Smart Ways to Save Money on Laundry and Cut Your Washing Costs

Australians are still feeling the pinch from rising costs. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, prices for food and non-alcoholic drinks rose 3 % over the year to June 2025. Fruit and vegetables increased by about 4.3 %. Electricity prices are also climbing. The ABS reported an 8.1 % jump in the June quarter alone. With wage growth lagging behind inflation, even everyday chores like doing the laundry can put a dent in the household budget. This guide shows what laundry really costs in Australia today and how to cut your bill without sacrificing clean clothes.

How much does a load of laundry cost?

Laundry might seem like a small household chore, but the costs can add up fast. Rising energy prices, higher grocery bills, and more expensive laundry products mean it’s worth knowing exactly what you’re spending each time you put on a wash. According to CHOICE, here’s what a typical Australian household might pay:

• Daily warm wash in a top-loading machine – About 59 c per load, or roughly $215 per year at current energy tariffs.
• Premium detergent and fabric softener – Can lift your annual laundry spend to more than $1,200.
• Running a clothes dryer daily – Adds about $448.95 per year at $1.23 per load.

Understanding these numbers is the first step to finding easy ways to cut back. In the rest of this guide, we’ll break down where the money goes and how to save without sacrificing clean, fresh clothes.

Why use cold water?

Heating the water is the most energy-hungry part of doing laundry. Up to 90 % of a washing machine’s energy use can come from heating water. Switching to a cold wash can cut that energy use by around 80 %.

Changing from a daily half-load warm wash to a full-load cold wash every second day can save over $130 a year. Wash less often, and you’ll save even more because you’re running fewer cycles.

Cold water cycles are also gentler on fabrics. With modern detergents designed to work in cooler temperatures, you’ll still get fresh, clean clothes without the extra power bill.

Run Full Loads!

Washing half loads wastes both water and electricity because the machine still draws almost the same power. A full laundry basket weighs about 3.5 kg, yet most machines are built to handle much more.

Running full loads every second day instead of smaller daily loads cuts the number of cycles in half. Fewer cycles mean less energy used, less water consumed, and less wear on your clothes. Making this change can save over $130 a year while still keeping your laundry routine manageable.

What difference does the detergent make?

Lucent Globe’s laundry detergent sheets are designed to make washing simple, affordable and sustainable. Each sheet is pre-measured, so you only use the recommended amount of laundry detergent every time. No more mess or guesswork. Just drop a sheet in and enjoy a powerful clean.

• For a 4–5 kg wash, use ½ sheet (tear along the perforation).
• For an 8 kg wash, use 1 full sheet.
• For extra-dirty or larger loads, add an extra ½ sheet.

This makes it easy to know exactly how much detergent to use for each wash, with no risk of over-pouring or waste. The sheets are plant-based, free from bleaches and phosphates, and packaged without plastic, making them simple to store and easy to take when travelling. They also dissolve fully in cold water, which makes them a great match for energy-saving wash cycles.

Buying six packs gives you 480 washes at about $0.32 per wash. That works out to roughly $175 per year if you do one load a day. With a 10% discount available at the time of writing, the cost drops further to about A$162 per year. This is much lower than premium detergents that can cost more than $490 a year.

Pro Tip: how this compares

CHOICE testing shows that some top-shelf detergents cost up to $1.35 per wash, or almost $493 per year if you do one load a day. Switching from one of those higher-priced detergents to Lucent Globe sheets can save you more than $300 each year while still giving you clean, fresh clothes.

Is fabric softener necessary?

Fabric softener isn’t essential for fresh, clean laundry. In fact, it often adds cost without much benefit. Residue can make towels less absorbent and reduce the flame resistance of children’s sleepwear. Skipping it entirely is the simplest way to save money and avoid unnecessary chemicals.

If you prefer softer clothes, Lucent Globe offers fabric softener sheets. At $0.28 per wash, the yearly cost works out to about $102 if you wash daily.

Do you need a dryer?

Clothes dryers are convenient, but they come with a high running cost. A vented dryer can cost between $95 and $667 per year to operate, while condenser dryers range from $53 to $374. Heat-pump dryers are the most efficient, using about half the energy of a condenser dryer, but they are more expensive to buy upfront.

Every extra star on an energy-rating label can reduce running costs by about 25%. Even so, the cheapest vented dryer tested by CHOICE still costs about $1.23 per load, which adds up to roughly $449 per year if you dry clothes every day.

The cheapest option is line drying. Hanging clothes outside in the sun or indoors on a rack avoids energy costs entirely. Choosing to air-dry your laundry every time you can means you save hundreds of dollars a year while keeping your clothes in better condition for longer.

Can running the washing machine at off-peak times save you money?

If you are on a time-of-use energy plan, doing your laundry during off-peak hours, such as late at night, can make a real difference to your bill. Some utilities report that off-peak power can be about 56 percent cheaper than peak rates.

According to ABC News, shifting your washes to off-peak periods could save around $80 a year.

It is worth checking with your energy retailer to see if flexible pricing applies to you and to confirm when your off-peak window runs. Running your washing machine when power is cheaper is one of the simplest ways to cut laundry costs.

How to choose an efficient washer and dryer

When shopping for new laundry appliances, the Energy Rating Label is your best friend. According to Sustainability Victoria, every extra star on a washing machine's energy label can reduce warm-cycle energy use by about 25%. A model with at least 3.5 stars for energy and 4 stars for water is a smart pick.

Front-loading washers are also a good choice. They use about 50% less water than top‑loading models, and their higher spin speeds remove more moisture. That means clothes take less time to dry and save energy too.

How much could you save altogether?

The savings really add up when you combine small changes. Here’s what a typical Aussie household could cut from the laundry bill each year:

• Switch to cold water – Save about $130 by avoiding heated washes.
• Run full loads instead of half loads – Save another $130 by halving the number of cycles.
• Use Lucent Globe detergent sheets – Spend around $162 a year with bulk packs and the 10% discount, compared with $493 for premium detergents. That’s a saving of more than $300.
• Air-dry instead of using a dryer – Save around $449 a year by hanging clothes inside or outside instead of running a vented dryer daily.
• Shift to off-peak hours – If you are on a flexible energy plan, you could save around $80 a year.

The big picture

Put these changes together, and the difference is clear. A household following the “expensive routine” with premium detergent, fabric softener, daily warm half-loads, and a dryer can spend more than $1,200 per year just on laundry.

Switching to the “smart routine” with cold washes, full loads, Lucent Globe detergent sheets, and air-drying shows how much you can save money on laundry. The total drops to about $260 per year, which is almost $1,000 in savings. The biggest difference comes from the detergent you use, along with when and how you run each load. Small changes in these areas make a big impact without giving up clean, fresh clothes.