When is the best time to do laundry?

I think about energy efficiency a lot, so my question of the moment is... when is the best time to do laundry? For me, my laundry consists of machine wash and machine dry.

Washer Efficiency
With the wash, the question is when is the best time to use a pretty much fixed amount of water and energy. I think that's when electricity production is at its most efficient, which is at night and on weekends. That's because the energy companies use their most efficient electricity generators 24 hours a day, but add less efficient generators as load increases.

Dryer Efficiency
With the dryer, the question is when is it easiest for the dryer to remove moisture. I think that's during low-humidity times. Dryers draw in air to work their magic, so the more dry the air is, the more quickly the laundry will dry.

Also, note again that dryers suck in air, and exhaust warm moist air outside. During extremely cold or hot weather, a heating system or air conditioning system will need to heat or cool this new outside air. It's good to minimize this expense too. Therefore, it is best to avoid doing laundry during very hot or very cold weather.

Conclusion
So I try to do laundry on dry nights and weekends. If it is particularly hot, cold, or damp outside, I'll put off laundry for another day.

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair. Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator. Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way. Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver. I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...

Sodastream Carbonator Leakage, Usage, and Weight

SodaStream 60L "Carbonator" CO2 cylinders have a specific weight when empty, plus about 410 or so grams for the CO2 they should have when they're "full". A little while ago I went to buy a replacement Carbonator from my local hardware store. The dealer pulled a new Carbonator out of the box and sensed it was lighter than usual. He put the "light" Carbonator in the "empty" pile and sold me a different one. At that moment I concluded that it would be smart of me to weigh both new and empty SodaStream carbonators. Here are the results. Weighing a SodaStream Carbonator - for both Science and Consumer Protection. The dealer told me that sometimes the carbonators leak after they leave the SodaStream filling facility. That means there could be an opportunity for customers like me to get ripped off! The SodaStream cylinders I buy claim to have a net product weight of 410 grams - and that means that a full Soda Stream Carbonator shou...

Repairing an HP Pavillion DV6 Motherboard

Here's my procedure on how to remove and replace the logic board of an HP Pavilion DV6. My model is a DV6-3122US, and many DV6s of the 3000 series are similar. These machines often fail to start due to a motherboard failure. With a motherboard failure, upon pressing power the fan will first spin and the power light comes on. The capslock key will flash white once every 4 seconds, and the f12 key will stay a solid orange, and the screen - although powered up - displays black only. Although the caps lock "single blink" indicator at boot implies a CPU failure, in my experience it is not due to the CPU itself but the supporting components on the motherboard. The only solid solution is to repair or replace the motherboard. Replacement boards are readily available. I bought one and replaced it myself. Disassembly Procedure NOTE: The screws are different sizes, and its important to reinstall them correctly. I color-coded the different screws in the photos...

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu...

MacBook: burnt out magsafe connector repair

My MacBook (A1342 model from 2009-2010) stopped working, thanks to a cheap knockoff magsafe charger. The magsafe connector looked burnt with heat-distorted melted plastic and some black carbon surfaces. Plugging in the charger resulted in no lights and no action. My MacBook was dead. First I tried to clean up the connector with some Q-Tips, tooth picks and solvent, but that did little, as seen in this "after" picture (below). The heat generated by the aftermarket charger permanently deformed and distorted the MacBook's magsafe connector. Clearly the damage was significant. Burnt Magsafe Connector - Replacement Required! Looking at iFixIt , I determined that it would not be difficult to replace only the magsafe connector with the right tools. I hoped and prayed that the problem was isolated to the connector assembly and not the logic board. I bought a replacement magsafe connector assembly (available from Amazon) for under $20 and started to rep...

Installing the Eve Smart MotionBlind Upgrade with my Large Roller Shade

I have a large window in the front of my house and a roller shade was just the right window treatment for it. But I also wanted to automate it. My MotionBlind Upgrade kit and my new roller shade I looked around to buy something that I was comfortable with, but simple non-automated roller blinds can be expensive, especially when they're larger than 6 ft x 6 ft. This is disappointing, as a roller blind is just a tube with a small amount of synthetic cloth but can easily cost hundreds of dollars. Plus, since I wanted a smarthome blind, we're talking $500 or more from the "service oriented shops". I'm a tech guy. I think can do better. After thinking about DIY and creative solutions, I decided to try out the Eve MotionBlinds Upgrade (MBU) kit. This kit transforms an ordinary roller blind into a smart blind. The MotionBlinds mechanism is basically consists of a small motor and battery in a long metal tube. This motor tube slides into a roller blind ...

The Lance J. Technoweb

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