Pro tip: I switched my laundry to cold water for 30 days and my power bill actually went up
I live in a small apartment in Boise and last month I decided to wash everything in cold water to cut energy use. I tracked my usage for 30 days before and after, and my electric bill went from $62 to $68. Turns out my old washer has a heater that kicks on for the "cold" cycle anyway, so I was heating water no matter what I picked. I called a repair guy and he said the cold setting on my model still pulls from the hot line for the first few minutes. Has anyone else run into this with an older machine, or do I just need to replace the washer to see any real savings?
Did you check if your washer has a "tap cold" setting separate from just "cold"? My old Kenmore had like five temp options and two of them were basically the same thing, one mixed in hot water and the other didn't. I found this out after months of wondering why my "cold" washes felt warm. There might be a small dial or button combo on your model that actually kills the hot water feed completely.