Washing machines can put a lot of wear and tear on your clothes, and dry cleaning is expensive, but one Redditor found a solution to avoid that concern while also saving money.
The post describes the Redditor's new realization — if they wear an undershirt underneath their sweater, they can just wash the undershirt and only wash the sweater once in a while.
"It's less laundry as well as more comfortable," one commenter writes.
This hack saves you time and money — you'll have less laundry to do, and you'll spend less money on power and water.
The National Park Service reports that dryers are responsible for about 6% of energy use. On top of that, your clothing won't wear out as fast, allowing you to keep it for a long time or resell it when you want to change up your wardrobe.
Also, one commenter says it might actually be more comfortable to wear an undershirt, as some sweaters are itchy. Others write that they do so because wearing layers saves on heating costs.
Another bonus is that cutting down on laundry is great for the environment. Residential washing machines release dangerous, planet-warming chemicals into the air — approximately 197 million tons each year, according to the Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences. Plus, the average washing machine in a home uses 41 gallons of water per load, and the average family in America washes 300 loads of laundry per year.
This means that if you and a friend both cut back your laundry by just one load per month, you could save almost 1,000 gallons of water in a year. Air drying clothes after washing is another easy yet impactful way to cut your energy consumption on laundry day.
Commenters on the post were happy to endorse the idea, with one writing, "I've started doing it too!"
However, arguably the most important comment came from the user that mentions, "[The hack] also makes for a quick wardrobe change once you're out of work."
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