We all make a significant effort to ensure our clothes are clean and fresh, but ironically the very detergents that we normally use to get our clothes “clean” may actually be leaving them worse off than they were before we ran the wash.
1. GO MAGNETIC. Replace your laundry detergent with the Magnetic Laundry System. There is no greater impact you can have on your laundry than making this change.
That is because most consumer laundry detergents, the normal brands found at supermarkets, etc., may be loaded with potentially toxic chemicals that could harm you, your family and the environment. Residues of these chemicals remain on your clothing, even after washing and drying the clothes, and are possibly absorbed into your body through your skin and even evaporated into the air where they may be breathed in.
2. SOFTEN NATURALLY. Replace your dryer sheets with our reusable Dryer System. You will not be adding any toxic chemicals to the wash process, and you can actually save up to 25% of the run time and therefore 25% of the energy it takes to run that cycle. You can also try adding 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. How dangerous are fabric softeners and dryer sheets? Here is a list of toxic ingredients found in both laundry detergents and fabric softeners. The best defense against poisoning your household and the environment is educating yourself and being aware.
3. STILL MISSING THE “PERFUMEY” SMELL? GET IT WITHOUT THE TOXINS. Neither the Laundry System nor the Dryer System adds fragrance to your wash. After all, clean clothes smell like nothing. But if it is the beautifully toxic fragrance in fabric softeners (and detergent) that you desire, just substitute a few drops of your favorite essential oil instead. You’ll get the fragrance without the harmful toxins.
3. FILL ‘ER UP. Fill up your washing machine, just not with petrochemical detergents. Fill it up with a full load of wash. The average family uses their washing machine 5-10 times per week, which means up to an astounding 20,800 gallons of water goes through the washer annually. If you always run a full load, you will reduce wasting water, and save a significant amount of money on energy and water costs.
4. WHITER WHITES WITHOUT THE DANGERS. You should avoid chlorine bleach at all costs because it is most likely the most toxic legal chemical you can have in your home. Not only does it threaten your health and the environment, but it will destroy your clothing over time. It is not worth the risk. A great alternative is the oxygen based bleaches that are in a base of hydrogen peroxide. These are infinitely safer, and you aren’t giving up anything in the way of effectiveness.
5. WHEN LIFE THROWS YOU LEMONS…USE THEM ON STAINS. Lemon juice is a powerful and effective (but all natural) bleaching agent. It is even more effective on vegetable and fruit stains.
6. THE MOST POWERFUL, ALL NATURAL ANTIBIOTIC. When everybody is sick in the house and you need to sterilize the clothes and the sheets, what do you do? Bleach works great right? Well yes and no. Chlorine bleach will kill everything, but do you want that incredibly nasty and effective killer on your skin and pillowcases? This is a very serious toxin for ALL forms of life, not just bacteria. Why not just use white vinegar in your washer? Vinegar is cheap, effective and most importantly, non-toxic. It will kill 99.9% of all bacteria in the wash, and using hot water will kill the rest.
“Each year, laundry product formulators use billions of pounds of chemical ingredients to make cleaning products. Ultimately, laundries release these chemicals to the environment in their waste water. The EPA is concerned about the effect chemicals in the waste water might have on the quality of aquatic and sediment life, the biodegradability of laundry effluents and laundry worker health and safety.”
–United States Environmental Protection Agency