While only a few people actually know about it, washers and dryers are among the top five energy-consuming appliances in your house. The energy that the use (or waste) every week is staggering. What's even better, you can easily reduce the energy consumption by changing the way you clean your clothes.

The most important issue is the water temperature. Try to use cold water whenever possible - nowadays you can use it on almost all occasions unless the clothes are heavily stained. When it's not possible, try at least to turn the heater down a bit. Usually the "normal" position on a dial is enough to clean everything properly.

Limiting energy consumption in case of a dryer is even easier: just don't turn it on. A clothesline or drying racks will do the same job for free. So, if only you can wait a day or two for dry clothes, do it and use a dryer only when it rains. If you use your dryer, remember to clean its lint trap every so often. This will help your dryer to run at its peak efficiency.

As a rule of thumb, don't keep your old washer and dryer too long. In case of washers, new models use up less power, water and soap than those designed ten years ago. The evolution of dryers is even more important - if your dryer has no moisture sensor, you have to buy a new one immediately. This single gadget minimizes the energy consumption of a dryer by 20-30%!

One more thing: never wash towels after a single use. You can safely use them for a few days before throwing them into the washer. Even though it is practically the only piece of clothing you may reuse several times, it will greatly reduce the amount of laundry you do every month.