask? Basically they are balls of wool that separate clothes allowing hot air to circulate more freely and evenly. This helps shorten dryer time and eliminate harmful chemicals being released in the air from dryer sheets or fabric softeners. You can even make your own dryer balls.
• Use oxygen bleach: Stop using chlorine bleach in your wash which emits an estimated 11.6 million pounds of chlorine into the environment per year. Oxygen bleach naturally breaks down in the air and provides the same amount of whitening power. Pro Tip: Add lemon juice to your wash during the rinse cycle – lemon juice is a natural disinfectant and helps kills germs. It also helps to rub a bar of soap directly on a stain before tossing it into the wash.

BDS Laundry is proud to service and equip countless apartment complexes throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin and, North and South Dakota as well as numerous on-premise laundries throughout the Midwest with commercial laundry equipment and helpful green laundry tips. Find your laundry room to access your card or find available machines or call us at 800-688-8820 to learn more about how we can help you find the best laundry equipment for your laundry.