Eco Friendly Tips for doing Laundry
Reducing your carbon footprint means taking action to minimize unsustainable practices in all aspects of your daily routines. One routine that comes to mind that we all dread is doing the laundry. Even though most households have access to their own private machines or at least are in walking distance of a laundry mat, most still put it off until there are no more socks in the drawer. To many, it may seem like an inconvenience or waste of valuable time especially in this fast paced convenience lifestyle. And because of this, it seems that the days of hand washing and air drying clothing is gone. The truth is though, while hand washing and air drying are ways to reduce pollution and emissions into the environment, there are many more eco friendly tips for doing laundry that you can implement without getting too wrapped up in the chore.
Purchase Eco-Friendly Detergents
At some point these bottles were a highly recyclable item. However, as time goes on it is being discovered that these bottles are sometimes just thrown into the landfills because consumers don’t rinse them out ahead of time, or the county’s recycling plant just plain doesn’t except them. There are so many amazing alternatives that are hitting the market this year that completely do away with the plastic bottle. Here are some favorites:
This brand has developed a laundry sheet that is vegan, cruelty free, eco-friendly, hypoallergenic and more. Just 1 sheet is needed for each load. The sheets completely dissolve in the laundry, so no mess! And the packaging is 100% biodegradable, which means absolutely no plastic materials are found in this product at all. One top of all this, the sheets are completely natural and chemical free, so you know they won’t be polluting our water ways.
Non-Toxic Plant Based Laundry Powder
Companies are switching detergents to powders in place of liquids so the packaging they come in can be made from non-plastic biodegradable materials. Biokleen is an eco-friendly, non toxic, plant based detergent with no artificial colors or dyes!
Now here is an innovative idea! These washing balls contain no chemical detergents at all. They are made from minerals that cut grease and remove stains in a completely natural way. They also alkalize your laundry water which optimizes it’s cleaning power. You can use these balls up to 2000 times!!
Cold water or Hot?
So let’s put this whole laundry thing into perspective. The average American family does around 10 loads of laundry every single week. That’s ALOT of water, and if you are washing clothing in hot water that means ALOT of energy is being used to heat this water. There seems to be some kind of idea that hot water is going to clean better then cold. The truth is, there is not much truth to this thought at all. Washers nowadays are getting cleaning efficiency from the detergents and the agitation that is used in the process. Save energy, the planet, and your wallet by washing clothing in cold water as much as possible!
Take it outdoors
It’s a wonder why more people aren’t utilizing the sun and wind to dry clothing. First and foremost it’s free, and it also cuts down household energy use immensely! This isn’t just a warm weather practice either, you can dry your clothes outdoors in the winter as well. A good rule of thumb to get into, is to check the weather in the beginning of the week and plan a good time to do laundry so it can be hung outside. If you aren’t living in a place where you can air dry, try using wool dryer balls. Wool balls can be put in with your drying clothes to help separate wet clothing, and circulate air to cut down on drying times!
Wear more and Wash less
Lastly, on this list of eco friendly tips for doing laundry is wear more and wash less. It’s a simple tip that anyone can do. Instead of washing your clothing after one wear, hang it to air dry, or if there is no odor, simply fold it up and put it away. Most clothing can go multiple wears without being washed, especially if it’s only worn for a few hours or so. Likewise, when it’s time to do laundry be sure to fill your washer up with larger loads instead of lots of little ones. This will save water, energy and time.
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