Laundry is the chore nobody thinks about. You toss in the clothes, pour in some soap, push a button and walk away.
That autopilot is exactly the problem. A handful of habits most of us picked up from our parents are padding the power bill, chewing through detergent and wearing out clothes faster than they should.
And one of them, involving a rubber hose you probably haven’t looked at since the day the washer was delivered, can put an inch of water across your floors while you’re at work.
None of the fixes are hard, and most cost nothing. Here are the seven I’d fix first.
1. Trusting the rubber hoses that came with your washer
Start with the expensive one. Behind your washer are two supply hoses, one hot and one cold. Leave the valves open, and those hoses are holding back water pressure even when the machine is off. State Farm notes a washer hose holds about 70 pounds of pressure.
When one bursts, it doesn’t drip. State Farm says a failed washer hose can dump about 650 gallons an hour, on average. That’s more than 10 gallons a minute pouring into your laundry room, then your hallway, then whatever’s below it.
In 2020, the insurer paid nearly $30 million on homeowners claims for damage from failed washing machine hoses, according to a State Farm release. The average claim was $10,200 — and that’s 2020 money.
The fix costs a fraction of a single deductible:
- Swap rubber hoses for steel-braided ones, as State Farm suggests.
- Replace them on a schedule. State Farm’s schedule is three to five years. The Insurance Information Institute says five to seven years, and it says to check them every year and replace any that crack or leak.
- Turn off the valves behind the washer when you’ll be gone for a few days. The III also says not to leave home while the washer is running.
Will your insurance pay if a hose does burst? Probably. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says homeowners policies cover water damage when plumbing lets go in a “sudden and accidental” way.
But it also warns that if your insurer decides you neglected your plumbing — for example, by not taking steps to keep pipes from freezing — the damage may not be covered.
If you’ve never read what your policy says about water, now’s a good time. You can also compare homeowners insurance to see whether you’re paying too much.
And if you’re worried about pipes freezing during the winter, here are seven cheap fall chores that stop a burst pipe.
2. Washing everything in hot water
Here’s the number that should change how you set the dial: Energy Star says heating the water eats up roughly 90% of the energy a clothes washer uses. The motor and the spinning drum account for the rest.
So when you choose hot, you’re not paying to wash clothes. You’re paying to heat water that goes straight down the drain.
Energy Star says a warm setting uses about half the energy of hot, and cold uses even less. Save hot for the truly grimy stuff — greasy work clothes, a sick kid’s sheets — and wash everything else cold.
3. Pouring detergent by eye
Detergent makers would love for you to fill the cap to the top. Your washer would not.
Whirlpool says using more detergent than recommended, or using non-HE detergent in a high-efficiency machine, creates too many suds. The washer then slows its spin, and your clothes come out soaking wet.
That matters because Energy Star says a faster spin is what cuts drying time. A sloppy wet load means your dryer runs longer on the same clothes. So you’re overpaying twice: once for soap you didn’t need, and again for the electricity or gas to dry a load out.
Maytag adds that too much detergent can leave white clumps on clothes, and that can mean rewashing the load. Now you’re paying three times.
The fix: measure. HE detergents come in concentrations such as 2x, 4x and 8x, so the right dose depends on the bottle, the load size and how dirty things are. With soft water, you may need even less.
You’ll find more ways people wreck big machines in “8 Ways You’re Wrecking Your Most Expensive Home Appliances.”
4. Running half-empty loads
If you run the washer with three shirts and a pair of jeans, you’re paying close to full price for that cycle.
Energy Star says a washer burns roughly the same energy whether the drum is full or nearly empty, and it recommends full loads whenever you can manage it. In energy terms, two half loads cost you about what two full loads do.
The dryer has the same problem in reverse. Energy Star says a small load can actually need more drying time, because it misses the tumbling a full drum provides.
Don’t swing to the other extreme and cram the drum, though. Clothes need room to move. Full means full, not packed.
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5. Drying on a timer
Setting the dryer for 60 minutes and walking away is a guess. And when you guess long, you pay for heat that’s doing nothing but baking dry clothes.
Many dryers have a sensor setting, often labeled auto dry. Energy Star says efficient dryers use this kind of automatic shutoff to detect when clothes are dry, and that it also spares clothes the wear of overdrying.
Think about that second part. Clothes that wear out faster are clothes you replace sooner — towels, sheets, your favorite shirt.
If your dryer has a sensor setting, use it. If it doesn’t, start with less time and add more if needed. When it’s finally time to replace the dryer, Energy Star says a certified full-size electric model saves about $210 in energy over its life.
6. Skipping the lint screen
This is the cheapest fix on the list, and it’s two seconds of work.
Energy Star says to empty the lint screen after each load so air moves freely and the dryer runs more efficiently. A clogged screen means hot, damp air can’t get out, so the machine runs longer to do the same job.
The bigger issue is fire. The U.S. Fire Administration says failure to clean was the leading factor in home clothes dryer fires from 2018 through 2020, at 31%.
And these fires aren’t rare. From 2010 through 2014, U.S. fire departments were called to roughly 15,970 home fires a year involving dryers or washers, according to a National Fire Protection Association fact sheet. Those fires caused $238 million a year in direct property damage.
The screen is only half the job. The duct behind the dryer and the flap outside need cleaning, too. Here’s how to clean a dryer vent and cut your electric bill yourself.
7. Slamming the front-loader door shut
If you own a front-loading washer and it smells like a gym bag, here’s why.
Energy Star explains that the airtight seal keeping water in during a cycle also traps moisture after it ends, and that can lead to mold. Its advice is to leave the door cracked for one to two hours after each load so the inside can dry out.
Whirlpool says the same and adds two more habits. Pull wet clothes out as soon as the cycle ends, because a damp load left sitting can mildew. And run the machine’s cleaning cycle once a month.
Why is this a money issue? Because a musty washer means rewashing loads, buying odor-fighting products and, eventually, wondering whether you need a new machine. A propped-open door costs nothing.
Bottom line
Most of these mistakes cost you a few dollars at a time — extra detergent here, a longer dryer cycle there, towels that wear out sooner than they should. Fix them and the savings add up without you noticing.
But do the first one this weekend. Pull the washer out, look at those hoses and, if they’re rubber, replace them. It’s a cheap part, and it’s standing between you and a mess that cost State Farm an average of $10,200 a claim in 2020.
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