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BANG FOR THE BITE
If every U.S. household replaced one box of 48 oz. petroleum-based powder laundry detergent with a vegetable-based product, we'd save enough oil to heat and cool 5,300 homes for one year.
COCKTAIL FACT
WiFi-washing machines? Yep. Worcester Polytechnic Institute has a web page allowing students to check the progress of their laundry via computer.
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home › tip library › Eco-cleaning - Eco Laundry Detergent
Your house is sparkling, and the floors have never looked better. What's next on your laundry list?
The Bite
You’re on the spring cleaning home stretch. Next step: airing out the house and freshening your linens. To experience real clean, go natural.The Benefits
- With natural ingredients, you’ll know what you’re getting. The contents listed on a popular laundry detergent include anionic and nonionic surfactants and a buffering agent. Say what?
- Avoid skin irritation caused by old-school products. Fabrics can appear and smell fresh, but still be laden with chemicals that are absorbed through your pores.
- Stop coughing! Fragrances in detergents and fabric softeners may cause allergies and asthma, and contain phthalates - nasty stuff used in car paint production.
Personally Speaking
Inexplicably, we both love to do laundry (and are huge fans of the great scents in Mrs. Meyers, Method and Seventh Generation products). Of course, floors and windows and bathrooms… well, that’s another matter.Wanna Try?
- Ecos Liquid Laundry Detergent - available in magnolia and lilies, lavender, or lemongrass scents; also sold in bulk ($7/53 oz).
- EnviroRite Laundry Detergent - highly recommended for asthmatics ($13/64 oz).
- Sun & Earth Ultra Fabric Softener - non-toxic and chem-free ($6/40 oz).
- Method Dryer Sheets - if you just can’t give up your dryer sheets yet, give these biodegradable ones a try ($5/32 sheets).
Apr 13,2006
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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Laundry, one of the 5 things I have in common with Heather
Heather and I are great partners... we barely overlap, hence we are pretty complimentary. However, the two things main things on which we agree:
- George Clooney is hot.
- Doing laundry is therapeutic - we love the process, we love the smell, we love the warm clothes after.
Yes,
there are a few more similarities like the obvious (love of cheese,
chocolate, wine), but after that, honestly, we are divinely divergent.
So George..
be prepared to have us go to the mat for you. And then ask to do your
laundry in the case you got a bit roughed-up in the tussle.
Off to stare at this month's Vanity Fair with my pretend Hollywood boyfriend on the cover - Jen
Biter Comments...
Question: I'm confused by the comment about Method dryer sheets containing tallow. Is that an allergy concern for some? Or an animal-products type concern? You made mention of it, so I feel like it's something maybe I should worry about. But I don't know why...
A few years back I read that fabric softener sheets just coat your clothing with petrochemicals. First, I started ripping them in half, to save money, and it was just as effective. But the more I learned about artificial, chemical fragrances (the company I work with rarely uses them), the less I wanted to use them. So I stopped using them altogether.
I'm quite happy with my laundry without using the dryer sheets. We recently purchase a Bosche front-loading washer and dryer (major energy saver) and I rarely have problems with static electricity. And my clothing and linens aren't hard and stiff from not using dryer sheets.
I'm not sold on liquid detergent. Here we are shipping water (in the form of bottled detergent) all over the surface of the Earth in fossil fuel powered transport systems - spewing CO2 all the way, when we could reduce the weight by a factor of four by using powdered dtergents. Does Ecos or any of the other green brands carry any dry detergents that dont waste so much of our planet's dear resources?
First, yes, Seventh Generation sells big boxes of dry laundry detergent (unscented and citrus scents) and i find it works great. MY question is, in an effort to not use so much water, we follow the "if it's yellow let it mellow" policy and the toilet gets gruby faster than i'd like. I use the 7th gen mint toilet cleaner (no licking!) and it works fine for the recent grime but i've had some caretakers, renters and housesitters from time to time in my house who used the toilet brush less frequently than i would have liked and the end result is a nasty and seemingly impossible to remove brown orange ring around the water line. Does anyone know of any natural products that will get this off?!!? or do i just need to accept the ring as wabi sabi evidence of an interesting life and move on?
I use an ecosence liquid that is highly concentrated, less than an oz. will do an entire load including high efficience machines. The greatest part is per load it is $0.16, when compared to the #1 national brand at $0.26 and leading eco brand at $0.33.
My favorite smell is warm fresh towels from the dryer and sheets from the line.
Newest member of the secret bathroom cleaners club.......
Jen, George is totally mine. Hands off. He wants me.
I wonder if George cleans in the nude..............what a nice thought for the rest of the Day!
Hi guys,
I've been reading your tips for awhile now, and I'm psyched about your Vanity Fair spot...way to go getting green out to the masses! I have a (probably incredibly obvious) question: Do you conserve more $$/energy by hand-washing clothes or using the washing machine? Thanks!
Marnie - your intuition was correct - tallow comes from cows.
Your daily tip about laundry reminded me of something I used to do instead of dryer sheets (before I got a front-load, water- and energy-saving washer that has a place to put in liquid fabric softener). Actually, I've used two alternatives:
* use a washcloth instead of a disposable dryer sheet. Just put some liquid fabric softener onto a moist washcloth and toss it in the dryer like a dryer sheet. I used to wet the washcloth and ring it out, but you could put it right in with the wash so it would be damp and ready for fabric softener when you move clothes to the dryer.
* You can buy these funky little ball things that you put fabric softener in and throw in the wash. (Downy makes them, but you don't have to use Downy in them.) The ball floats on top during the wash and comes open in the spin before the rinse. I think this would only work for agitating washers (not the front-loading kind).
Happy laundering!
Want to do my laundry? That is the only chore in my home that I seriously despise. Its not so much the washing, its everything after taking it out of the dryer. Please fill me in on how it is therapudic and maybe I can shift my mindset so that I don't perpetually have baskets of clean laundry on my floor waiting to get hung up and folded.
Kristen - it is therapeutic for me because someone else is doing the hard work - the washer and dryer! They go in dirty, come out clean, honestly - does it get much better?
Response for Philip and his toliet ring problem, try a pumice stone. You can get them for about $1 in the manicure/pedicure dept of any store. Just rub it on the stain in a circular motion. I've never had a problem with scratching but you may want to do a test spot first, just to be sure. Good luck!
Sorry, guess that was Rebecca with the toliet ring, not Philip.
Fabric softener is really one of those things you can just live without. My parents didn't use it, so I'd never even been exposed until I moved out in my twenties and got a roommate. The clothes were a little softer maybe, but the towels don't soak up water as well as they used too. And the 'softness' really feels kinda fake and chemical-like to me. If it's so stiff when you take it out, shake it around for a while, or toss it on the couch and let the kids roll around on it!
as for the dryer - do what new mom's do (or should be doing) - use vinegar in the rinse water. it removes any remaining detergent so delicate, baby skin doesn't get irritated by residual detergent. no need to use anything in the dryer. there's no smell, and clothes are naturally soft, not chemically softened.
The dryer balls (from places like Bed Bath and Beyond) work wonderfully.
Also, the pumice stone really gets the rust off the toilet bowl (the nasty orange ring). We have an old farmhouse with rusty well water, didn't scratch the bowl at all.
I find that Earth Friendly Products Ecos Laundry Detergent has the best scents. I particularly like the Lemongrass. They're also ultra concentrated so you don't need to use that much. They're low sudsing so they're great for HE washing machines. Plus they include soy-based fabric softener - The ultimate in convenience and softness. They also make a powdered detergent.
I've been using Trader Joe's Next to Godliness powder detergent. It says it's made from plant based products and is biodegradable. Does anyone know if this truly is an eco-friendly product? Also, if I use COLD/COLD, I get clumps of the detergent left in the plastic soap cup and sometimes on the clothes. Any ideas?
I live off the grid and have built a small soap-box and field to handle the run-off from my "laundry shack". The property is waterfront on the Pacific and I am concerned about the runoff eventually making it's way into the ocean where we harvest a certain amount of our food. Can anybody help me choose a safe/affordable/bulk detergent. (I am going to check on 7th Generation)
be careful of dryer balls. most are made of pvc.
I use a non-toxic, biodegradable liquid detergent which is very concentrated, 1 oz. cleans a load in any temp water at $0.16/load. There's nothing to clump up in the dispenser cup or on the clothe, and nothing to irritate baby's or mommy's skin. It is a non-alkaline, pH-neutral formula without fillers that won't harm septic systems. It could be the same product that Rebecca uses and is part of a whole line of non-toxic products for bath, body and home that work and are available online at wholesale prices. Just think of all the gasoline not used on shopping trips. The line also has a cleaner that takes care of the ring in the toilet bowl without scrubbing!
I want to use a biodegradable power laundry detergent, but haven't found one that actually works yet. I like the seventh generation products, but the powder laundry detergent didn't dissolve unless I used hot water, and even then didn't clean my clothes well. The liquid worked well, but I'd prefer a powder. I'll try ecosence next.
Has anyone tried a hole bunch and have a favorite?
I haven't seen any comments about biokleen laudry detergent. A small 64oz bottle cleans 64 loads. All you need is two tablespoons per load. Also, to save energy, I have a clothes-line set up in a spare room. During the winter(which is long here in Alaska), I hang my clothes up--the air is so dry here that they dry overnight. Then I put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes to soften them up. I also throw in a dryer sheet but I can reuse it several times.
I use biokleen laudry detergent. It only takes two tablespoons per load. One 2-quart bottle does 64 loads. I also hung a clothes-line in a spare room. During the winter, I hang my clothes to dry. Then I put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes to soften them. I also throw in a dryer sheet but I can reuse it several times.
Why wasn't Seventh Generations products on the list?
Shaklee fabric sheets are soy based and have a perforated edge down the middle so that you can tear them in half and use them for two loads. You can also recylce them when you are done with them along with your paper products. Their laundry detergent and softener is highly concentrated so you only need 2 tablespoons of detergent for one load of laundry and the clothes smell great.
i trust these laundry services. do i have to?
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www.joyoflaundry.net
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: haverwench | April 13, 2006 at 08:28 AM