Saving Hacks

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Washing Wisely

Washing Machine

Dishwasher

Tumble Dryer

Drum up savings

New washing machines can detect half and quarter loads of laundry and dose accordingly. If you regularly need half-load washes you could be saving £39 over the year on energy, water and detergent.
Spare those hands

A dishwasher uses 15 litres to wash 15 place settings but hand washing uses 126 litres. Save £46 a year on your water bill by ditching those marigolds and filling your dishwasher.[MW can you check what tariff we’re using for water please to sense check this].
- Clean filter to prevent residue on your dishes. The filter protects the pump from leftover food, so wash it regularly. Remove the bottom tray, lift out the cylindrical filter and wash it in warm water. A new pump can cost £100 to supply and fit.
- Save replacing spray arms by cleaning them every month in warm water to keep them free from small food particles.
Pump it up

Tumble dryers do cost a bit to run but if you invest in a heat pump rather than condenser model you could save yourself more than £100 in annual running costs. Otherwise use your dryer a bit less and deploy some good old-fashioned air drying.

Cleaning up

Vacuum cleaners

They cost as little as £6 a year, half that of a decade ago. But our experts have more ingenious ways to cut down on running costs:

Become a “shoes off” home to reduce vacuuming

Only use “turbo” when absolutely necessary – never on hard floors – as it uses more energy. It also drains the battery faster on cordless models meaning more frequent recharging.

Shower’s 5 minute rule

You can save money by showering a few minutes less each day, in fact just by ensuring the members of your household have an efficient 5-minute stint can save more than £100 annually.

This equates to:

118 full loads of washing dried in a 9kg tumble dryer
a water saving equivalent to 15,166 litres of water and
a carbon footprint saving of 253 diesel car miles.

Cool ways to save...

Fridges

Combat food waste

As a nation we pour £600k of milk down the drain daily.  Use your fridge right and you can ensure you don’t waste food and money…

Minimise door opening! 

The temperature inside a fridge rises significantly each time the door is opened. Make sure you shut the door when you get your milk out to make a cuppa.

Use your space

Utilise easy access, pull out and folding shelves to ensure no food items are forgotten at the ‘back of the fridge’ and end up in the bin.

Smart technology is here to help

Smart tech now scans use-by dates allowing the fridge to warn their owner to eat up and from your phone, in the supermarket, you can check the fridge so you only buy what you need!

Cooking Care

Ovens

With ovens, it’s all about using them right to save yourself a lot of energy and money including planning your meals and batch cooking

Taking out any unneeded accessories — trays and grids – can save up to 20% on energy

Avoiding preheating can save another 20% – most dishes like roasts and casseroles can be placed in the cold oven, especially a fan-assisted one
Take advantage of your oven tech. Thermometers, timers, automatic cooking programmes or sensor-controlled processes all help control the cooking time, avoiding wasted energy and overcooked food.
Preparing several dishes at a time and loading them side by side can reduce energy use by up to 45%.
Checking the food through the glass door, rather than opening it, can save you up to 25% in lost energy.
Being canny with your residual heat. For example, turn off your for 10 minutes less than cooking time and you get 10 minutes of free heat!

Hobs

Induction Hobs

It’s more energy efficient than your oven so prepare small roasts here instead.
Smaller pieces of food cook quicker so cutting up more could save you energy.
Cooking with lid on saves up to 25% energy. Make sure that lid fits well.
Being economical with water in a pan can save you up 20% energy. It takes a lot to heat up water.
The correct size pan for the amount of food you’re cooking can save up to 20 % energy. Ensure your pans are made of heat-conducting materials – steel or enamelled cast-iron pans and pots will heat quicker and consume less energy than glass and ceramic cookware.

Embrace your  small appliances

Use special appliances such as egg cookers, coffee machines and microwave ovens for small quantities and short cooking times to save money.

Microwaves

It costs just 3p to microwave cook a baked potato versus 55p in the oven. Combi microwaves with built-in convection ovens are even more versatile. Roasting a chicken with one will cost you 25p compared to 68p in the oven.

Slow cookers

Inexpensive to buy and run, they can make healthy meals from budget-friendly cuts of meat and cheaper vegetables (carrots, shallots, celeriac, swede). Average cook time is a long 8 hours, but flavours are retained as nothing really evaporates if you avoid lifting the lid. It can cost you just 46p a meal.

Kettles

When whipping up pasta for your kids, use your kettle to boil the water. It will cost you £1.99 twice weekly over a year versus £9 on the hob. But remember to descale your kettle regularly, especially in hard water areas – limescale means longer boil times and greater energy use.

Air fryers

These popular gadgets make tasty fried food with less oil and less energy because they heat a smaller space. Cooking fried chicken quickly and healthily for 15 minutes consumes only 0.35kwh, costing just 9p – half the price of using an electric, fan-assisted oven.