Ideas for Greening Your Laundry Room

Go Green in 2014: Week 6

Over the past few years, I have been slowly going green in my laundry room. Why?

Reasons to go green in the laundry room

There are more reasons and ways to go green with your laundry practices than I can possibly list here. These are just a few of those reasons.

• Save the environment from toxic chemicals
• Preserve your family's health by avoiding chemicals
• Avoid skin and lung irritations caused by harmful ingredients
• Conserve the earth's resources (water, energy)
• Save money by using fewer resources
• Your laundry will still get clean

More reasons to avoid commercial laundry products (click the link to read the article)

The dangers of chemicals in the laundry room

As I briefly noted above, laundry room chemicals can be harmful to both the environment and your family. They pollute the air, water, and even absorb into the skin through contact with your clothing. Phosphates, sodium lauryl sulfate, and dioxane are just a few of these chemicals that could be in your laundry detergent.

Let's take sodium lauryl sulfate as an example. This is the compound that makes your shampoo, hand soap, and laundry detergent, among other household products, lather - it is not necessary to get you or your laundry clean. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a known human irritant to the skin, eyes, and lungs. Other concerns may be organ system toxicity and ecotoxicology (source).

~ ~ ~

Look at the ingredients on your bottle of detergent, fabric softener, and stain remover, then see if you can find any of them on this list of hazardous ingredients in household products, a publication of the Cancer Prevention Coalition.

homemade chemical-free laundry soap (see recipe below)

6 ways to go green in the laundry room 

1. If your budget allows, purchase high efficiency (HE) machines

Until we bought our first house, my husband and I had never owned a washing machine or dryer. Either our rental homes came equipped with them, or we were able to borrow a set...until now. So, when it came time to purchase our first set, we were forced to choose between the more budget-friendly machines and high efficiency ones. In the end, we decided the HE models would be more practical. They use less water and electricity, and are more effective at cleaning our laundry. In the long run, they will potentially save us more money. The only drawbacks are that they cost more initially and they could be more expensive to fix if something goes wrong.

2. Save money by using cold water when possible

Naturally, it costs money to heat water, so you can save both money and resources by using cold water to wash your laundry. I try to use cold water unless I think a particular load - such as dirty jeans, towels, or bedding - needs extra cleaning power.

3. Dry for less time, or hang laundry on a clothesline 

It may take a little extra work to hang laundry on an outdoor clothesline than throw them in the dryer, but you can save a lot of money on your electric bill by doing so when the weather allows. If it isn't an option, consider taking them out of the dryer ten minutes early and hang them up inside the house to finish drying.   

4. Replace fabric softener with wool dryer balls 

As you may already know by now, fabric softener and dryer sheets contain harmful chemicals, and they reduce the absorbency of towels. I quit using dryer sheets several years ago, and had been using plastic dryer balls until a couple weeks ago. However, upon learning that the heat from the dryer can cause chemicals to leech onto your laundry and into the air, I purchased a set of wool dryer balls from Smart Sheep. They have been working great; although they don't noticeably reduce drying time, my clothes don't have nearly as much static, and they come out feeling soft.

5. Make your own laundry detergent

I made my own powder detergent using a grated bar of Dr. Bronner's castile soap, 2 cups of washing soda (NOT baking soda!), and 2 cups of borax. Simply mix it all together and add 1/8 - 1/4 cup to the machine with your laundry, or 1 Tablespoon for HE machines. Warning: If you have a high efficiency machine, be sure to read your warranty carefully, because using anything other than HE laundry detergent could potentially void the warranty.

6. And the obvious: Wash less laundry

Of course, you can only go so far with this one, but you can save money and resources by washing larger and fewer loads. Personally, I try to wear my jeans and work pants several times before washing them, unless they actually get dirty. You can get a couple days' use out of towels, but if possible, hang them on a towel bar to dry properly, rather than on a hook.

How have you gone green in your laundry room?

~ ~ ~

Your challenge: This week, green your laundry room in some way, whether it's cutting back on drying time, making your own laundry detergent, or ditching the fabric softener.

______________________________________________________

**This post is part of a weekly challenge {Go Green in 2014}, during which the author has challenged herself - and you - to find 52 ways to lead a greener life in 2014. You can follow the weekly posts on this page.**