The Cost of Doing Laundry

Have you ever actually added up the cost of washing your clothes? I know, it’s really one of those things that just blends in with our groceries and other bills. Just another item on the shopping list – milk, bread, eggs, detergent, fabric softener, bleach, dryer sheets….

These things add up! How much, you ask? Let’s break it down and take a look at the average cost of doing laundry for one year.

As you can imagine, every family is different. So for this exercise, I’m looking at what researchers have said is an *average* family’s laundry habits. This is about 8 loads of laundry per week.

COST OF LAUNDRY DETERGENT

• 8 loads of laundry per week x 52 weeks = 416 loads per year
• Tide Total Care Laundry Detergent – 50 oz. (does 32 loads per container) 416 ÷ 32 = 13 containers
• Tide Total Care costs $10.89 per container 13 x $ 10.89 = $ 141.57
• Total dollars spent in laundry detergent per year – $ 141.57

COST OF LAUNDRY BLEACH

• Of the 8 loads of laundry per week – 3 will use bleach 3 x 52 = 156 loads per year
• 8 oz. (1 cup) of bleach per load 156 loads x 8 oz. = 1,248 oz.
• Clorox Bleach comes in 96 oz. container 1,248 oz. ÷ 96 = 13 containers
• Clorox Bleach costs $ 2.99 per container 13 x $ 2.99 = $ 38.87
• Total dollars spent on laundry bleach per year – $ 38.87

COST OF FABRIC SOFTENER

• 8 loads of laundry per week 8 x 52 = 416 loads per year
• Downy Fabric Softener-34 oz. does 40 loads per container 416 ÷ 40 = 11 containers
• Downy Fabric Softener costs $ 5.99 per container 11 x $ 5.99 = $ 65.89
• Total dollars spent on laundry fabric softener per year – $ 65.89

But wait, what about the cost of heating the washing machine water, since most detergents require hot water to clean the clothes? Let’s look at that cost and add it in!

COST TO HEAT WATER (ELECTRIC HEATING WITH STANDARD TOP LOAD WASHING MACHINE)

• Average top-loading washing machine uses 40 gals of water per load 8 loads x 40 gals = 320 gals
• It takes 0.2 kWh to heat 1 gal. of water from 57 to 110 Degrees 320 gals x 0.2 kWh = 64 kWh
• The average cost of 1 kWh is .126 cents 64 kWh x .126 cents = $ 8.06
• There are 52 weeks per year $8.06 x 52 = $419.33
• Total dollars spent to heat water per year – $419.33

So, using this information, how much does laundry cost if we assume that you are doing about 8 loads of laundry per week?
$665.66!

Not doing 8 loads per week? We’ve broken the numbers down for you here…

COST OF LAUNDRY PER YEAR

• 4 Loads per Week – $ 332.83
• 8 Loads per Week – $ 665.66
• 12 Loads per Week – $ 998.49

I think we can all agree that this is A LOT of money. And there are many other ways that we could be spending it if there were a less expensive alternative to the traditional laundry routine. And here’s the thing. pureWash Pro offers that alternative by cleaning your laundry using cold water and little or even NO laundry detergent, fabric softener, or bleach. Just purchasing pureWash Pro once and installing it means you begin saving money right away.

Plus, it actually cleans your clothes BETTER than with detergent and hot water. How? By cleaning with oxygenated water, also called ozone, which is more powerful than bleach or chlorine at cleaning and disinfecting.

These days we are all looking for ways to save money around the house. The good news is there’s a great way to find extra money in the laundry, and no, I don’t mean the loose change that shows up in the lint trap. Real money savings to help your family live a happier, healthier life!

RESOURCES

Statistics from the Department of Energy & Multi-housing Laundry Association