Best time to do the washing

pupsicola

Silly question time. I am not on economy 7 or the like.

Is there a cheaper time to run the washing machine if just on standard service with water/elec

Thanks for any advice

esmf73

Don't think so, but i'd be interested to know if there was.

greenbee

No there isn't, although the plan is that eventually smart metering will bring this in, and appliances can be set to run in line with price fluctuations, which will help even out demand and reduce the strain on the infrastructure.

stef240377

Im not on economy 7 but i still have 2 rates on my elec meter, as i dont have a timer on my washer it goes on through out the day rather than me stopping up at night to get it done.

allydowd

The Fire Service do not recommend running electrical appliances like this overnight or when you are out following a number of electrical fires.

rosekitten

I suppose if there was a way to make the cost of washing
cheaper,in the cold winter times I use the shorter lower
temprature cycles and use the highest spin speed on
the washer,to get out as much water as possible.Heavy
things like jeans I spin twice,its surprising how much
more water comes away.I once saw someone else
doing this in their machine it does seem to make a
difference.

I am trying to use the dryer much less so hang
things to dry on a clothes maiden overnight,they
are always dry in the morning or in the case of
jeans almost dry so I finish them off in the tumble
dryer for a lot less time than I used to.

when you go to bed the sitting room is often
the warmest room in the house so is ideal
for leaving things to dry

carolinosourus

I have nothing helpful to add but rosekitten, whenever I read one of your posts I read it in a haiku-type rhythm and it always brings a smile to my face It makes everything you type sound so poetic!

Norman_Bean

Our cheaper elec is from 9pm - midnight and 2am - 6am so I am doing one wash each day at 9pm.
I am trying to do short 30 cycle but don't always do it as doesn't seem to come out as clean
I have totally stopped using tumble and hang the washing on my sheila's maid first thing in the morning ... duvet covers I put over two clothes horses in the lounge. I'm really surprised at how well the washing is drying and am even considering getting rid of the tumble

OP maybe worth contacting supplier to double check if there is cheaper elec time?

Norman x

Becky_2

You can save money when washing by using quickwash if you have this on your machine (reduces the washing with approximately 45 minutes). I pre-soak items with stains on it before I put them in the machine, sometimes I soak the items just for 30 minutes or so and other times overnight. The best stain remover I have found is Biotex, which can be bought in the 99 p shop. Doing this means that I can wash everything on 40 degrees except bedlinen and towels.

knithryn

I love the 14 minute wash cycle on my washing machine. Now my shirts, worn for one or at most two days get a 'freshen up' wash at weekends, and now and then get a 'proper' hot wash. Is this gross? I shower every morning so I don't think so.
I never leave washing machine OR tumble drier on when I am out of the house.

greenbee

Norman_Bean wrote: »

Our cheaper elec is from 9pm - midnight and 2am - 6am so I am doing one wash each day at 9pm.
I am trying to do short 30 cycle but don't always do it as doesn't seem to come out as clean
I have totally stopped using tumble and hang the washing on my sheila's maid first thing in the morning ... duvet covers I put over two clothes horses in the lounge. I'm really surprised at how well the washing is drying and am even considering getting rid of the tumble

OP maybe worth contacting supplier to double check if there is cheaper elec time?

Norman x

You're in France - they need people to use the nuclear-generated electricity at night as they can't ramp up and down to cope with the change in demand. Make the most of it!

There's lots of stuff on the gas & electric boards on this, but basically most people pay a 2-tier rate (first lot of units at one price, and if you use more than that, the rest are cheaper).

Some people have 2 separate meters, one for peak rate (day time and most of the evening), one for cheap rate which is either E7 (7 hours) or E10 (10 hours) with a few variations.

The hours for these rates vary by region (you can look them up on your supplier's website. There will be a time clock that switches between the two. If you have a digital meter, the time will be set remotely by the supplier. If you have an older meter, it will be an analogue clock, so worth checking that the time is right.

If you have these two separate meters and are on an E7/E10 or equivalent tariff, it is worth doing the maths to see whether it is worth it - although your night rate is cheap, your day rate will be more expensive than a single rate tariff. It varies by supplier, but in general you need to use about 25% + of you electricity at night for it to be beneficial (these tariffs are best for all-electric households with storage heating & immersion water heaters, and are often not available to users with gas heating). People with E7 have traditionally set washing machines, dishwashers and even tumble driers to run overnight on time-switches as well as running the storage heater and immersion on a special circuit linked to the cheap-rate meter in order to ensure that they make the most of the tariff.

If you have one of these tariffs but don't use much off-peak electricity, you should consider asking your supplier to move you to a single-rate tariff (you don't usually have to change the meter, they just add the two readings together).