Cleaner home, happier planet: how your Bank Holiday spring clean could help you save energy

With a Bank Holiday around the corner, it’s the perfect time to give your home a thorough spring clean. So E.ON has pulled together some cleaning tips that can help your home run more efficiently, saving energy and money in the process.

To help make the best of this season’s clean, E.ON has partnered with household cleaning expert and influencer Laura Mountford, aka @LauraCleanaholic to share energy saving cleaning tips.

Laura said: “As we’re spending more time in our homes than ever before, it’s definitely worth thinking about how you can reduce your energy use during lockdown. Just by making a few simple changes as part of your cleaning routine, you can really make a difference and save energy and money.

“I use these tips myself and have noticed a difference. Making your home more sustainable might sound like a challenge, but it’s surprising how just a few small changes can make a big difference to your overall energy use.”

Whether you’ve got five minutes or five hours, these tips will help get you started on your spring clean this Bank Holiday:

• Deep breath and declutter: Clearing out clutter can often be a tedious task. But clearing out the loft can be a great opportunity to ensure your home’s insulation is at the right level. A well-insulated home will regulate temperature efficiently, meaning less need for central heating or electric fans. What’s more, the right insulation could save you some £200 on your energy bills.

• Sweeping savings: When sprucing up our homes, one appliance that will almost always make an appearance is the trusty vacuum cleaner. However, you can make your vacuum cleaner more energy efficient by emptying the dust collector before or after each use. According to @LauraCleanaholic: “Our trusty vacuum cleaners can use more energy than you’d think. Clean your vacuum regularly and empty the dust collector after each use and you could significantly improve the suction power and reduce the amount of energy it uses. Simply unplug your machine, remove the filter, wash with soapy water and a cloth, then allow to dry naturally. The type of vacuum cleaner you have will also affect power usage, so this is definitely something to consider when you purchase your next machine.”

• Dry efficiently: Did you know that cleaning the filter on your tumble dryer helps it work better and therefore helps reduce energy waste? To save even more energy, use dryer balls during the cycle – they help reduce drying time by creating space between the heat and fabric.

• Another one bites the dust: Dusting down light fittings and electronics helps ensure they run more efficiently by removing any particles or cobwebs that might affect their performance. To make light fixtures even more efficient, consider switching to energy saving light bulbs too.

• Cool clean: When using the washing machine, set the temperature to 30oC and you could use around 40% percent less electricity. @LauraCleanaholic adds: “Every day seems to be laundry day at the moment so when you’re using your washing machine, set the temperature lower to save energy. Most detergents clean your clothes just as effectively at a lower setting. If your washing machine has an eco-mode then try to use this as often as possible; even if the cycle is longer it means that the water is not being heated up as quickly, therefore using less energy.”

• Feel the heat: It’s something that most of us never think to do but dusting the inner corners and ducts of your radiators can actually help keep heat flowing more freely, helping to ensure they are working at their best.

• Oven scrub: Opening the oven door to check on food allows heat to escape, creating energy waste. Instead, deep clean your oven door so you can look into it when you need to whilst minimising unnecessary heat loss.

To find out more about how you could save energy at home, and for personalised energy saving tips, visit eonenergy.com/save

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