FAMILIES might not know that these common washing machine mistakes could see you forking out up to £87 more on your energy bill.
Dialling the temperature down by 10 degrees and using the economy wash could save you much needed cash on your energy bills as they continue to soar.
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It comes as households will have to dig deep and find an extra £693 to pay their energy bills after the new price cap was confirmed last week.
The cap, which sets the maximum amount providers can charge customers, will come into force from April, rising from £1,277 to £1,971.
Costs are only expected to rise further later this year in October, when the next price cap announcement is.
Ofgem can only change the cap twice a year.
But a rules shake-up could see it get new powers to change prices MULTIPLE times a year – which could see prices driven up even further.
To soften the blow, here are five ways to save cash when using your washing machine.
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If you stuck to all these money saving tricks, you’d save a total of £86.50 a year – here’s how.
Switching to 30 degrees – £12 a year
Turning the temperature down on your washing machine could help cut your energy bills.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, you could shave £12 a year off your bills from switching from a 40 degree wash to a 30 degree one instead.
If you usually wash your clothes on an even higher temperature than this, then you’ll save even more by turning the dial down.
Uswitch energy expert Will Owen said: “Use a cold water or 30°C cycle where possible.
“It’s only for particularly dirty clothes, bad stains or underwear that you are likely to need warmer temperatures.”
Using economy settings – £10 a year
Making the most of the settings that can wash your clothes the cheapest on your washing machine could be a money saver.
Most models now have an eco-mode on them, and this setting will use less water and energy to wash your clothes. They are usually set to 30 degrees too.
According to British Gas engineer Joanna Flowers, you could save £10 a year from dialling your machine to this setting.
Set to high speed spin – save £40
Make sure to set your clothes to a high speed spin when washing them.
This will mean clothes come out of the washing machine almost dry.
That means it’s less tempting to use the tumble dryer if your clothes aren’t as wet.
Ms Flowers said drying clothes naturally instead of using tumble drying them could save £40 a year.
But make sure you’re drying them naturally in the right way, she warns.
“In the winter, you should also avoid drying clothes on radiators as much as you can as it will make your boiler work harder to heat the room,” she said.
Washing clothes at night – £13.50
If you are with an Economy 7 tariff, you’ll be charged two rates – usually a higher day rate, and a cheaper night rate.
Making the most of these rates means you could save money on your bills, like savvy saver Scott Dixon does.
Washing his clothes on a night tariff – which for him starts at 11.50pm and ends at 8.50am – means he saves £13.50 a year.
But exactly how much you could save depends on who your supplier is, how much they charge – so it’s best to check in with your provider to get more details.
Cut out a load a week – £11
By cutting out one load of washing per week, you could be saving yourself over a tenner.
It is estimated that a 6 litre washing machine uses around 1kWh of energy for an hour long cycle.
Currently, 1kWh of electricity costs 21p according to Ofgem.
At this rate, if you washed your clothes once a week for a year, it would cost you £10.92.
That’s compared to the £21.84 that washing your clothes twice a week for a year would cost.
It’s not just washing machines you might have been using wrong – here’s four common radiator mistakes that are pushing your bills up.
Wearing layers could save you a whopping £400 a year, in more energy bill cut hacks.
Turning your thermostat down by just one degree could save you £55 a year too.
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