There isn’t that much that we can do about towering electricity prices. If the base price of electricity goes up then regardless of who your provider is, your utility bill will be reflected by rising electricity prices. You can always switch provider to find the best of a bad bunch, but another option to bring down your monthly outgoings is to curtail your electricity consumption.

Domestic appliances such as cookers, fridges, freezers and microwaves are one of the prime areas that can be targeted in order to reduce your energy spend. This means regardless of how high electricity prices get, you’ll still be saving yourself money by reducing your consumption rate. Your washing machine is just one appliance that you can take into careful consideration to see if you can bring down some of your electricity usage.

One of the first things you can do is ensure that you are using a modern machine which is energy efficient. If your washing machine is ten years old or more, then ditch it. New machines are not only much better at conserving energy, they also wash much better as well and are less likely to damage your fabrics. For the sake of a couple of hundred pounds (or less), getting a new machine is a smart way to save on energy.

If you can’t afford a new washing machine or you already own a nearly new machine, there are a few things you can do to make your weekly washing load more energy efficient. Only washing full loads is an obvious tip, but there is a danger of overloading the machine in an effort to cram more washing into fewer loads. Check what the capacity of your drum is and stick to the manufacturer’s guidelines.

All that you achieve by overloading your washing machine is to make more work for yourself. Too much washing will mean clothes will clump into one mass inside the drum. Not only do clumped clothes not agitate properly in order to remove stains, the imbalance can cause your machine to break prematurely as it is thrown off-kilter. As a rule of thumb, leave 3-4 inches of space at the top of the drum when clothes are lightly patted down in the machine.

If at all possible, do not use the drying facility on your washing machine, as this only requires more energy. Hang clothes to dry naturally as this will protect the fabric and reduce your energy consumption. Adding too much detergent will also require extra rinsing from the machine which requires more water and more energy, so follow packet instructions for best results.

Finally, you can avoid high electricity prices with your washing machine by reducing the temperature of your washes. Whites don’t need higher temperatures to be washed as effectively as colours, so putting them through a 40 degree wash will reduce your consumption dramatically.