Organic Picks Blog » Green Journal: Less Dryer Lint, More Energy Savings

Green Journal: Less Dryer Lint, More Energy Savings
July 2, 2007

Posted by CindyC in : Green Journal , trackback

Like many moms, I spend quite a bit time in my laundry room battling the mud, food and other unidentifiable evidence of active children. I estimate that my family goes through about 600 loads of laundry each year - a lot more than the estimated average of 400 loads.
Thus, when I replaced my old washer and dryer several years ago, I was quite particular about brand, features and of course efficiency. I choose an Energy Star front loading washer as it uses almost 40% less water than the top loaders; the fact that it had sleeker design and cool colors didn’t hurt either. To match, I chose a dryer from the same model line.

Clothes dryer, as I found out, is generally the second largest (appliance) source of electricity use – right after the refrigerator. However, there isn’t much difference between model types and brands, which is why dryers aren’t listed in the Energy Star Database. I did choose one that had moisture sensor, which controls the drying cycle by sensing dryness vs. programmed time. The moisture sensor saves energy and protects clothes from over drying damage. Of course, common sense tells me that proper care of my appliances will maintain useful life and efficiency. However, I didn’t realize how much until I read that a dirty lint filter can cause a dryer to use up to 30% more energy than otherwise (as reported by California Energy Commission).

I am good about cleaning the filter after every use but my husband, who does most of the washer-to-dryer transfer, tends to forget. So to return the tire pressure for fuel efficiency education he gave me, my green action this week was to tape a “Clean Filter” sign on the dryer to remind him and help save some energy.

Amount of Resources Spared: This action takes less than 30 seconds to implement. Since it costs the average household $85 per year to run the dryer and we do more loads, I estimate that this action would spare us the 30% energy inefficiency and about $30 per year in cost. Not too bad for a simple thing to do.

By the way, check out what the National Lint Project has done with that pesky lint. Pretty cool trash to treasure concept.
Lint Guys