It’s time to really clean your clothes!
Between the synthetic fragrances & all the harmful ingredients, doing laundry can be pretty dangerous!
There are lots of non-toxic alternatives. You can make your own detergent or support companies that offer safer products. You really can control your ingredients & have clean clothes. With our skin being our largest organ, it’s crucial to be careful about what it’s in contact with all day.
Laundry detergent & fabric softener are often overlooked but they have some serious issues if you don’t pick the right ones. EWG has a really helpful guide to cleaner ratings for laundry detergent here. I use Biokleen, homemade & Thieves laundry soap.
I’m not going to focus on all the dangers of detergent, but if you are interested in learning more then hit this link. Stacey Kimbrell’s book, Living Balanced, also has information & recipes. You can also go to her website, www.livinganointed.com
There are so many DIY laundry detergent recipes. This is one of those things that will be trial & error. We all have different water, washing machines & clothes that play a factor in what will work best for our laundry. Here is one to try from grassfedgirl.com . She also has a borax free recipe on her website.
Fabric Softener is one of the worse household items anyone could use. The ingredients are very harmful & it coats your clothes with some pretty nasty residue. Then those same clothes touch your skin all day- Blah! You can use this handy non-toxic alternative.
Some healthier options are DIY fabric softener, rubber dryer balls & wool dryer balls. Drying your colored clothes ½ way & then hanging them on a drying rack or clothes line to finish will help prevent static as well. Dryer bags also can help with static.
DIY Static Free Dryer Bag/Himalayan Sea Salt Bag
Ingredients:
3-6 Tbsp Himalayan rock salt
3 drops Lavender or Purification
Small 100 % cotton drawstring bags
Directions:
Place rock salt into the cotton bag, add oil drops & draw strings together tying into a knot. Then wrap around neck &tie for safety from opening. Place in dryer with clothes. Add essential oils to salt as needed (maybe once week)
You can make your own wool dryer balls with this DIY or this one, or buy them already made. You can add 1-2 drops of essential oil on the wool ball for a nice smell. Rubber dryer balls are available online & most stores have them in the laundry section where clothes pins & baskets are found. I’ve been using them for years. I keep 4 in my dryer at a time.
I add about ¼ cup white vinegar to my washing machine in the rinse cycle. You can also make up a batch of this DIY Liquid Fabric Softener to use:
DIY Liquid Fabric Softener
Ingredients:
1 cup distilled water
1 cup baking soda
2 cups white vinegar
25 drops Essential oil
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a pourable glass container. Add desired amount (about 1/8-1/4 cup) to washing machine during rinse cycle.
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