Wash in cold unless the label says warmer: heating water is the big cost

Set the washer to cold for everyday loads. ENERGY STAR's clothes washer page says water heating consumes about 90% of the energy it takes to operate a clothes washer, that switching from hot to warm can cut energy use in half, and that the cold cycle reduces energy use even more. One condition changes the setting: the care label. Where a label names warm or hot, wash that item at the label's setting; oily stains are one exception to cold that the same ENERGY STAR page names. Turning the dial is free, and renters and owners can both do it.

Hot water is the cost, not the washer's motor

DOE's Energy Saver guide (2022) puts it the same way: warm or cold water is generally sufficient to clean your laundry, most of the energy used by clothes washers goes to heating water, using warm water instead of hot can cut a load's energy use in half, and using cold water will save even more. The hottest setting costs the most. ENERGY STAR calls the sanitary cycle, available on some models, a super-hot cycle that increases energy use significantly, and says to use it only when necessary.

Fill the drum. The same ENERGY STAR page says clothes washers use about the same amount of energy regardless of the size of the load, so run full loads whenever possible. When a small load cannot wait, DOE's 2022 guide says to use an appropriate water setting for it.

The washer's own electricity is small. EIA's RECS 2020 Table CE5.3a averages 69 kWh a year for clothes washers and 680 kWh for clothes dryers, per household using each, in the same survey that shows where home energy goes. EIA's RECS 2020 technical documentation says the washer estimate covers washer operation only and does not include any energy needed to heat water. That heated water is what the cold setting cuts. The water heater's own dial is a separate free change: set it to 120°F.

Example, with published figures. Price those 2020 averages at Ohio's average residential rate, 19.45 cents per kWh in July 2026, the latest month in EIA's Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (preliminary), with the kWh × rate method used to price any appliance. The washer's 69 kWh come to 69 × 19.45 cents = $13.42 a year. The dryer's 680 kWh come to 680 × 19.45 cents = $132.26 a year. Together that is 749 kWh and $145.68. Neither figure includes the energy to heat wash water, so the temperature you pick is a cost on top of both.

Read the care label before you choose warm or hot

Clothing care labels follow the FTC's Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 423, which covers textile wearing apparel and certain piece goods. A clothing label must state a water temperature, in terms such as cold, warm or hot, that may be used, unless regular use of hot water up to 145°F will not harm the product. A label that says only "Machine wash" means hot, warm or cold water can be used. The rule's glossary defines each term by initial water temperature: hot is 112 to 145°F, warm is 87 to 111°F, and cold is up to 86°F.

Sort the hamper by label. Items marked "Machine wash" or "Machine wash cold" go in the cold load. Where the label on towels, whites or anything else names warm or hot, wash that load at the label's setting and keep the rest cold. ENERGY STAR adds that unless you're dealing with oily stains, washing in cold water will generally do a good job of cleaning. DOE's 2022 guide says cold water detergents can be helpful to make sure items get clean, and that high-efficiency detergent, marked "he", should be used when the manufacturer requires it.

Spin harder, then dry on lower heat

The dryer is the bigger electric line: 680 kWh a year against 69 kWh for the washer in EIA's RECS 2020 averages. Two free settings shrink it. If your washer has spin options, ENERGY STAR says to choose a high spin speed or the extended spin option when appropriate, which reduces the moisture left in your clothes and decreases the time it takes to dry them. DOE's 2022 guide says to use lower heat settings even if the drying cycle is longer: you use less energy and are less likely to over-dry your clothes.

The same DOE guide adds three habits that cost nothing:

1. Dry towels and heavier cottons separately from lighter-weight clothes.
2. Try a cool-down cycle, so clothes finish drying with the heat left in the dryer.
3. Clean the lint screen after every load to improve air circulation and reduce the risk of fire.

A clothesline or drying rack skips the dryer altogether. ENERGY STAR says air-drying clothes instead of using a dryer saves energy and also helps them last longer. A new washer comes after these settings, not before: the same page says ENERGY STAR certified clothes washers use about 20% less energy and about 30% less water than regular washers.