IF you've had a baby, there could be a surprising reason why your energy bills might have nudged up even more, an expert has claimed.
Millions of households saw their energy bills double from April 1 to an average of £1,971 after the price cap went up.
But if you've had a baby, you might be paying even more, Currys group carbon and environment manager Matt Manning said.
You'd think that most gadgets you'd typically buy as a new parent - like breast pumps and monitors - would cost a lot to run.
But surprisingly, they're not the main culprit behind bill hikes many families are hit with - it's actually your washing machine.
That's because you'll most likely be using it a lot much more than you usually would to clean messy and stained clothes.
In fact, it could be adding £48 a year to your bills.
But Mr Manning, who has worked at Currys for six years, has revealed to The Sun his top tips for driving down costs.
Doing more laundry - £47 a year
You might feel like in between feeding, changing and playing with your little one, you're constantly trying to tackle the growing laundry pile.
According to Uswitch, cleaning all those messy clothes could be adding £48 a year more to your energy bills.
While popping the tumbledryer on an extra cycle each week will be adding £16.60 over the year.
To beat these bill hikes, Mr Manning said families will want to check their washing machine settings.
"Check if your washing machine has an eco-setting - this could help save energy usage and money, with the click of a button," he said.
This could save you £15 a year.
While washing your clothes at 30 degrees instead of at 40 could shave £12 a year off your bills.
Cheap baby gadget running costs
Although your brand new baby gadgets might have cost a lot to buy, luckily they won't be adding too much to your bills.
"The energy and annual cost of running these types of products are very low," Mr Manning said.
He said a baby monitor uses around 5 watts of power, so using it for eight hours during the night hours would use 0.04 kwh of power – which is 14p an hour.
Over a year, this would cost you £4.13.
While using an electrical breast pump for an hour a day for a year will only cost of £1.55.
Old appliances - £145 a year
As well as battling against a never-ending mound of dirty clothes, you'll be off your feet preparing meals and playing with your baby.
You'll be using your cooker more, and your TV too for putting on children's shows.
But old household appliances could be adding up to £145 a year to your bills, because they require more energy to run.
If you're thinking about replacing yours, then make sure to opt for more energy efficient models.
"Check energy labels on the front of machines," Mr Manning said.
"Energy efficiency information should be clearly displayed and will cover everything from water consumption to eco programmes."
Buying new appliances can be expensive - but there are other ways to save on running costs.
Make sure to switch energy guzzling appliances off properly, instead of leaving them on standby - as this could be adding £500 a year to your bills.
Here is the surprising household appliance that is adding £85 a year onto your bills.
And here's seven appliances you need to switch off now to save money.
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