How to Reduce Your Washing Machine's Water Use (and Cut the Bill)
By the TexasPowerCost Editorial Team — independent Texas electricity analysis · Last reviewed October 18, 2026 · how we analyze plans
Last updated: October 18, 2026 · 6 min read
A washer only uses the water you let it. A handful of habit changes, plus one bigger decision down the road, can trim both the gallons it draws and the slice of your power bill that goes to heating them, without spending a dollar or washing any less often. The order matters, though, because the moves that save the most water are not the same as the ones that save the most electricity.
The short answer
The two moves that matter most are running full loads and washing in cold water. Full loads spread each fill over more clothes; cold washing cuts the hot-water energy that is the real electricity cost of laundry. After that, use the normal or eco cycle, skip the extra rinse, let the machine auto-sense the load, fix any leaks, and eventually trade up to a high-efficiency washer.
Start With Full Loads and Cold Water
Two habits do most of the work. First, wait for a full load. Many cycles draw nearly the same amount of water for a half-empty drum as for a full one, so washing half loads roughly doubles the water, and the hot-water energy, spent per shirt. Second, and this is the one that reaches your electric bill, switch the default from warm to cold. Heating water is one of the biggest uses of electricity in a home, so washing cold stops you paying to heat almost every load. If you want to see where the water heater ranks against everything else, our guide to what uses the most electricity in a Texas home lays it out.
Pick the Right Cycle and Skip the Extras
Cycles are not equal on water. The normal or eco cycle uses less than heavy-duty, deep-fill, or bulky settings, which are built to add water on purpose. Skip the optional extra rinse unless someone in the house genuinely needs it, because it adds a whole rinse worth of water for little extra cleaning. And if your machine has automatic load sensing, let it weigh the load and choose the level itself rather than forcing the maximum fill every time. None of these cost anything, and together they shave gallons off every wash.
Fix the Slow Leaks
Small drips add up quietly. A fill valve that keeps trickling after the tub is full, a weeping hose connection, or a worn seal wastes water load after load, and any of that water which happens to be hot wastes electricity along with it on an electric water heater. Look behind the machine at the hot and cold hookups every so often, and fix a drip promptly rather than letting it run for months.
The Longer-Term Fix: a Low-Water Machine
Habits take you a long way, but the machine itself sets the floor. When it is time to replace, a high-efficiency front-loader or ENERGY STAR model uses a fraction of the water of an old agitator top-loader, and calls for less hot water along with it. That combination locks in the savings your habits were chasing. Our guide to which washing machine uses the least water lays out the typical gallons by machine type so you can shop for the low end.
Water down does not automatically mean power down
On an electric water heater, only the hot portion of the water you save shows up on your power bill. Assuming about 14¢/kWh, a typical Texas energy rate, switching your regular loads from warm to cold is the single change that reliably moves the electric meter, because it removes the water-heating step entirely. Cutting cold-water gallons is great for your water bill, but it does little to your power bill.
Where Your Rate Comes In
Every kilowatt-hour your water heater burns to warm a wash is billed at your per-kWh rate, so the exact same cold-wash habit is worth more when that rate is high and less when it is low. That is the piece behind the appliance you actually control the most: not how the washer is built, but the price on every unit of electricity it and everything else in the house consumes. Trim the hot water, then make sure the rate underneath it is competitive.
⚡ Lower the rate on every kWh
Cold washing cuts the hot-water energy; a cheaper plan cuts the price of every kilowatt-hour you use. Compare every plan in your ZIP at your real usage in under a minute.
Compare Plans Free →Common Questions
How do I reduce my washing machine's water use?
Start with the two biggest levers: run full loads instead of half-empty ones, and wash in cold to cut the hot-water portion. Then use the normal or eco cycle rather than heavy or deep-fill settings, skip the optional extra rinse, let automatic load sensing set the water level, and fix any leaks or a fill valve that keeps running. Longer term, replacing an old agitator machine with a high-efficiency model drops water use the most.
Does using less water save electricity?
Only the hot water does, and only if you heat with electricity. The washer motor uses little power on its own; the real electric cost of laundry is heating the wash water and running the dryer. So cutting hot-water gallons on an electric water heater lowers your power bill, while trimming cold-water gallons helps your water bill instead. That is why washing cold is the change that actually moves the electric meter.
Which wash cycle uses the least water?
The normal or eco cycle, ideally with automatic load sensing so the machine matches the water to the load. Heavy-duty, deep-fill, bulky, and sanitize cycles are designed to add water, and the optional extra rinse adds a full rinse on top. Choosing the standard cycle and skipping the extras keeps water use near the machine's low end.
Should I wash in cold water to save money?
For most laundry, yes. Modern detergents are formulated to work in cold, and washing cold removes the water-heating step that is the biggest electricity cost in doing laundry on an electric water heater. Save warm or hot for genuinely greasy or heavily soiled loads. At a typical Texas rate near 14 cents per kWh, defaulting to cold is one of the easiest recurring savings in the house.