Clothes Dryer

Clean the lint filter in the dryer after every load to improve air circulation.

Use the cool-down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the residual heat in the dryer.

When using a clothes dryer, separate your clothes and dry similar types of clothes together. Lightweight synthetics, for example, dry much more quickly than bath towels and natural fiber clothes.

Dry two or more loads of clothes in a row, taking advantage of the dryer’s retained heat.

Clean the lint filter in the clothes dryer after every load to improve air circulation. Remember to regularly clean the lint from vent hoods, too.

Check the outside clothes dryer exhaust vent periodically. If it doesn’t close tightly, replace it with one that does to keep the outside air from leaking in. This will reduce heating and cooling bills.

When shopping for a clothes dryer, look for a model with a moisture sensor feature that automatically shuts off the machine when your clothes are dry. Not only will this save energy, it will reduce the wear and tear on clothes from over-drying.

Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely. Turn these fans off as soon as they are no longer needed. In about 1 hour, these fans can pull out a house-full of warmed or cooled air.

When you take a vacation, don’t forget to give your appliances a rest too. Turn off and unplug everything you can, set your water heater to the lowest setting and shut off the water supply to the dishwasher and washing machine.

Dry one load of clothes immediately after another. This will minimize heat loss, reducing warm-up and drying times.