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Greening up your laundry

I’ve had this post swirling around for a while. I have tried to green up various parts of my life here and there, and lately have been concentrating on our laundry.

Did you know that the average American family does seven to eight loads of laundry per week? Most mainstream laundry detergents use about 3.25 oz of detergent per load and most high efficiency detergents use 1.5 oz per load. That is A LOT of detergent! And A LOT of contaminates entering our septic tanks and ground water!

The first - and easiest - step you can take to green up your laundry is switch detergents. You can go back to basics and simply use soap nuts, such as Maggies Purland Soapnuts. Soapnuts refer to the seeds of the sapindus genus that grow in tropical regions. According to Wikipedia,

Soap nuts, especially Sapindus mukorossi, have become popular as an environmentally friendly alternative to manufactured, chemical detergents . A few nuts can be placed in a cotton drawstring bag in with a washload and reused several times. Soap nuts are safe for washing silk, woolens and other delicate fabrics.

Alternatively, you can find natural, biodegradable detergents at your local box or natural grocery store. Brands include Method, Seventh Generation, Charlie’s, or Allen’s Naturally. We prefer the Ecover products for our laundry, but in a pinch I have picked up Method detergent from Target. We use the detergent, stain remover and non-chlorine bleach.

So now that you have new detergent…

Reduce your use. It is really easier than it sounds…honestly! Those jeans you wore yesterday? Are they really dirty? Can you get one more day out of them? What about those pajamas? Think and look - then decide if that item really needs to be laundered or if you can get one more wear.

Reduce you water consumption by investing in a front loading washing machine, which uses a little over half the water of a traditional top loader. But we all know this already, don’t we?

Lastly - and most importantly - reducing your energy consumption. Did you know that the average clothes dryer uses a HUGE amount of energy? According to the Energy Information Administration, a standard household dryer uses 5.8% of the total energy consumed. That’s a total of 66 billion kWh per year. But what does that really mean? Your average electric clothes dryer uses 4000 watts per hour. For comparison purposes, your washing machine uses 500 watts per hour, and your vacuum cleaner uses about 200 watts.

So what can you do?

First, let your dryer do it’s job. Set your dryer to “less dry” and let it’s auto sensors determine when your clothes are dry. If you don’t have an auto setting, try setting your dryer to 30 minute dry, then check it frequently to find out how long it really takes to dry your clothes. Over-drying clothes causes unnecessary damage to the fibers and inordinate amounts of static.

Make sure your dryer is functioning properly. At one point our heating element was starting to go, and our clothes were taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R to dry. A quick and easy (and cheap) fix and my clothes were drying in half the time.

Some people choose to use plastic dryer balls, such as those from Nellie’s Laundry. I, however, would recommend avoiding them. Dryer balls are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is a toxic plastic, especially when heated. The byproducts produced by the production of PVC are equally as toxic to the environment.

Keep in mind that standard dryer sheets contain some of the most harmful chemicals found in your household cleaning cabinet.  These sheets are designed to add a pleasing scent, soften fibers and reduce static.  Alternatively, you can take a soft flannel cloth and douse it with an all natural fabric softener, such as Seventh Generation or Ecover and toss that into the dryer with your clothes.  Tossing in this simple cloth will add a pleasing scent and soften your clothing; preventing over drying will keep your clothes static free.

Lastly, to avoid dryer use, hang your clothes up to dry. You might think it’s harder than it is, but really, it’s a breeze! We have a hanging drying rack mounted on the wall in our teeny tiny laundry room. It holds about half of a load of clothes. We also use a standard drying rack for our other garments. In the winter and during pollen season, I place the movable rack under a vent overnight while we are sleeping. They might not be completely dry in the morning, but I can at least cut my drying time down by 75%.

Here’s my hang-drying process:

• Wash clothes normally, but add an extra spin with a top loader machine; this will significantly cut down your drying time, whether hanging or drying in the dryer. I also add vinegar to the wash for softening.
• Hang clothes up carefully, trying to keep them from overlapping. I tend to hang the heavier items on top and the lighter items on the bottom so that the heavier items get more airflow.
• Allow clothes to hang until dry or almost dry
• Once clothes are either completely or almost dry, toss them in the dryer with a wet hand towel and fluff for about 10-15 minutes with heat. This softens the fibers. My darling husband won’t wear “hard” clothes, so he wasn’t too fond of hang drying until I learned this little trick. The moisture from the cloth softens wrinkles, as well, without adding static.
• Fold as usual - you’re done!

Good luck greening up your laundry routine!

Did I forget something? Add it to the comments.