You’ve been using your washing machine all wrong – and it could be adding £93 onto your bill
HOUSEHOLDS could be forking out up to £93 more on their yearly energy bill due to common washing mistakes.
Dialling the temperature down by 10°C and using the economy wash could save you much-needed cash on your energy bills.
It comes as households will have to dig deep and find an extra £500 to pay their energy bills when the energy price guarantee rises in April.
Right now, the energy price guarantee means that a typical family pays no more than £2,500 a year on bills - but many still pay more.
This is because the cap only limits the amount that firms can charge customers per unit of gas and electricity.
And households are set to fork out hundreds more on their bills when the energy price guarantee is raised in April.
Read more in money
Energy bills are due to rise by £500 to £3,000 a year for a typical household on April 1.
But remember, if you use more energy than the average household in April - expect to pay more than £3,000 a year.
To soften the blow, here are five ways to save cash when using your washing machine.
If you stuck to all these money-saving tricks, you'd save a total of £93.25 a year - here's how.
Most read in Money
Switching to 30°C - £12 a year
Turning the temperature down on your washing machine could help cut your energy bills.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, you could shave £12 a year off your bills by switching from a 40°C wash to a 30°C one instead.
If you usually wash your clothes at an even higher temperature than this, then you'll save even more by turning the dial down.
Uswitch energy expert Will Owen told The Sun: "Use a cold water or 30°C cycle where possible.
"It's only for particularly dirty clothes, bad stains or underwear that you are likely to need warmer temperatures."
Using economy settings - £10 a year
Making the most of the settings that can wash your clothes the cheapest on your washing machine could be a money saver.
Most models now have an eco-mode on them, and this setting will use less water and energy to wash your clothes. They are usually set to 30°C too.
According to British Gas engineer Joanna Flowers, you could save £10 a year from dialling your machine to this setting.
Use a high-speed spin - save £40
Make sure to set your clothes to a high-speed spin when washing them.
This will mean clothes come out of the washing machine almost dry.
And this makes it less tempting to use the tumble dryer if your clothes aren't as wet.
Ms Flowers said drying clothes naturally instead of using tumble drying them could save £40 a year.
But make sure you're drying them naturally in the right way, she warns.
"In the winter, you should also avoid drying clothes on radiators as much as you can as it will make your boiler work harder to heat the room," she said.
Wash clothes at night - £13.50
If you are with an Economy 7 tariff, you'll be charged two rates - usually a higher day rate, and a cheaper night rate.
Making the most of these rates means you could save money on your bills, like savvy saver Scott Dixon does.
Washing his clothes on a night tariff - which for him starts at 11.50pm and ends at 8.50am - means he saves £13.50 a year.
But exactly how much you could save depends on who your supplier is and how much they charge - so it's best to check in with your provider to get more details.
Cut out a load a week - £17.75
By cutting out one load of washing per week, you could be saving yourself over a tenner.
It is estimated that a six-litre washing machine uses around 1kWh of energy for an hour-long cycle.
Currently, 1kWh of electricity costs 34.04p according to Ofgem.
At this rate, if you washed your clothes once a week for a year, it would cost you £17.75.
That's compared to the £35.49 that washing your clothes twice a week for a year would cost.
It's not just washing machines you might have been using wrong - here are four common radiator mistakes that are pushing your bills up.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Wearing layers could save you a whopping £400 a year, in more energy bill cut hacks.
Turning your thermostat down by just one degree could save you £55 a year too.