Rotating News Article

For: Week of May 19, 2003

By: Linda K. Bowman, Ext. Agt. IV - Family & Consumer Sciences

Santa Rosa County Extension Service

Telephone: 850/623-3868 or 939-1259, ext. 1360

Keeping the Lid on Laundry and Dirty Dishes

As we enter spring and summer seasons, many areas in the United States are still experiencing a drought. Regardless of local conditions, water conservation is a good everyday policy. That way, when water restrictions are in place, conservation practices will be automatic.

When it comes to laundry and dishwashing, water conservation and energy savings can go hand-in-hand. This brings environmental and economic benefits, no matter what the weather conditions.

For energy-efficient laundering and dishwashing, do it right the first time. Re-washing wastes water and energy. For laundering, pretreat or presoak stains and heavy soils. This will give the best stain removal without using extra hot water or re-washing. Almost all the energy used by washing machines is for heating the water. If possible, wash most loads in warm water and rinse all loads in cold water. Match the water level to the load size. Wash a full load, but don’t overload the washer. This can result in dingy clothes that need to be re-washed. If a new washing machine is on the horizon, check out the high efficiency (HE) washers, which use one-third to two-thirds less water and one-third to one-half less energy than traditional washers.

Some simple practices can make clothes drying more efficient. Separate lightweight and heavyweight items so drying is more uniform. Reload the dryer while it’s still warm from a previous load to take advantage of residual heat. Don’t overload, don’t overdry and don’t let dry garments sit in the dryer. This causes wrinkling, which means ironing (a.k.a. using more energy!).

When using the dishwasher, scrape off excess food particles and let the dishwasher do the rest. Pre-rinsing wastes water and is usually not necessary. Wait until the dishwasher is full before running it. Unlike a washing machine, the water volume on a dishwasher cannot be adjusted to match the size of the load. However, the “light soil” cycle, which uses less water, should be used when dishes are lightly soiled. Select the “air dry” cycle if the dishwasher has one. To keep the dishwasher running efficiently, clean the filter as recommended by the use and care guide.

For further information contact: Linda Bowman, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent, The University of Florida--Santa Rosa County Cooperative Extension Service--IFAS, at (850)623-3868 or (850)939-1259, Ext. 1360 for south county residents, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Hearing-impaired individuals may call Santa Rosa County Emergency Management Service at 983-5373 (TDD).

Extension Service programs are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap or national origin. The use of trade names in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information. It is not a guarantee, warranty, or endorsement of the product name(s) and does not signify that they are approved to the exclusion of others.