laundry – Blogging about What It Takes to be Healthy

Laundry.

Who doesn’t like fresh-smelling, soft, and clean laundry?

This luxury comes at a cost: water, detergents, softeners, energy, and plastics.

To reduce water use, use water efficient front loaders and wash a full load each time. To reduce pollution, use earth-friendly detergent sheets instead of pods. The sheets can be torn into smaller sizes to match smaller loads and reduce plastic waste. Even better, use detergent powder that comes in a cardboard box.

To reduce air pollution, use natural fragrance dryer sheets that are biodegradable or natural reusable lavender dryer bags. Consider skipping fabric softeners altogether.

Hang clothes on a clothesline or rack, either indoors or outdoors. Choose a spot with good air circulation – in temperate climates – dry near a hot air source. During the winter months, when our basement furnace was in use, we used to hang our laundry near it.

You naturally get that fresh outdoor smell that the chemicals in dryers sheets are trying to mimic when you hang laundry outdoors. The fragrances and chemicals of traditional dryers sheets create air pollution and carcinogens.

There are laundry products that are natural, biodegradable, and contain no plastics.

Consider brands like Seventh Generation, Earth Breeze, Trader Joe’s lavendar dryer bags. Other options: 100% cotton clothes, when hung to dry, can feel stiff. Adding 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser may soften 100% cotton laundry such as towels. Note: Vinegar is an acid hence harmful to some fabrics. Most synthetic blend fabrics are still soft after being hung-dried.

Avoid fabrics that need dry cleaning. Please keep it simple.

I am asking you to be conscious of how your purchases affect the environment.

Sustainability benefits you personally.