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?

Of course that's excessive. A ludicrous amount of times to have all those appliances on.

I do 4-5 fairly small loads of washing a week. Mostly eco wash.
No dishwasher.
No tumble dryer.

Result - £11-13 a week electric bill. (£52 a month.) Before the energy prices rises (pre 2022) our electric bill was about a third less than it is now. So about £34 a month.

We have a modest sized 1930s 3 bed cottage. 2 adults. In quite a lot (I work from home.) Everything is electric except the heating and the cooker/oven.

The amount doesn't go up or down much during the seasons, because whilst we have the lights on earlier/longer in the winter, we don't have the fans on! So it kinda balances out throughout the year.

Washing machine twice a week. No dishwasher. So yes I think it's excessive.

Electricity bill is £120 per month in a 4 bed detached. Ds does have an xbox though.

To be honest we don't have either a tumble dryer or a dishwasher - never had them and don't miss them. As for the washing machine, we do anything between 10 and 20 loads a week but only ever use the quick cycle (on 20, 30 or 40 degrees depending on what's being washed and how dirty it is).

We are similar.Dishwasher everyday at least. Washing machine prob 4/5 loads a week. Only tumble dry.
My last bill for July was£ 132 for electricity, using 391 kW

Dishwasher - 2x a week
Washing machine - 3x a week
Tumble dryer - don't own one

2 adults & 2 children, if relevant

@RedRobyn2021 · Today 20:17

Why use the tumbledryer when it's so hot atm?

To be honest, I know quite a few people (mostly younger - like under 40,) who tumble dry EVERYTHING, no matter what the weather - ALL YEAR ROUND! Some are workers (mostly part time - but several full time,) and a few are stay at home parents.

We have had some lovely dry and hot weather for about a month now, and even before that we had a reasonable amount of dry weather. Yet they still tumble dry everything.

I dry our washing on the radiators in the cold damp dark days of winter, but very rarely in the Spring, Summer, and Autumn. I nearly always hang it outside on the washing line all through those 3 seasons. Despite it not being the best summer for good weather (until 3-4 weeks ago,) I have only used the radiators to dry the washing 3 times since late February. (When it was proper torrential rain, and quite chilly.)

Some people are plain and simple too lazy to hang out the washing, and on some level I believe they see it as beneath them to hang their clothes out on a washing line, peg them all to the line, and then have to go fetch them a few hours later.

It's second nature for me, and I could never see myself constantly tumble drying everything. It's batshit, it's lazy, and it's terrible for the environment.

We put the dishwasher on every night and I usually put a wash on each day, but we air dry everything. If we used the dryer our energy bill would be ££££!

Posted before I read this, but basically YES!! I agree...

We have a double dishwasher with both drawers going on at least once per day. If we’ve had people over for lunch/dinner that’s another 1-2 times per day.

washing machine is on 3-4 x per day

tumble dryer 3 x per day

Of course that's excessive. A ludicrous amount of times to have all those appliances on

@SweetBirdsong you can’t possibly say that’s excessive without knowing the makeup of OPs household

But their way is the one true and correct way, don't you know?

Your tumble dryer use is excessive. Can you hang washing on the line or pop it on a rack inside?

Define HUGE.

Is the bill accurate? Right number of units for what you've used?

Is it more than the same period last year? The changes you mention won't hugely affect your electricity bill unless you've gone from very efficient to very inefficient appliances. Dishwashers don't cost much to run and you should see a small reduction in hot water costs to compensate.

As our circumstances are unlikely to be comparable to yours I won't bother recalling how often the dishwasher or washing machine go on but we only use the dryer in extended cold or wet periods. Laundry is line or airer dried as much as possible for cost and environmental reasons as well as not wanting to ruin clothes in the dryer.

Unless you're physically incapable of hanging out washing or have no outside or inside space at all that would be an easy swap to reduce your electricity bill.

I’m very curious about the lack of tumble driers on this thread. I had no idea it was to common not to have them in the UK. Here in Canada, it would be unheard of to own a washer but not a drier. (We have clotheslines and drying racks too, but clotheslines are only useful for part of the year, and the drying racks aren’t great for large things like sheets.

How do you dry a whole family’s laundry, including sheets and towels without a drier in the cold and rainy months? Doesn’t it make your house damp over time?

It could be the dryer. I get creative with drying indoors when I can't peg it out. Over banister/hand rail. On towel rail which is heated. 2 clothes airers. Hang over doors even on door handles. Back of kitchen door if not cooking anything smelly. Untidy yes but free.

Dishwasher once in 24h - we pick the time when it’s cheap to run. Washing machine - twice a week. Dryer - once a year maybe: it’s expensive to run and it damages clothes so bad for the environment and the wallet.

We live in Sweden in energy zone 4. The highest electricity prices in Europe since 2021.

We have a laundry room and the house has a modern ventilation system (exhaust air heat pump).so it’s never damp. More and more people are increasing environmentally conscious so don’t run the dryer even if they have one.

I'm probably similar to OP. We have a lot of sporty people in the house who produce a lot of sweaty/muddy work out clothes and eat a lot so lots of dishes

We rarely use our tumble dryer at this time
of year. Why aren’t you drying on the line or on a clothes horse?

My electric bill is over £200 a month and we can't figure out how. DW on maybe three times a week. Washing machine and tumbler once a week. Heating is gas. It's weird

Most people don't have laundry rooms or modern ventilation.

Maybe in the UK, where I live it’s very common to have a laundry room even in houses that are over 100 years old. Modern ventilation might be less common but it’s increasingly popular because having a well insulated house with a modern heating system gets your electricity bill down immediately so it’s an investment that pays off quickly

Do you have an electric shower with lots of long showers? That would rack it up quite a bit.

We pay £115 pm for gas and electricity and this is about right for our usage. We have gas central heating but everything else is electric including cooking and showering.

Dishwasher twice a day, sometimes 3. Washing machine and tumble dryer (not in the UK and no way to dry clothes other than the tumble dryer) roughly 4 times a week each.

No dishwasher, but washing machine and tumble dryer. Both used on most days, I always tumble dry (apartment, although we're rural no laundry lines allowed in the grounds so no line drying). To be honest, I prefer tumble dried clothes, they are softer and fluffier than the stiff towels that come off washing lines.
I also use air conditioning in the summer, bills £50 per month as there's only me.