30 bang-on thrifty tips to save you bundles with Kitchen Appliances
Welcome to this month's Thrifty Shorts.
There are loads of ways to save bundles on your electricity bill in the kitchen. I'm going to show you how the teeniest of changes can make a massive difference (you are most welcome). So if you're looking for ways to save energy (and cash) look no further than my 30 lovely tips ....
- Cooker -
Shut it!
Every time you open the door the oven loses heat and requires more energy to get back up to temperature. Try to keep the oven door clean so you can look in instead of opening it.
Defrost it! Defrosting food in advance can halve the cooking time.
Impale it! Stick stainless steel skewers through baked potatoes and joints of meat to speed up the cooking process
Cut it up! Cut food into smaller pieces: that way it will cook more quickly.
Turn it off! Turn your electric oven off ten minutes before the end of the cooking time and it will still keep to the same temperature right to the end.
Steam it! Use a steamer to cook your veg, that way you can layer a number of vegetables on top of each other and still use one ring, or use a saucepan with a divider.
Keep it clean! Keep rings clean, as those crusty bits of old food absorb heat making an electric ring less efficient.
- Dishwasher -
Soak 'em! Give your dishes a good old soaking for as long as possible, even overnight. You can then use a shorter cycle on your dishwasher.
Don't use it! If you only a have few bits of washing up, don’t be lazy - get out those rubber gloves and the Fairy Liquid!
Drip Dry! Turn off your dishwasher after the rinse cycle, open it up, and let your dishes drip-dry. You'll save bundles by avoiding the heat-drying cycle on your machine.
Clean it! By keeping your dishwasher clean, the water coming through it will be clean too so there’s less chance of having to rewash your dishes.
- Washing machine -
Keep it short! Use as short a cycle as is practical. Unnecessary long cycles waste water as well as electricity.
Cool it! You only need cycles over 30oC for really dirty clothes, bad stains or underwear so use a cold or 30 degree wash wherever possible.
Soak 'em! Soak heavily soiled items before washing, and rub collars or other stains with household soap. This saves you than having to repeat a wash because stains didn't come out.
Wait! Wait until you have a full load before washing. Of course, if your socks are distressing the rest of the family, you might have to put a load on early, but otherwise it's best to wait for a full basket to avoid wasting water.
Spin it! Where possible, use a high spin speed so clothes come out of the washing machine almost dry, with little need for tumble drying.
And every now and then ….
… do a hot wash if you mainly do low temperature ones. This will get rid of bacteria and prevent the build up of odours in your machine.
- Tumble dryer -
De-fluff it! If moisture can easily leave the dryer through a clean lint trap it means the washing will take less time to dry so check it after each use.
Untangle your clobber! If you separate your washing before putting it in the dryer it will cut down drying time considerably.
Don’t use it!
Here's the best tip of all. If the weather is dry and you have a washing line – use it! Look at the plusses – you will save a fortune, your clothes will last longer (tumble dryers weaken fabric) and your washing will smell of fresh air. Here is a picture of my lovely mum, Rose kindly demonstrating the above.
Stuff it! If you run full loads of laundry you can therefore put more items in the dryer at the end of each cycle, and run the dryer less often.
Check it! Just because you’ve set the dryer for 90 minutes, it doesn’t mean the items won’t be dry before then. Checking before the end of the cycle allows you to remove the items which are dry and turn off the dryer, or let the items which need more time dry more quickly on their own.
Stick another one in! When your dryer is already warmed up, keep washing to take advantage of the warmth, rather than making it heat up from cold again another time.
- Fridge-freezer -
Think ahead! Plan out the next several meals and you can then transfer all that food from your freezer to your fridge at once. Opening your freezer less will mean it doesn’t have to work as hard as if the door was regularly being opened.
Shut it! If you’re cooking. take all the ingredients from the fridge at the same time, or if you’re making a sandwich get all the toppings in one go as opening the fridge door less, means it doesn’t have to work as hard.
Keep it clean! Clean coils means your fridge will take less electricity to keep its contents cold.
Let it flow! Do don’t put stuff in front of the vent where the air comes in, as the appliance will have to work harder.
Raise the temperature! Your fridge doesn’t need to be on the coldest temperature. Turn the thermostat just a few notches warmer and your fridge won’t have to work so hard. The same applies to your freezer Unless it’s crammed to capacity, it doesn’t need to be on the absolute coldest setting to keep things frozen.
Keep it away from the oven! If your fridge is next to your oven it will have to work a lot harder to keep cool with all that extra hot air around – especially if you open the fridge while you’re cooking.
- Kettle -
Don't fill it! Only boil as much water as you need. Heating water uses a lot of energy, so if you're only making one cup of tea only use one cup of water!
Stay thrifty folks!
Steve Bishop is a qualified electrician and a member of NAPIT. To see his qualifications click here..
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