Laundry costs: compare a home wash with a launderette fairly

To estimate a home wash’s electricity cost, multiply the energy used in kWh by your unit rate in pence per kWh, then divide by 100 for pounds. Add drying, detergent and any relevant water charge separately. Compare that complete cost with a checked launderette price for a comparable load.

There is no single national price that answers every household’s question. Your tariff, machine, programme and drying method matter. Our laundry cost calculator uses inputs you can change, so you can see which assumption affects the comparison most.

Decide what you are comparing

Start with one clearly defined job: for example, washing a regular clothes load at home and drying it outside, or taking a duvet to a larger machine and paying separately for drying. Those are different jobs. Do not compare one small home load with a commercial machine holding several loads unless you account for the difference.

Write down the number of loads or visits each week. If several home loads become one larger launderette load, use a comparison period such as a week rather than pretending the individual cycles are identical. Check that items can safely share the larger load before making that assumption.

Keep financial cost and practical suitability visible alongside each other. A home machine may be cheaper per cycle but unsuitable for a particular duvet. A nearby staffed service may be more useful than a lower advertised self-service price when you need assistance. The calculation informs the decision; it does not decide those needs for you.

Find an energy figure with the right units

Look for the energy label or product information for your exact model. Be careful about whether a value describes one cycle, 100 cycles, or an annual estimate under an older test system. Copying the number without its unit can produce a large error.

The UK government’s energy-label specification describes washing-cycle energy consumption in kWh per 100 cycles. If your label says 50 kWh per 100 cycles, the corresponding average is 50 ÷ 100 = 0.50 kWh per cycle. It is not 50 kWh for one wash.

A label is a standardised comparison figure for a specified test, rather than a meter reading for every programme you might select. For a more personal estimate, use a manufacturer figure for the programme you run or a suitable measured consumption figure. Keep a note of where the number came from so you do not mistake a worked example for your machine’s performance.

Calculate electricity cost

The arithmetic is straightforward once the units agree:

Electricity cost in pounds = kWh per cycle × tariff in p/kWh ÷ 100.

For an illustrative wash using 0.50 kWh and an illustrative rate of 25p/kWh, electricity costs 0.50 × 25 ÷ 100 = £0.125, displayed as about 13p. These are made-up inputs to explain the calculation, not a current UK average or a recommended tariff. Enter your own unit rate from your bill or supplier account.

Round at the end. If you multiply a rounded 13p by many cycles, the total differs from multiplying the underlying 12.5p. The calculator retains the underlying arithmetic and rounds the displayed answer. That is especially useful when comparing weekly and monthly estimates.

Add drying as its own line

Drying can change a comparison substantially, so state the method. An outdoor air-dry scenario has no tumble-dryer electricity in this calculation. A tumble-dry scenario needs a separate energy figure. A combined washer-dryer may have separate figures for washing and the complete wash-and-dry cycle; do not count the washing energy twice.

Check the dryer label’s units rather than assuming it uses the same reporting period as your washer. If the figure is an annual estimate, do not divide it by an invented number of loads. Find the stated test basis or use a documented per-cycle figure instead.

Energy Saving Trust’s appliance advice explains why energy efficiency and drying controls matter. For your own comparison, record the exact input and drying programme. A dryer’s running time alone does not reveal its energy use: multiplying a nameplate power by the whole cycle length can be misleading when power demand varies.

Account for detergent, water and travel

Add detergent as a cost per load based on what you use and pay. If your pack has an advertised number of doses, check whether your dose matches that assumption. A larger dose or different product changes the cost. Include fabric conditioner only if you actually use it.

For metered water, use your applicable water and wastewater charges with a reliable litres-per-cycle figure. Convert litres to cubic metres where necessary: 1,000 litres is one cubic metre. If you do not have enough information, leave that line out and say so instead of presenting an incomplete estimate as a fully inclusive cost.

Standing charges are generally not a marginal cost caused by one extra laundry load. Keep them outside a simple per-load comparison unless you are explicitly analysing the total household bill and explain the allocation. Similarly, buying or replacing an appliance is a separate ownership question from the cost of running a machine you already have.

Travel can be a separate line in your notes. If a launderette trip is combined with other errands, choose and explain a sensible treatment rather than quietly charging the whole journey to laundry. Time and convenience also matter, but there is no need to turn them into an invented cash figure.

Use a checked launderette quote

Ask the actual branch for the wash price and machine capacity, the dryer price and time increment, and whether detergent is included. Check the price date. A service wash quote is not a like-for-like self-service machine price.

One operator’s arrangements show why details matter: Wash ME describes detergent included in its wash system. That cost should not be added again for that service, but it does not establish what another launderette includes. Use our directory to find published sources and ask about anything marked not confirmed.

Our first-visit guide explains the practical checks before paying. If you are taking bedding, also check duvet suitability and drying before focusing on price.

A complete worked example

For those illustrative inputs, electricity is (0.50 + 1.50) × 25 ÷ 100 = £0.50. Adding 20p detergent and 10p water gives £0.80 per complete load. At three loads a week, that is £2.40 per week. Using 52 ÷ 12 weeks per month gives £10.40 per average month. Four weeks is only 28 days, so using four for every month understates a full-year monthly average.

This example does not include appliance ownership, travel or a launderette quote. Enter your own figures in the tool to compare them. Then change one assumption at a time: remove drying, increase the tariff, or adjust the number of loads. The resulting change is more useful than a single unexplained headline total.

Common cost questions

Is the quickest wash always cheapest?

No such conclusion follows from duration alone. Use the energy information for the programme and load. Energy Saving Trust’s washing advice discusses programme and usage choices; your own machine documentation supplies the relevant figures.

Can I use the energy price cap as my tariff?

Use the unit rate you actually pay. A broad public headline is not a substitute for the rate on your own tariff, and regional and payment arrangements may differ.

Does a lower estimate mean I should wash every item at home?

No. Capacity, care labels, drying space, access and help can determine whether that option is suitable. Compare realistic options for the actual job.