Laundry

LAUNDRY

LAUNDRY

The average American family does roughly 300 loads of laundry every year. That will require about 12,000 gallons of water and will consume an enormous amount of energy. According to one study, the carbon dioxide emissions of our doing laundry is somewhere around 179 million metric tons. Things you can do to reduce your energy usage and save money are:

  • Replace your older machines with Energy Star appliances. Energy Star certified washers use about 25% less energy and 33% less water than regular washers. If every clothes washer purchased in the U.S. was ENERGY STAR certified, we could save more than $3.3 billion each year and prevent more than 19 billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions, equal to the emissions from more than 1.8 million vehicles.
  • Whenever possible, wash your laundry in cold water. Around 90 percent of the energy used by a washing machine goes to heating the water. The American Cleaning Institute estimated that a household could cut its emissions by 864 pounds of carbon per year by washing four out of five loads in cold water.
  • Another benefit of washing in cold water is that fabrics won’t break down as much, and this could reduce the amount of microplastics getting into the environment. A single wash can release up to 700,000 small synthetic fibers that make their way into our rivers, streams and eventually the ocean.
  • Air dry your cloths whenever possible. If it isn’t possible, then use the high-speed spin on your washer, and use dryer balls to help separate cloths and shorten drying time.

In addition to energy consumption, there are other environmental concerns lurking in the laundry. Many laundry detergents on the market today contain a host of harmful chemicals including formaldehyde, phosphates, ammonium sulfate, and dioxane (this carcinogen can cause skin, eye, and lung inflammation and can spontaneously combust!).

Many dryer sheets emit endocrine disrupting compounds and chemicals associated with asthma. And they are not safety tested since manufacturers of laundry and cleaning products are not required to test them.

The good news is that there are more and more companies offering safer alternatives to our present laundry habits.

17 Best Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergents in 2022 [Review]

Image Courtesy of: ME ECO
Love it or hate it, laundry has to be done! You might be cleaning your clothes but your laundry detergent might just be dirtying the planet!
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Tru Earth Eco-strips

Image Courtesy of: Tru Earth
Tru Earth Eco-Strips are an alternative to liquid or pod laundry detergents. They are thin foam strips made from polyvinyl alcohol that dissolves completely in water. Each laundry strip packs ultra-concentrated, hypoallergenic, eco-friendly cleaning power…
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Dropps Laundry Pods

Image Courtesy of: DROPPS
Dropps’ eco-friendly, biodegradable pods are a convenient and earth-friendly way to do laundry. They are non-toxic, free of dye and phosphate and are delivered in recyclable, repulpable, compostable cardboard packaging, helping to eliminate single plastic…
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GUPPYFRIEND WASHING BAG

Image Courtesy of: GUPPYFRIEND
Every time you wash your fleece or synthetic clothing in a washing machine, millions of plastic microfibers from synthetic garments are released, making their way from washing machines into rivers and oceans. The GuppyFriend™ is…
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SNUGPAD WOOL DRYER BALLS

Image Courtesy of: SNUGPAD
A wonderful alternative to the single-sheet perfumed dryer sheets, these New Zealand wool balls work with the heat in your dryer to absorb moisture, save drying time, reduce wrinkles, lint, pet hair, and leave clothes…
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