Wash and Save on Laundry -- Savings Experiment

Many of us have been taught to wash colored clothing in cold water and white laundry in hot water, but that old rule of thumb doesn't necessarily apply when you're trying to save money.

Ninety percent of energy used by washing machines goes into heating water, which means washing clothes on the hot or warm cycle is actually more costly than washing them on cold. When you break it down, doing laundry with a hot wash and warm rinse costs 60 cents per load, while a cold wash and cold rinse costs just 4 cents per load.

If your family does one load of laundry each week on the hot cycle, it will cost $35.36 for the year. Meanwhile, washing one load of clothes per week in cold water will cost just $2.08 for the year. That's 94 percent less expensive!

So, when it comes time to do laundry, only use hot water for white sheets and towels. Also, pre-treat stains when you can. This breaks down oils so they can be removed more easily. Follow these easy tips and you'll never wash savings away again.