5 Eco-Friendly Tips for Your Household Appliances

With energy costs rising in Australia, many households are feeling the pinch. Cutting back doesn’t mean cutting out all of your essential household appliances, however. Using them in an eco-friendly manner not only reduces your energy bills but it also benefits the environment, so it’s really a win-win.

How can you cut back on energy consumption for your appliances? Below are five tips that can help keep more of your hard-earned money in your pockets:

01. Unplug Unused Appliances

Many household appliances use residual energy whilst plugged in, even if they’re not in use. Toasters, coffee machines, fans, and other small appliances should only be plugged in when you need to use them. Larger appliances might be unfeasible to unplug, such as electric ovens, dishwashers, etc. Unplugging just a few small appliances can add up to a few dollars saved here and there.

02. Check Your Oven Door Seal

Most modern ovens require little maintenance and some can even self-clean. Although ovens tend to be quite robust, there are still quite a few problems that can arise that will guzzle up your energy bill if left unattended.

The seal lining the oven door is crucial for keeping all heat in whilst the oven is in operation, so if it’s worn out then you’ll be getting undercooked food since the oven is losing a good portion of its heat straight out the door. Run your finger along the oven door seal and if you feel any cracks or lacerations along the seal, have it repaired by a domestic appliance technician.

03. Unclog Your Refrigerator Coils

Your refrigerator works hard to keep fruit, veg, meat, and your favourite beverages nice and cool. Making it work twice as hard for the same result, however, won’t give you twice the benefit but it will give you twice the cost in energy.

Refrigerator coils, often found either at the front or rear of the fridge’s exterior (depending on your model) can get full of dirt, dust, and debris over time. This forces the fridge to work twice as hard (read: consume twice as much energy) to keep the contents at the desired temperature. Unplug your refrigerator, disassemble the covering (if any) and vacuum and clean out all debris cluttering up the coils.

04. Run an Empty Load in the Washing Machine

This tip may sound counterintuitive since you’re running your washing machine on empty, which will use more water and energy. If you’re getting frequent use out of your washing machine, however, there will likely be quite a bit of built up dander and residue that will force the machine to work harder than necessary.

About once per month, run a completely empty load at high temperatures (usually, 60 degrees and above can help kill bacteria). You can try running homemade solutions like vinegar through the wash cycle, but just an empty load once a month will do.

05. Clean Your Dishes Before Using the Dishwasher

Another tip that may sound counterintuitive (and kind of defeats the purpose of a dishwasher) is to clean your dishes before racking them up in the dishwasher. They don’t need to be spotless, but instead the point is to remove any crumbs or food chunks in the rubbish bin before the dishwasher can sanitise them.

This keeps the drain trap clean and enables the dishwasher to fully sanitise your dishes after every load.

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