To ask how often you run these appliances after I’ve had a HUGE energy bill?

[Brepa]

How often do you run the dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer?

dishwasher here goes on every night without fail. The washing machine 6 out of 7 days. The tumble dryer 4 or 5 times a week. I didn’t think this was excessive? Is it?

Dishwasher about 5 times a week, ran over night
Washing machine about 10-12 times a week (we have toddler twins in reusable nappies) which is ran overnight and / or on an eco cycle
tumble dryer NA as we don’t have one

I live in a dry part of the UK, and that probably makes a difference. I have lived in areas on the west coast and it was much wetter there but had the benefit of the seaside

@Bignanna , no. Think about it, sheep don't wash.

No actually true - one of the perks of wool is that it stays fresher for longer. you can air them in between wears. But they dont need to be washed as often

But they do smell!

Dishwasher 7 times a week, maybe 8 in school holidays, washing machine the same, tumble drier daily if necessary. We pay £250 a month for gas and electricity and are £610 in credit at the moment. I refuse to be cold or inconvenienced, we work too hard.

Our electric bill is £1,400 per year

dishwasher- every other day on 65C wash
washing machine- 15x a week on average
and tumble dryer- 15x a week on average

Other appliances to consider are
fridge freezers
hoovers
kettles
light bulbs

Check what you are being charged per KWH as well as standing charge- you may be overpaying and could save a bundle by switching. Go to which.com or other comparison website.

The biggest way to save energy and money is to invest in newer, energy efficient appliances and lightbulbs.

Absolutely not, it’s naturally antibacterial. It’s one of the more well-known properties of wool and if you buy good quality stuff all the retailers I can think of state that on their websites.
Frequent washing especially in crap washing detergents like Woolite stripes wool of its natural oils so it affects how long a jumper will last.

100% wool garments like to be aired frequently and if they are not visibly dirty they don’t need to be washed. It’s different for stuff cut with polyester and polyamide unfortunately, because they both get smelly quickly.

@Bignanna , sheep smell of lamb/mutton. Wool doesn't.

Wool is naturally quite oily, in the same way as skin is. Washing strips the oil out.

Wool isn’t antibacterial. It is actually very germy and the bacteria are loathe to leave it.

• it absorbs odours so gets less smelly even when covered in bacteria
• bacteria sticks firmly to the fibres in a bio-film, so the testing method where wool is touched to agar means no bacteria rubs off, it stays on the wool. Creating a sort of false negative.
• Wool fibres neither kill bacteria nor inhibit bacteria multiplication/growth
• wool fibres tend to pick up bacteria from the skin and hang onto them, so the antibacterial property isn’t that the wool is bacteria free, but it readily picks up bacteria from the skin.

So washing the wool is still necessary.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35335238/

Seems fairly normal to me

@SpiritAdder , Give it a good boil wash after every wear and spray it with anti-bacterial spray. You don't want to be taking any risks.

? You know you can’t boil wool unless you want a woman size jumper to turn into a teddy sized jumper.

Surely people should know that scientifically wool isn’t really antibacterial? That it is just a marketing myth?

dishwasher- every other day on 65C wash
washing machine- 15x a week on average
and tumble dryer- 15x a week on average

@SpiritAdder I am fascinated as to how many people are in your household.

I can't begin to understand how you are creating that much washing, and yet only set the dishwasher off every other day.

Obviously these things are going to be different if you are a family of 8 or if you are a couple, but I've had 6 in the house before now and would wash or tumble dry about 1/3 of that. However, the dishwasher would be needed every day, some sometimes more often.

You mean I haven't put on loads of weight? My clothes really have shrunk!
Wow!

I work for an energy company.

It sounds like you have just moved into a new property. Did you record the meter read on the day you moved in? That's the first thing I'd be looking at.

Dishwasher and washing machine are usually used daily as there are still often 5 of us in our house.

Washing is dried outside where at all possible or hung on two large airers indoors if not. I do have a tumble dryer but only use it now and then if I really have no other options. I'll use it to finish off stuff that has been largely dried outside or on the airers but still has a bit of stubborn dampness in it and I need the space. That happens maybe once a month if that.

I wonder if your problem is overuse of the dryer?

There are 4 here.
Reason for fewer dishes is we hand wash the pots and pans, we usually eat lunch outside the home (pack lunch), and we tend to get one glass each for drinks and then rinse and reuse it all day in the house and have refillable water bottles outside the house that we handwash. I only run the dishwasher when it is 100% full but not overpacked.

Clothes we go through a lot due to sports kit, work wear vs home wear, uniforms vs home wear. We come home from work/school and change into house clothes. We don’t like to bring the grime of outside into the home. I also do gardening and so for example, I can quite often go through five sets of clothes in one day- gym, work, garden, home and pjs. On weekends, we have outdoor clothes and house clothes- so two outfits. Same with shoes- outdoor shoes and indoor shoes.

All towels are washed 2x a week and all bedding 1x a week. Tea towels and face clothes are washed every other day.

I am also careful not to overload my washer and dryer…that is a huge problem for some…and makes sure my appliances run at max energy efficiency and get things clean as can be.

Some delicate clothes are hung dry on a rail in the utility room.

Add: I can’t line dry outside due to family members having very bad pollen allergies. This is also why we change clothes when we come in from outdoors. It’s really helped control their asthma and rhinitis and eye watering.

Yes, you never were the size of a Sylvanian 😛
Wool only needs a gentle handwash in bit of cold water and very mild soap. Then roll up in a towel to squeeze out excess water (do not wring) and then dry flat in a sunbeam.

Dishwasher at least once a day
Washing machine about 3 times a week
Tumbledryer once a fortnight as I just use it for towels

All about twice a week

Washing machine - approx 2 x per week
Tumble Dryer - don’t own one
Dishwasher - 7 x per week

When prices were high, we stopped using the dishwasher cause it was a noticeable cost that could be saved. Gas for hot water to wash by hand was cheaper for us.

It all depends how many people in your household. Ours don't go on anything like that much and we have no tumble dryer, but there are only two of us.
The important issue is cost per unit. Maybe a switch would get you a better deal.

Dehumidifier works for us and is cheaper. Plus it doesn't always rain...

Everyday but I have solar panels with a few batteries so it never costs much