Laundry Cost Calculator
What a load of laundry really costs: machine electricity, water heating, water and sewer, drying and detergent, the annual total, and what line drying would save.
Laundry Cost Calculator: with the default inputs, cost per load is $1.08.
Energy Star models a typical household at about 295 loads a year, which is 5.7 a week.
The motor and controls only — water heating is counted separately below.
Around 20 gallons for a standard top loader, 13 or less for a high-efficiency front loader.
A cold wash is 0%. A warm wash is roughly 20–40%; hot is 80–100%.
Combined supply and waste-water charge from your bill; US rates commonly run $8–18.
- Cost per year
- $280
- Loads per year
- 260
- Washer electricity
- $0.064
- Heating the water
- $0.112
- Water and sewer
- $0.220
- Drying
- $0.383
- Detergent and softener
- $0.300
- Electricity per load
- 3.28Kilowatt-hours, including water heating if your water heater is electric.
- Line drying would save
- $99Per year, holding everything else the same.
Assumptions
- Washer and dryer power draw is treated as constant over the cycle; real machines vary through the cycle.
- Water heating counts only the heated share of the fill, using 8.33 lb per gallon and 1 Btu per pound per °F.
- The purchase, installation, maintenance and depreciation of the machines are not included.
- Water and sewer are charged together per 1,000 gallons.
- Per load$0100%
| Per load | Per year | vs your setup | |
|---|---|---|---|
| As you have it | $1.08 | $280 | $0 |
| Cold wash, same dryer | $0.97 | $251 | -$29 |
| Same wash, line dried | $0.70 | $181 | -$99 |
| Cold wash, line dried | $0.58 | $152 | -$129 |
| Hot wash, electric dryer | $1.53 | $397 | $116 |
All rows assume 260 loads a year at your prices.
How this is worked out
The formula
washer electricity = watts × minutes ÷ 60 ÷ 1000 × price per kWh water heating = gallons × hot share × 8.33 lb/gal × temperature rise (°F) ÷ UEF, converted to kWh or therms water and sewer = gallons ÷ 1000 × price per 1,000 gallons electric drying = watts × minutes ÷ 60 ÷ 1000 × price per kWh cost per load = washer + water heating + water + drying + detergent annual cost = cost per load × loads per week × 52
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Loads per week
- Energy Star models a typical household at about 295 loads a year, which is 5.7 a week.from 0 to 100 · defaults to 5
- Washer power draw
- The motor and controls only — water heating is counted separately below.from 0 to 5000 · defaults to 500
- Cycle length
- A number.from 1 to 300 · defaults to 45
- Water per load
- Around 20 gallons for a standard top loader, 13 or less for a high-efficiency front loader.from 0 to 100 · defaults to 20
- Share of that water heated
- A cold wash is 0%. A warm wash is roughly 20–40%; hot is 80–100%.a percentage · from 0 to 100 · defaults to 20
- Drying
- Choose one of 3 options.Electric dryer · Gas dryer · Line dry or airer
- Electric dryer power
- A number.from 0 to 10000 · defaults to 3000
- Drying time
- A number.from 1 to 300 · defaults to 45
- Electricity price
- A number.in dollars · from 0 to 2 · defaults to 0.17
- Water and sewer
- Combined supply and waste-water charge from your bill; US rates commonly run $8–18.in dollars · from 0 to 100 · defaults to 11
- Detergent and softener
- A number.in dollars · from 0 to 10 · defaults to 0.3
- Natural gas price(under More options)
- A number.in dollars · from 0 to 10 · defaults to 1.55
- Gas dryer fuel per load(under More options)
- A number.from 0 to 2 · defaults to 0.22
- Water heater fuel(under More options)
- Choose one of 2 options.Electric · Natural gas
- Water heater efficiency (UEF)(under More options)
- 0.92 electric resistance, 0.64 gas storage, about 3.5 for a heat pump.from 0.1 to 5 · defaults to 0.92
- Hot water temperature rise(under More options)
- Thermostat minus incoming cold water — 120 °F from a 58 °F supply is a 62 °F rise.from 1 to 150 · defaults to 62
What you get back
- Cost per loadmain answer
- Cost per year
- Loads per year
- Washer electricity
- Heating the water
- Water and sewer
- Drying
- Detergent and softener
- Electricity per load
- Kilowatt-hours, including water heating if your water heater is electric.
- Line drying would save
- Per year, holding everything else the same.
What this assumes
- Washer and dryer power draw is treated as constant over the cycle; real machines vary through the cycle.
- Water heating counts only the heated share of the fill, using 8.33 lb per gallon and 1 Btu per pound per °F.
- The purchase, installation, maintenance and depreciation of the machines are not included.
- Water and sewer are charged together per 1,000 gallons.
About this calculator
Almost none of the cost of a load of laundry is the washing machine. The motor that turns the drum draws a few hundred watts for three quarters of an hour — under ten cents. The money is in heating the water and running the dryer, and this calculator separates the five lines so you can see which one is worth changing.
The five lines
- Washer electricity. Motor, pump and controls. Typically 0.2–0.5 kWh a cycle, so 3–9 cents.
- Heating the water. Only counted for the share of the fill you actually heat. A warm wash on a 20-gallon machine heats about 4 gallons and costs 10–15 cents on an electric tank; a hot wash heats the lot and costs five times that.
- Water and sewer. Charged per thousand gallons, and the sewer half is usually the larger. Twenty gallons at $11 per thousand is 22 cents.
- Drying. An electric dryer pulls around 3 kW for 45 minutes — over 2 kWh, usually the single biggest line on the load.
- Detergent and softener. Small but real, and the only line that does not depend on a utility rate.
How to use it
The two inputs that decide almost everything are share of water heated and drying. A cold wash sets the heating line to zero. Line drying sets the drying line to zero. The comparison table prices both changes, separately and together, so you can see the annual number rather than the per-load one — laundry is a case where a 40-cent decision made 260 times a year turns into real money.
Under More options you can switch the water heater to gas, set its efficiency factor, and set the temperature rise if your incoming water is unusually cold.
Reading the results
Cost per load is fuel, water and supplies — it does not include buying the machine, servicing it, or the wear on your clothes. Electricity per load adds the machine and dryer draw plus the water heating if your tank is electric, which is the number to compare against your utility bill.
Line drying would save holds everything else constant and simply removes the dryer. For a typical household running five loads a week on an electric dryer, that is on the order of $100 a year, which is why it is the most-recommended laundry change and the one people are most reluctant to make.
Fair comparisons
A laundromat at $2.50 to wash and $2 to dry is roughly four times the marginal cost of a load at home — but home laundry carries a machine that has to be bought, plumbed and eventually replaced, which spreads to something like 20–40 cents a load over its life. If you are comparing, count that, and count your time.
Frequently asked questions
▸How much does one load of laundry cost?
Around $1.00–1.20 for a warm wash and an electric dryer at typical US prices: about 6 cents of washer electricity, 11 cents of water heating, 22 cents of water and sewer, 38 cents of drying and 30 cents of detergent.
▸How much does it cost to run a dryer?
An electric dryer at 3,000 watts for 45 minutes uses 2.25 kWh, which is about 38 cents at 17 cents a kWh. A gas dryer costs roughly a third of that where gas is cheap, though it still uses a little electricity for the drum.
▸Does washing in cold water save money?
Yes, and it is usually the second-biggest saving after skipping the dryer. Heating the water is most of a warm or hot wash's energy; modern detergents are designed to work cold.
▸How much does line drying save per year?
For five loads a week with an electric dryer, roughly $100 a year at typical electricity prices. The calculator prices your own setup exactly.
▸Is it cheaper to do laundry at night?
Only if you are on a time-of-use tariff, in which case the off-peak rate can be half the peak one. On a flat rate the time of day makes no difference at all.
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