Laundry Cost Calculator

Laundry costs are often overlooked in household budgets, but they can add up to a significant amount over the course of a year. This calculator estimates the total cost of doing laundry at home, including water, electricity or gas, detergent, and dryer sheets.

Cost components per load:

1. Water cost: A standard top-loading washing machine uses approximately 30-40 gallons (114-151 liters) per load. High-efficiency (HE) front-loading machines use only 12-15 gallons (45-57 liters) per load. Water rates vary enormously by city, and the sewer charge attached to each gallon is often larger than the water charge itself, so enter the combined figure from your own bill. In the US that lands somewhere between $3 and $12 per 1,000 gallons in most places.

2. Washing machine electricity: A typical washer uses about 0.5 kWh per load to run the motor, pump and controls. That part barely changes with the temperature setting, because on a US machine the hot water arrives already heated from the house water heater. At $0.13 per kWh the motor costs about $0.07 per load.

3. Water heating: This is the one that matters, and it is charged to your water heater rather than the washer. Raising one gallon from a 50°F supply to 120°F takes about 0.17 kWh, so a hot cycle costs 0.17 kWh for every gallon the machine draws. That is roughly 6.0 kWh in a 35-gallon top-loader but only 2.4 kWh in a 14-gallon HE machine, which is why machine choice and temperature choice multiply each other rather than simply adding up. Warm cycles run about half. Cold eliminates it, and modern detergents are formulated for cold water.

4. Dryer cost: A standard electric dryer uses approximately 2.5-4.0 kWh per load. At $0.13/kWh, that is $0.33-$0.52 per load. Gas dryers use about $0.15-$0.25 of natural gas per load. The dryer is typically the most expensive part of doing laundry.

5. Detergent and supplies: Laundry detergent costs approximately $0.15-$0.30 per load for liquid or pod detergent. Dryer sheets add about $0.03-$0.05 per load. Fabric softener adds $0.05-$0.10 per load.

Average American household laundry statistics: The typical household does approximately 300 loads of laundry per year, which works out to about 6 loads per week. The average total cost per load ranges from $0.75 to $2.00 depending on equipment efficiency and habits.

Money-saving tips: Wash cold. On a standard top-loader at 13 cents that is about $0.78 a load, which is more than everything else on this page put together. Use HE detergent in the right amount rather than the amount the cap suggests. Clean the lint filter before every load. Air dry when you can, since it costs nothing and is gentler on the fabric. Run full loads, because the water and the heating are charged per cycle rather than per garment.

Every price here is yours to enter. Water rates, gas rates and detergent prices differ by city and by year, so a calculator that guessed them would be confidently wrong for most people. Leave a price field blank and that line simply does not get costed rather than quietly filling in a number you never chose.