When we say you can save money with the Sustainable Laundry Bundle and our ecofriendly laundry tips, we aren't kidding around. Here are the number$ to prove it!
***Note May 2024: The Cora Ball team has made the decision to no longer offer detergent sheets. The cost per load for our recommended laundry detergent has changed since the publication of this article. Read more about the switch to Blueland Laundry Detergent Tablets HERE.
Your costs now
There are a lot of variables here, so you can play along with the Mr. Electricity laundry calculator and discover your own current cost of doing laundry and apply the savings for your household. For our example calculations, we used the high end of the range.
1. Water volume: There is a wide range for the cost of water depending on location, but the high end in the U.S. is $0.43/load.
2. Water heating: Heating your wash water can cost $0.68/load.
3. Detergent and fabric softener: A Tide pod costs $0.48 or more. Add 10 cents/load if you use fabric softener.
4. Tumble dryer: This is a range up to $0.72/hr depending on electricity/fuel costs. We'll use $0.72/load for our calculation.
5. Dryer sheets: A Bounce dryer sheet may only cost 4 cents/load, but you won't want to use them after this!
Combine these costs and a single load of washing and drying in your own home can run you $2.45. OMG we had no idea!
The average person does 50-100 loads of laundry each year, which means you could be spending $245/year/person in your household! The average U.S. family household doing 300 loads in a year, could spend over $735 annually!!!
Fear not! Let's save some money.
We'll be working off our list of sustainable laundry best practices, so be sure to read the in-depth post about how each step also protects your clothes and the environment.
1. Wash less and use less water per garment
This will be easy now that you know consolidating loads and washing less frequently is a direct money saver. By following a few recommendations and using only full loads, you can reduce the number of loads you wash by 20-25%. Boom, you are already saving $61/person or $183 in a family household every year!
If you have a top-loading machine, the truly best way to save on water and energy is to switch to a front-loader (when it's time to get a new washer). They use 1/3 of the water, and a family can save $111/year in water and water heating costs.
2. Use cold water settings
With the "cold" setting, energy/load cost drops to just 4 cents/load, a 64 cent reduction! This is a 94% difference and an annual cost savings of $192 for a family household! 😵
3. Dry detergent, not pods ***updated May 2024
Pods and detergent sheets can be convenient, but they are made with PVA, a synthetic polymer with unclear impacts on the environment. We used to carry MamaP detergent sheets, but have made the switch to Blueland Laundry Detergent Tablets. Learn more about our decision HERE.
4. Hang-dry
Hourly cost of an electric dryer is up to 72 cents/hr. Anytime you air hang-dry your clothes, you have a 100% savings and it helps your shirts, jeans, etc. last longer. Priceless!
5. Dryer Balls
You may think 4 cents per load is not much, but it adds up. Each year, a family may spend $20 on dryer sheets. Switch to a set of 3 all natural wool dryer balls for $15 and you'll be investing less than 1 cent/load for the next five years of laundry! An added bonus, dryer balls naturally soften your clothes and can reduce the time it takes to get dry by 25%!
6. Cora Ball
Cora Ball protects our waterways from microfiber pollution by protecting your clothes from shedding in the first place, helping them last longer and reducing the frequency of throwing away threadbare favorites. Over 5+ years of use, Cora Ball is an investment of just 2 cents per load. While it's hard to put a number on it, buying clothes less often is real value for the planet and your wallet!
Sustainable Savings Summary
| Basic Laundry | Sustainable Laundry | |||
| Individual | Family | Individual | Family | |
| Cost/load | $2.45 | $2.45 | $0.95 | $0.95 |
| Loads/year | 100 | 300 | 75 | 225 |
| Cost/year | $245.00 | $735.00 | $71.25 | $213.75 |
**The numbers used in this example calculation are maximum values for the U.S. Savings will vary depending on your personal starting point.
With maximum sustainable laundry savings of 61% per load, one person can save as much as $173 every year! For a family, that could be $521/year!!!
This has been a real eye-opener and we would love to know how much you are saving by incorporating some or all of these sustainable best practices into your laundry routine! Share on social media and tag us with @thecoraball.
Caring for Your Washer and Dryer
We recognize the importance of regular care and cleaning to make our washing machines and dryers last as long as possible, for both our wallets and the planet. Get tips from industry pros in this Porch Warranty article:
Tips from the Pros: Get the Most Out of Your Washer and Dryer