Danny Seo’s blog entry today was devoted to the topic of laundry and had some truly stunning statistics about how much time and money is devoted to laundry (and a some good tips too).

The Environmental Protection Agency says the average family washes nearly 400 loads of laundry a year — more than load a day — and Americans spend more than $3 billion on detergent.

Who knew?  Well, you did.  Because you likely do some, if not all, of that laundry.  So why does going green with laundry matter?  Four possible reasons:  you can save energy and water, reduce stuff, and improve health.  And by greening your laundry, you can make green strides in all these areas.

1.  Switch to an eco-friendly detergent:  improve your health and your planet’s health

A typical laundry detergent contains a number of chemicals, some of which have negative environmental and health effects.  The most direct negative impact is due to chemicals in the waste water harming plants and fish, although some chemicals, particularly phthalates, can aggravate or trigger chemical sensitivities, are being found in breast milk, and research is showing some impact of exposure to phthalates on infant development.

2.  Turn to cold water and line dry (or at least clean your filter and throw in a towel!):  save energy

The majority of energy used in laundry is heating the water.  By switching to cold water, you will reduce nearly 90% of the energy used versus washing in hot.  According to the Green Book, if every house switched even to warm-cold, the US would reduce oil usage by 100,000 barrels A DAY.  The other energy hog is your dryer.  Line drying is obviously super green, but not always practical, particularly in the cold weather parts of the country.  You can save drying time, and thus energy by making sure your filter is clean and throwing in a dry towel to speed drying times.

3.  Switch to a front-loading washer–and/or wash with the washer full:  save water

An Energy Star model uses 50% less water than a standard model, and there are “Tier 3″ models that cut down an additional 40% of water usage.  You want to look for a “Water Factor” score that is under 4.5 for the most water efficient models.  And if you haven’t switched over yet, the new Cash for Appliances rebate program is either already in effect, or will be in effect, in your state this year.  But if switching just isn’t in the cards, the most water efficient thing to do is make sure the washer is full before you run it and reduce overall quantity of loads.

4.  Buy concentrated green detergent in smaller packaging:  reduce stuff

Walmart actually drove the downsizing of laundry packaging several years ago by insisting that every manufacturer double concentration.  We are now entering the era of tinier and tinier bottles–just make sure you don’t over use the detergent or it defeats the purpose.  Yes, it requires a 15 minute “laundry primer” for anyone else who might help you–kids, cleaning person, babysitter, and the spouse.  But it will cut down on packaging significantly.  And of course, recycle the bottle if you can.

Most importantly, is green laundry clean laundry?  For us, yes.  Granted, we are not working construction, but we do have lots of grass-stains and as my family and co-workers can attest,  I spill wine, coffee, balsamic vinaigrette, and Indian food on myself a decent amount.  We are fans of both Costco’s Environmentally Friendly Detergent and Seventh Generation Free & Clear.  Here also is a fun road “test” of six different detergents from Grist.org.

Water Use It Wisely is a friendly, easy to use site with 100+ ideas to save water that range from big ideas like dual-flush toilets and rainwater harvesting systems to littler ideas like bathing your young children together or taking the ice from a drink you’ve finished and putting it on a plant.  They have a water saving “tip” widget you can add to your site or blog and a kids section, with games and downloads that they can have fun with and learn to reduce water around the house.

A zero energy home uses state-of-the-art, energy-efficient building techniques and renewable energy systems to produce its own energy. A zero energy home produces enough energy to offset the amount purchased from a local electric utility. This offsetting results in a net-zero energy consumption status from the local electric utility and a net-zero annual energy bill.

To learn more (and to see some examples of zero energy homes), go to:
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/designing_remodeling/index.cfm/mytopic=10360
http://www.toolbase.org/Home-Building-Topics/zero-energy-homes/zero-energy-home-project
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/En/research/buildings/zero_energy/index.htm

Xeriscaping is strategic and quality landscaping that conserves water and protects the environment. Xeriscape strategies vary, but all try to take into account the regional and microclimatic conditions of the site, existing vegetation and topographical conditions, the zoning of plant materials according to their water needs and the intended use and desires of the owner for the plants.

When xeriscaping, it is important to consider soil improvement, appropriate plant selection, practical use of space, efficient irrigation, effective use of mulches and the appropriate maintenance needed.

After implemented and maintained with an effective routine, xeriscaping will decrease the life cycle maintenance cost of landscaping a property.

To learn more, go to:
http://xeriscape.sustainablesources.com/#DEFINITION
http://www.eartheasy.com/grow_xeriscape.htm

ENERGY STAR ™  is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy. ENERGY STAR provides energy efficient products and practices to help consumers make informed energy choices, save money, and protect the environment.

ENERGY STAR also provides strict energy efficiency guidelines and standards for products set by the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy (these products can be identified with the ENERGY STAR emblem:

ENERGY STAR emblem

To learn more, go to:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=about.ab_index

Grey water systems are systems that process grey water which is wash water or all wastewater except for toilet wastewater and food wastes from garbage disposal grinders. The water is not safe to drink but can be used for irrigation after water treatment and filtration through the system.

There are many different filtration and treatment technologies available depending on what the water will be used for.

To learn more, go to:
http://www.greywater.com/index.htm