Wash clothes when they need washing
Why this can help
Rewearing suitable clean garments can reduce laundry demand and the water, energy and detergent used by genuinely avoided cycles.
One possible next step
Before adding a suitable outer garment to the basket, check whether it actually needs washing.
What changes the outcome
This does not apply to all clothes: underwear, contaminated garments and health needs require appropriate washing. Rewearing one item does not automatically eliminate a whole machine cycle.
Your illustrative scenario
Over one year · with the assumptions below
You
26 kilowatt-hours of electricity less
You + 10 friends
286 kilowatt-hours of electricity less
1,000 participants
26,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity less
These are scenarios, not measured personal or collective savings. One separate household per participant. People sharing a home count it once, not once each.
Your inputs
- Laundry electricity per week for the same wardrobe Before
- 3 kWh
- Laundry electricity per week for the same wardrobe After
- 2.5 kWh
- Comparable weeks per year
- 52
Calculation of the difference: (3 − 2.5) × 52 = 26 kilowatt-hours of electricity
Calculation boundaries
Compare the same appliance service and a complete cycle, including any extra cooling, reheating, spinning or finishing. Only electricity is counted, not manufacture or carbon emissions. This does not apply to all clothes: underwear, contaminated garments and health needs require appropriate washing. Rewearing one item does not automatically eliminate a whole machine cycle.
The initial values are editable arithmetic examples, not measurements or typical savings from the cited studies. Replace them with comparable readings for your situation. The sources support the mechanism and its conditions; they do not predict these numbers.
Sources and calculation references
- Sydney Water — Water saving tipsSydney Water
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