Town of Canton Clothes Washer Rebates: Watch Your Water Factor

The is currently offering residents a $75 credit on their water/sewer bills. The credit is applied for the installation of water efficient clothes washers with an Energy Star water factor of 4.5 or less. 

Water factor is a measurement of water efficiency that is calculated as gallons of water used per cubic foot of laundry capacity. For example, a washer that uses 24 gallons of water to wash 3 cubic feet of clothes will have a water factor rating of 8 (24÷3=8.) Water factor enables consumers to compare the efficiency of machines that hold different amounts of clothes. For example, a larger machine that holds a 4 cubic feet of laundry but uses the same 24 gallons of water is actually more efficient and that gets reflected in a lower water factor rating of 6.0 (24÷4=6.)

Bottom line, the lower the water factor, the more water efficient the clothes washer. A washer with a water factor of 4 uses 66% less water than a washer with a rating of 12. That’s about 9,000 gallons less per year for an average family!

In order to participate in the rebate program, please check the water factor of your clothes washer to make sure it is 4.5 or less. Looking for the Energy Star label alone is not enough if you want a rebate, because a few Energy Star rated machines have water factors as high as 6.0. The water factor for various machines is listed on the Energy Star website at www.energystar.org.

Choosing a machine with a water factor of 4.5 or lower (some go as low as 2.5) will not only lower your water-sewer bill, protect our local waterways and earn you a rebate, but it will also save on your energy bill.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average top loading washing machine uses about 41 gallons of water per load. This type of clothes washer requires a large amount of water to “float” the clothes to allow "back-and-forth" agitation during the wash cycle—the extra water is not needed for cleaning purposes. High efficiency washers, which are usually front loading, tumble the clothes up and down in the water to create the needed agitation, thereby requiring much less water for equal or better cleaning. Typical high efficiency washers use about 16 gallons per load, while several imported brands use less than 10 gallons.

The Canton Water & Sewer Department has partnered with the Neponset River Watershed Association to implement a one year water conservation program, funded in part, by a grant from the MassDEP.

For more information on rebates, please call the Water & Sewer Department at 781-821-501.

-Press Release contributed by the Neponset River Watershed Association.