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Cleaning Up:  How Green Is Your Laundry?  |
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jenbove
Moderator
320 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
320 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 20 2008 : 1:20:17 PM
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Your mother probably warned you not to leave the house without clean underwear, but are your whites green enough to pass muster with Mother Nature?
These days "clean and green" applies to more than solar power plants -- it's also how we all should do our laundry.
Take The Sierra Club's simple quiz and they'll sort you into the right pile.
http://www.sierraclub.org/howgreen/laundry/
Jen
GOT A "WILD HAIR"?
COME VISIT MARYJANE'S OUTPOST! 
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Farmgirl Sisterhood Member # 9
My Blog: The View From My Boots
www.bovesboots.blogspot.com |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Feb 20 2008 : 2:41:26 PM
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WooHoo!
How Did You Do?
Your score: 83 out of 100 points.
A Clean, Green Machine 80-100 points:
Not only does your laundry sparkle, so does your eco rep. You understand that being green involves lots of little things that add up to big changes.
1. Do you have a new washer with an Energy Star sticker, the EPA/DOE seal of approval for appliances meeting energy efficiency guidelines?
Your Answer: Spanking new, Energy Star-qualified, and I've got the receipts to prove it.
10 out of 10 points.
Energy Star qualified washers use at least 40 percent less energy than standard washers and roughly half the water (www.energystar.gov). If you're in the market for a new washer, look for an Energy Star qualified model with the highest possible MEF, or Modified Energy Factor. The upfront expense may be greater, but more efficient machines mean lower operating costs. Dryers, by the way, are not Energy Star rated because there's so little variation in energy use among the models.
If your machine hails from the avocado/harvest gold era, obviously, it's time to find a replacement. In general, newer washers are more efficient than ancient ones. Age alone, however, is not a good gauge of your washer's efficiency. That's because the Energy Star program highlights appliances more efficient than the average of current models, so there are plenty of washers that fall short of the standard. Remember, too, that Energy Star washers range in capacity from 1.6 to 3.8 cubic feet, so tailor your purchase to your household's size.
If you're using a laundromat, don't beat up on yourself. Many laundromats already use energy-efficient washers since the water-heating bills for all those machines do add up. In general, the side-loading models commonly found in commercial laundries are more efficient than top loaders.
2. How often do you wash most of your clothes?
Your Answer: It depends on whether it's my Friday-night shirt or my ditch-diggin overalls.
7 out of 10 points.
Except for those of us dedicated to earning our jeans some street cred, we generally wash our clothes too often. Sure, socks and undies need to be washed after each wearing, but do those jeans and polos really need a wash after every wear?
3. Do you run only full loads?
Your Answer: Always
10 out of 10 points.
When it comes to energy and water use, full loads are the most efficient. Make it a habit to top off the machine. Stuffing the washer past full, however, actually makes it harder to get your clothes clean. So full, but not too full.
If you must do a smaller load, adjust the water level whenever possible. If you're lucky enough to have a washer with a "mini-basket," use it. Such baskets fit over the washer's agitator, enabling you to wash truly tiny loads with a minimum of heat and water.
4. Do you use cold instead of hot water to wash your clothes?
Your Answer: Usually
7 out of 10 points.
Roughly 90 percent of the energy used for washing clothes goes directly to heating the water! For all but the most stubborn stains, washing in hot or even warm water is unnecessary. Most detergents are now formulated to wash in cold water. When you do use the hot setting, you can reduce your overall water heating bill, which accounts for 13 percent of home energy costs, by turning your water heater down to 120 degrees ("Normal" on heaters without temperature markings).
5. Do you air dry your laundry?
Your Answer: Sometimes
2 out of 10 points.
Solar power doesn't get more direct than a clothesline. If you live in a rain forest or where the winters are long, things can still dry pretty fast inside on a drying rack. Best of all, hang drying clothes is easier on all fabrics. Overdrying breaks down fabrics, especially synthetics, which can end up looking "bleached."
6. What's your monthly dry-cleaning bill?
Your Answer: Less than $25
10 out of 10 points.
While those blouses and suits just back from the dry cleaner look pristine, the behind-the-counter process is anything but. The most common dry-cleaning solvent, perc (perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene), turns up in our groundwater and soil nationwide. It's also a potential carcinogen, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Happily there are other options besides this nasty stuff, such as liquid CO2 cleaning and "wet cleaning." As the industry slowly shifts away from perc, it's grown easier to find cleaners offering these services. A quick Web search using either term will get you started. By the way, even if the garment tag says Dry Clean Only, professional wet cleaning does a better -- and safer -- job.
7. Do you sort your laundry into different types of loads?
Your Answer: You bet. Most stuff goes in a cold-water wash pile, a few things in a warm-water load, and just a small pile for hot-water stuff.
10 out of 10 points.
Your washer comes with three temperature settings -- hot, warm, and cold -- so sort accordingly. Most items will do fine in cold water; many items that seemingly require hot water will do just as well in a warm load. As for the left- and right-foot socks, they can to learn to get along by the second rinse.
8. When buying new clothes, do you check what fabric's used and whether it requires dry cleaning?
Your Answer: If the label says "dry clean only" I keep looking. There are plenty of great-looking machine-washable clothes out there.
7 out of 10 points.
A garment's price tag is just the beginning of what it costs. Dry-cleaning bills add up -- not to mention the previously mentioned problems with perc-based cleaning. Likewise, the factories generating synthetic fabrics from plastics and petroleum-based chemicals aren't exactly pollution-free.
Recycled synthetics offer a welcome, um, loophole to this problem. Jackets and pants made from recycled soda cans (those stamped with a No. 1 for polyethylene terephthalate or PET) offer a way to keep trash out of the oceans and pollutants out of the air. Similarly, organic cotton takes a lot less energy and pesticides to grow than its industrial cousin. And if you love silk, just remember that it really can be washed by hand instead of being dry cleaned. After all, traders were plying Asia's Silk Road long before drive-thru cleaners popped up along the way.
9. Do you clean the dryer's lint screen before running a load?
Your Answer: Each and every time I run the dryer.
10 out of 10 points.
Yeah, yeah, it really is better if you clean the dryer's lint filter after every load. Sure, it takes a moment and the fuzz is sort of weird. But consider this: as lint collects over the filter, loads take longer to dry. So that time you "save" is wiped out watching the clothes go round.
10. Unlike washing, there's no need to sort stuff before drying.
Your Answer: false
10 out of 10 points.
You can reduce your electric bill by 5 percent by putting items of similar weight (towels for example) in the same load and then using the dryer's auto/moisture-sensing setting. At the end of the cycle, if just a few items remain damp then hang them inside to finish drying. Overdrying, by the way, can cause fabrics to deteriorate more quickly.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
Please come visit Nora and I our our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
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PlumCreekMama
True Blue Farmgirl
730 Posts
Heather
Iowa
USA
730 Posts |
Posted - Feb 20 2008 : 4:37:34 PM
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| I also got an 83! Whoo hoo! We should get extra points for homemade detergent and vinegar for softener. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Feb 20 2008 : 4:39:29 PM
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That is what thought too, Heather! LOL
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
Please come visit Nora and I our our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Feb 20 2008 : 7:19:26 PM
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Your score: 92 out of 100 points.
A Clean, Green Machine 80-100 points:
Not only does your laundry sparkle, so does your eco rep. You understand that being green involves lots of little things that add up to big changes.
I think if points are given for making your own laundry powder I just may get 100!! lol!
[size=1]
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 04:50:09 AM
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I can't believe that I got an 89. I thought I was going to do worse. I feel pretty encouraged and will go do some laundry right now!
Blessings
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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Past Blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
1083 Posts
Brenda
Orchard Prairie
WA
USA
1083 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 7:39:49 PM
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I only got a 73. My washer is about 7 or 8 years old, so I don't know about the "star" rating on it and I can't just run out and buy another. The other thing that killed me was that I only "occasionally" air dry things. Clothes Lines are not allowed in our neighborhood (silly covenants) and inside I just don't have the space to spread them out. I do dry some sweaters and dresses by air and in the summer I do put a lot of things out on the deck rails to dry . . . yah, like that doesn't break covenants! LOL! I also have to use hot water on Ron's uniforms. He is a paramedic and sanitation is still something I can not glaze over. When you have someone dealing with a lot of blood and the risks of HIV, etc. it is not something you compromise on. I do make my own detergent and use vinegar as a softener. That should have been included! When it comes to cleaning products, I'm about as green as they come.
Brenda
Past Blessings . . . Celebrating Life as it used to be . . . when people loved God, loved their families and loved their country. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 7:53:29 PM
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I got 83 out of 100...dang my old washer. Having a new one would have helped my score!
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 9:10:05 PM
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I also think we should get bonus points for never using hot water if that is an option. Brenda- that must be a bit of a scare to know he is out there handling viruses and such. Your husband is a hero. My dad as a paramedic for 18 years and they give so much of their lives to help others. I respect them so much.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
Please come visit Nora and I our our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
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Rebekka Mae
True Blue Farmgirl
965 Posts
Rebekka
Moscow
ID
USA
965 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 9:23:33 PM
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I got an 86 and once hubby makes me my laundry line (or hangs with the kids so I can) this spring I will be doing even better;)
Brenda, I am so glad that I don't have to clean hubby's uniforms (he is a firefighter EMT)-he does his laundry at work and so the germs stay there as much as possible.
Warmly, Rebekka
www.bebebella.etsy.com
As a woman I have no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.
Virginia Woolf |
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La Patite Ferme
True Blue Farmgirl
623 Posts
Jenn
CA
USA
623 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 10:39:59 PM
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This was fun and I scored much higher than I thought I would - 91.
Some of the questions were hard to answer because some of the choices weren't anything I do. Like dry cleaning - haven't used them in years.
But, do need to use my clothes line more especially in the colder months. |
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bohemiangel
True Blue Farmgirl
2087 Posts
Bridget
Ligonier
pa
USA
2087 Posts |
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catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2008 : 10:00:18 AM
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I got a 71, which is surprising as we have lived in an apartment for the last 3 years. I can't wait to have a house where I can have a clothesline outside.
I don't dryclean either and I have to have some sturdy, work washable clothing. I do use hot water on my son's stuff from school, since they just had a bought with lice and some sort of funky virus. But that is just one load a week and I put in all my white with his stuff, so I kill two birds...er...bugs...with one stone.
Cheers,
Heather
FARMGIRL #90 |
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sonflowergurl
True Blue Farmgirl
349 Posts
Katee
Tampa 'Burbs
FL
USA
349 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2008 : 1:57:06 PM
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92 out of 100...I'm surprised, I thought for sure mine would be low or something! Not too bad!
Katee
A life without love is like a year without summer.
"Looking Toward the Son"---- http://sonflowergirl731.blogspot.com
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Annika
True Blue Farmgirl
5602 Posts
Annika
USA
5602 Posts |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2008 : 07:45:59 AM
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I got 91 out of the 100. I didn't really care for the wording on some of the questions, like the one about sorting. That one must have been written by my son, who thinks it's OK to wash all his whites and jeans together, then wonders why his socks never look clean....
Sharon
Farmgirl Sister #74
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2008 : 08:06:38 AM
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Sharon- that is too funny!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
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shepherdwagen
Farmgirl in Training
41 Posts
Susan
Winterset
Iowa
USA
41 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2008 : 11:02:11 PM
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I got a 77. I bought a used washer, as I could not afford to buy a new one. I don't air dry--yet! I'm on the lookout for a clothesline, or even a wooden clothes dryer.
The wording was a little too tongue in cheek--I would have preferred something a little more straightforward, or at least more choices.
"I've childproofed my house, but they keep getting in." |
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JenniferJuniper
True Blue Farmgirl
359 Posts
Jennifer
New Hampshire
USA
359 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 07:21:38 AM
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I got an 89, which surprised me. Like Brenda I cannot string a clothesline up but do use my 3 wooden drying racks whenever possible.
Since it is very expensive to heat the water, I'll run a cold load but pour in a teakettle of boiling water for cleaning rags and such.
Fun fact: Florida enacted a law outlawing the banning of clotheslines, citing it as an energy conservation effort. You can string your drawers up on a line around your multimillion dollar McMansion and the city/home owners associations can't do squat. We need more laws like that! |
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kissmekate
True Blue Farmgirl
890 Posts
Kate
Delano
Minnesota
890 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 11:34:44 AM
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That is a great law, I wish more cities/States would do that kind of stuff!!!!
Don't miss out on a blessing, just because it isn't packaged the way you expected. ~MaryJo Copeland |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 11:42:12 AM
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I scored 95 out of 100! Woo Hoo!!! Unfortunately, my clothesrack isn't big enough for all our clothes, so I can't utilize it all the time, and I use cold most of the time, but not for dog towels/bed etc. Cold just doesn't get their stank out ;)
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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marmieto12
True Blue Farmgirl
213 Posts
laura
utah
USA
213 Posts |
Posted - Apr 06 2008 : 5:07:42 PM
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Your score: 86 out of 100 points.
I like most of you will do better when I can hang outside more.
I manage to hang 2 out of 6 loads a day indoors. Yes I truly wash at least that much..10 kiddos, diapers and some cotton "pull ups" make the washer humming most of the day.
I too believe they should have extra points for the soaps we use!
Laura;Dreaming of big girl farm...
Farmgirl # 148
http://lilsfamilyfarm.blogspot.com
Chapter http://justsimplythegirls.blogspot.com |
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Brew Crew
True Blue Farmgirl
676 Posts
Molly
Arizona
676 Posts |
Posted - Apr 06 2008 : 10:13:06 PM
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87 out of 100, baby! I haven't gotten a score like that since grade school! Yipee!
"There is a Happy Dale far, far away. . ." -Arsenic and Old Lace |
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Farm Girl 2
True Blue Farmgirl
108 Posts
Becky
Willis
VA
USA
108 Posts |
Posted - Apr 07 2008 : 08:02:33 AM
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I have scored a 100- haha I have the new washer thank goodness and I do all the other things right but the only thing that I felt that I did not have a perfect answer for is about line or solar drying ---I very very rarly have to dry something in the dryer only due to bad weather and not enough inside places to hang all the laundry on a particular day.
I am a laundry junkie. I love to do laundry. I make my own laundry soap and I often use a wringer (Opps maybe not so energy efficient huh) Because my big bulldozer man gets sooooooooooo dirty and grimy. I usually have to put them in the wringer to beat his jeans for a long time with lye soap. I would be so happy taking my clothes in a pretty woven basket down to the creek and beating them with a rock and then come back to my garden and draping them over my lavender in the sun to air dry. Now that's just dreaming!!!
Oh happy laundry day Monday,
Becky
Loving Living Simply!
http://sunnymorningfarm.blogspot.com |
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Jana
True Blue Farmgirl
482 Posts
Jana
Eau Claire
Wisconsin
USA
482 Posts |
Posted - Apr 08 2008 : 5:07:37 PM
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LOL I'm not even going to take the quiz. I KNOW I'm not that green when it comes to laundry. I live with chronic pain and I don't care who thinks what about how I do my laundry. Pain free is for me.
Jana |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4313 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4313 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2008 : 10:43:09 AM
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I got a 98 !!! I got 8 out of 10 on how often cloths get washed. I said it depends on what it is. Once my barn clothes can almost stand alone, then they get washed! Ha
Michele |
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Cleaning Up: How Green Is Your Laundry? |
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How Green Is Your Laundry?
