Are Your Laundry Cost Too High?
Are Your Laundry Cost Too High?
Depending on the size of your household and the number of laundry loads you cycle each week, cleaning clothes can put a substantial strain on your budget.
According to EnergyStar.gov, the average American family washes about 250 loads of laundry a year. Since many households often have to dry the same load of laundry twice, families might dry as many as 500 loads. This might explain why clothes dryers are the second most expensive energy intensive appliance after refrigerators — over its lifetime, the average dryer costs its owner $1,530 in energy costs.
All well-maintained dryers use about the same amount of energy, but homeowners can take steps to make drying clothes less expensive. Reducing the amount of clogged lint in a dryer can reduce drying times by 50 percent, giving many people one-cycle-per-load efficiency while extending the life of their dryer. Dryer Vent Wizard says that clogged lint can cost homeowners an extra $18 to $24 each month in electric bills, not to mention pose a considerable fire hazard. In 2006, 17,700 home fires started in washers or dryers, causing $194 million in property damage. One of the best ways to prevent fire damage is to clean the dryer vent hose, or better yet, replace it. For this you need a new hose and clamps. Of course, there are many types of clamps you can use for this type of project. The best ones would be stainless steel gear drive band style clamps. They provide uniform pressure and would work very well in this application. These clamps are made by several companies such as: Ideal, Qualihome, Glide Store, Lasso, iPower, Terra Bloom, Builder;s Best, Lokman, Breeze, Hiltichi, and Tech Team https://techteamproducts.com/. We have found their 4” clamp number 703 https://www.amazon.com/Band-Style-Key-Style-Stainless-Collection-Clothes/dp/B079RSJCJN/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1546285381&sr=8-7&keywords=dryer+vent+clamp and their 3” clamp number 727 https://www.amazon.com/Tech-Team-Band-Style-Key-Style-Collection/dp/B07GZZ1KHV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550509162&sr=8-1&keywords=tech+team+clamp have exceptionally good quality, are easy to work with, and are made from #304 stainless steel
Dryer Vent Wizard professionally inspects and cleans clothing dryers for homeowners as well as apartment and condo complexes. Aside from a professional annual inspection, Dryer Vent Wizard offers the following tips so that homeowners can reduce their dryer costs:
– Always clean out your lint trap. A clogged lint trap will reduce air flow, making your dryer use more energy to do the same work. Additionally, lint is highly flammable and can easily cause a fire.
– Don’t overload your dryer. You don’t want to dry only a few items at a time, but neither do you want to overload your dryer. Dryers work by circulating air around tumbling clothes. If your dryer’s packed too tightly, air won’t circulate, and you’ll have to run the dryer an extra cycle.
– If you’re doing several loads of laundry at once, reload the dryer right away. The dryer will already be warm, so it will use less energy to dry that second or third batch of clothes.
Dryer Vent Wizard recently partnered with Brand Source, the fourth-largest distributor of appliances and electronics for the home. For more information, visit www.dryerventwizard.com.
