Dryer Power-Saving
Use your dryer efficiently to save energy when drying laundry.
 The best advice for using your dryer is don't. Air dry some or all of your laundry. For those of you who don't have a clothesline in the backyard--or a backyard, for that matter--you can set up a stand-alone clothes rack and dry shirts, etc. on it. You get a bonus of humidifying the air in your home without paying to run a humidifier.
All right, you must use your dryer for many of your clothes, but you can still take some energy-saving steps:
Clean the dryer filter before each use. (If you live in my apartment building, clean the dryer lint trap before you leave the laundry room, too.)
Dry full loads, but don't overfill. Lucky you if you have matching washer dryer sets since they take the same sized loads.
Dry similar types of clothes together--lightweight fabrics with lightweight fabrics; thick stuff with thick stuff. In other words, don't mix your lacy underthings with your bath towels in the dryer.
Don't aim for bone dry. You'll kill your clothes sooner. Use the automatic moisture-sensing shut-off if your dryer has one instead of the timer.
If you take out clothes of the dryer while still slightly damp, you won't need to do as much ironing. That is, if you hang them up right away after removing them from the dryer
Don't toss wet items into a partially finished load.
Put two loads in a row in the dryer to make the most of the heat generated the first time around. Heck, go wild and do three dryer loads in a row!
Dryers (and washers to a lesser extent) like to live in warm spaces, so they will cost you less on your energy bill if you place them in an insulated basement than, say, the garage.
You can vent an electric dryer inside your house during cold months if your home's air is dry and the vent is properly filtered. Its a twofer: dry clothes and warm rooms. (If you have a gas-powered dryer, forget it. It has to be vented to the outside.)
Finally, right now go outside and check the dryer exhaust vent. I mean it. Clean out the vent and make sure the flapper on the outside hood opens and closes easily. If it stays open, you've turned your dryer into an air-conditioner in January. If this isn't what you intended, replace the hood with one that seals very tightly when the dryer's blower is off. Even if the flapper only seals loosely, replace that hood. It's worth the extra bucks to have a good seal.
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