Laundry Cost Calculator
Estimate the cost per load of home laundry from water, electricity and detergent, projected per week, month and year.
Bill quoted per 1,000 gal? Divide by 1,000. Per CCF? Divide by 748.
Updated Formula covered by automated tests
A load of laundry done at home costs money in three places: the water the washer draws, the electricity (or gas) for the motor, the water heater and the dryer, and the detergent you pour in. This calculator adds those up per load, then projects the cost per week, month and year from how often you wash.
People use it to compare home laundry against a laundromat or a building’s coin machines, to judge whether a new high-efficiency washer will pay for itself, or simply to see how much switching to cold water or line drying would save. The inputs come straight from your utility bills and the detergent bottle, so the answer reflects your household rather than a national average.
The formula
- water price per gallon
- Combined water and sewer charge from your bill, converted to dollars per gallon
- gallons per load
- Water one wash cycle uses; high-efficiency front loaders use far less than older top loaders
- kWh per load
- Electricity for the washer and the dryer together, including water heating if your heater is electric
- detergent per load
- Bottle or box price divided by the number of loads printed on it
- loads per week
- How many washes your household runs in a typical week
Each part is a unit price times a quantity, the same way a utility bill is built. Monthly figures use 52 ÷ 12 = 4.33 weeks per month so that twelve months add up exactly to the yearly total; using a flat four weeks per month would undercount by about 8 percent.
The US Department of Energy points out that most of a washer’s energy goes into heating water, not spinning the drum, and an electric dryer typically uses more electricity per load than the washer. That is why the energy input is the one most worth estimating carefully: look up the yearly kWh on the yellow EnergyGuide label and divide by the number of loads it assumes.
Worked example
The Okafor family runs 6 loads a week. Their water and sewer charge works out to $0.01 per gallon, their washer uses 20 gallons, washing plus electric drying takes 3 kWh, electricity costs $0.16 per kWh, and their detergent costs $0.25 per load.
- 1 Water: 20 gal × $0.01 = $0.20 per load.
- 2 Energy: 3 kWh × $0.16 = $0.48 per load.
- 3 Total per load: $0.20 + $0.48 + $0.25 = $0.93.
- 4 Weekly: $0.93 × 6 = $5.58.
- 5 Yearly: $5.58 × 52 = $290.16, which is $290.16 ÷ 12 = $24.18 a month.
Result: Laundry costs the Okafors about $0.93 a load, $24.18 a month or $290 a year. More than half of that is electricity, mostly for the dryer, so line drying in summer would cut the bill noticeably.
Before you rely on the result
- Energy use per load varies with cycle choice, load size and water temperature, so a single kWh figure is an average.
- Gas water heaters and gas dryers are not modeled directly; their cost has to be added by hand.
- Machine purchase, repairs, fabric softener and wear on clothes are not included.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my water price per gallon?
Water bills usually quote a price per 1,000 gallons or per CCF (100 cubic feet, which is 748 gallons). Add the water and sewer rates together, then divide by 1,000 or by 748. A combined rate of $12 per 1,000 gallons is $0.012 per gallon.
Does washing in cold water really save money?
Yes, if your water heater is the main energy user in a warm or hot cycle, which it usually is. A cold cycle leaves only the motor’s small draw. Modern detergents are formulated to work in cold water, and heavily soiled or sanitizing loads are the main reason to keep using hot.
Is a laundromat cheaper than washing at home?
Compare the per-load result here with the laundromat’s washer plus dryer price. Home laundry is usually cheaper per load once you own the machines, but the purchase price, repairs and the space they take up are real costs too; divide the machine price by the loads you expect over its life to include them.
What if my dryer runs on natural gas?
Then the dryer’s heat comes from gas, not electricity, and only its drum motor and controls show up in kWh. Enter the washer’s electricity plus a small amount for the dryer motor, and add the gas cost per load to the detergent box as a simple workaround.
Sources
- US Department of Energy: Energy Saver Guide, Tips on Saving Money and Energy at Home (energy.gov)
- ENERGY STAR: Clothes Washers (energystar.gov)
- ENERGY STAR: Clothes Dryers (energystar.gov)