If you're at home during off-peak hours, this is the best time to do your laundry or run the dishwasher. While it's cheaper to do laundry late at night, experts advise never to put a load in while you sleep to avoid a fire risk.
However, depending on your energy provider's rates, you can often save on your energy bill by washing your clothes at different times of the day. Try washing before 4 p.m. or after 7 p.m. – Many energy companies charge extra for electricity during their “peak hours,” which see increased energy usage.
Peak hours may vary depending on your location, but in general, it's best to avoid washing clothes between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. If you can, you'll often save money by doing your laundry before sunrise or late at night. However, peak electricity usage hours are also influenced by the day of the week and the seasons.
During high-use energy periods in the winter, meaning in the early morning hours when people click their heaters on to warm their houses, electricity costs more. So, you save a bundle by washing and drying clothes on winter evenings, when electricity usage is at a low level and rates are much lower.
According to Deyan, energy prices are at their lowest between 10pm and 5am, so putting on a wash between these times will help with reducing your energy costs. However, always follow fire safety guidance and never put a washing in and head to bed for the night.
The answer to when to do laundry to save money
Take a look at your energy account and check your tariff rate. Most people will see that they have a lower tariff overnight, usually between 11 pm and 7 am. This is the best time to do your washing as you'll save money.
People have been running their washing machine at night rather than during to day as the theory goes that your electricity is cheaper at night. However, for the vast majority of people, this just isn't the case.
Run your machines later in the day
The most expensive time for you to wash or dry your clothes is between 4pm and 7pm, so try to avoid using your machines between these hours. Energy prices are at their lowest between 10pm and 5am – perfect for night owls and early risers.
Laundromats can save you a lot of money if you have many clothes that need washing. For example, one load at the laundromat may cost $0.25-$0.50 each, which is cheaper than buying your own washer and dryer. You can also save on energy costs by using the machines at laundromats.
After collecting over 60,000 data points over several months, he discovered that Fridays and Sundays are the best days for students to do their laundry. In fact, students are most likely to find open machines on Friday mornings roughly between 10 and 11 a.m. And the worst days to do laundry?
You want to know when electricity is cheapest. The cheapest time of day to use electricity is late nights and early mornings. These are the times of day when most people are sleeping, therefore not washing clothes or dishes. They are not watching TV and don't have many lights on throughout the house.
“The most expensive time to run your washing machine is between 4pm and 7pm," Vivien said. "Wash your clothes for less by maximising the start delay function to programme the machine to run outside of peak energy times.”
It's cheaper at night, when demand for power is at its lowest. This quieter period is called the off-peak hours, which usually falls between 10pm and 8am. Conversely, peak hours are during the daytime, when more people are using electricity and demand is higher. Not all energy suppliers follow time-of-use tariffs.
Using warm water instead of hot can cut a load's energy use in half, and using cold water will save even more. Cold water detergents can be helpful to ensure items get clean, and high-efficiency detergents (indicated by the "he" symbol) should be used when required by the manufacturer. Wash full loads.
They help prevent laundry from clumping together in the dryer by tumbling between layers and separating fabric. This action allows warm air to circulate better which can even help reduce drying time.
If you have to do laundry for just yourself, you can probably get away with two or three loads a week, making the average cost of laundry per month for one person roughly $30 to $60 if they're using a service. For a family of four, that number could reach $200 a month.
Combining all of these factors, the average cost of a load of laundry is $1.27. At this cost, if you do one load per week, doing laundry costs $66.04 per year. If you do four loads per week, doing laundry costs $264.16 per year. If you average eight loads per week, doing laundry costs $528.32 per year.
Washing machine load size chart
Medium/regular load: This works out to a load of approximately 6 pounds. Large load: A large load in a HE machine is approximately 11 pounds. Extra-large load: If you have a HE machine, then an extra-large load at full capacity is around 21 pounds.
The firm said: 'If you have a two-rate meter, use devices such as your washing machine and tumble dryer between midnight and 7am when rates are cheaper. ' However, it's not advised to leave a washer going overnight while you're asleep – as it's a potential fire risk.
While 29% say it is ok to run a washing machine that can be heard from other homes whatever the hour, 19% say 9pm is the latest, and 15% would not accept washing machines running after 10pm if they can be heard from neighbouring properties.
It won't hurt to leave your clothes in the washer for up to 12 hours. However, according to Mold Busters, bacteria, mildew, and visible mold can grow on clothes in as little as 24 to 48 hours.
So how often you should wash your pyjamas? Harpa recommends washing pyjamas after three to four nights of wearing them - but if you bathe or shower before bedtime, you can extend this period of wearing without washing to 5-7 nights, maximum.
So for people who have a very active lifestyle or sweat at work, he recommends showering at night. Those who tend to sweat at night should shower in the morning, he says. “The point is to remove sweat, bacteria, and pollutants from the skin,” he says.
The best times for putting on your washing machine are the off-peak hours from 12 midnight to 8 am from Monday to Friday and throughout the day on weekends and holidays. However, depending on your tariff type, it may be much cheaper to put on your washing machine at other times.