Eco Friendly Laundry part 2: Bleaching and Boosters

This is the second in my series on Eco Friendly Laundry. You can find my first post here:

Eco Friendly Laundry part 1: Washing

As I mentioned last time, I've been making my own non toxic cleaners or buying earth friendly versions for years, but I've never managed to convert many others even though I've touted the benefits of how much better my products work than those old toxic standbys. So last time I started using  scare tactics.
Not my usual style, but, hey, I'm not making this stuff up! This week we continue on that frightening journey by talking about bleaches and laundry boosters.

So let's start with a few basic facts (which aren't necessarily all related, but you'll get the idea):

According to a 15 year study given at the Toronto Indoor Air Conference in 1990, women who work in the home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than those who work outside the home.

Indoor air quality is usually 25-100% worse than outdoor air quality. 

Many of the chemicals in your indoor air can build up in your body over time.

Nearly a quarter of all calls to poison control centers are about chlorine bleach.

Chlorine bleach has been linked to reproductive and immune disorders.

Chlorine bleach fumes make respiratory conditions such as asthma worse (no surprise there to anyone who's ever smelled bleach).

Chlorine bleach is corrosive. That's no surprise either, but it's not much good for your washer, your plumbing or the elastic in your undies. And it's definitely not a good idea for skin. I used to clean the educational building at our church which housed a day care center. The counters where they changed the babies' diapers by law had to be sprayed with bleach solution after every use. They were Formica and the surface was pitted and worn from the bleach and very hard to clean. Constant bleach use will make many surfaces more porous (so why do they put it in surface cleaners?).

Chlorine bleach is not a chemical that is normally found in nature. It is an unstable substance that mixes readily with other substances to form some pretty nasty chemical by products. 

We all know that chlorine bleach mixed with ammonia produces a highly toxic gas, but not many of us know that chlorine bleach mixed with anything acidic (vinegar, wine, etc) also produces toxic gas. If you've been bleaching the puddle the dog left on the tile to disinfect, it's really not a good thing.

Chlorine bleach mixed with some substances can form highly toxic dioxin, a carcinogenic chemical, which takes years to break down in the environment. From my research, it is unclear if this can happen in a household environment, but it can happen in the paper bleaching industry--a good reason to buy unbleached paper products.

Chlorine bleach mixed with certain organic materials can produce chloroform. Also, seems like this one can happen in the manufacturing of bleached paper and yet there are conflicting reports as to whether it can happen in the home.

Chlorine is used to make mustard gas. Some reports say that mixing it with dish detergent in the home can make a form of mustard gas.

and finally, the one that the bleach industry really doesn't want you to know about . . . .

Chlorine bleach causes many fabrics to turn yellow. 

Yeah, I'm not making that up.  Google it.

GASP!

So how are we supposed to keep our whites white and our colors bright? Well, die-hard environmentalists will tell you to hang your whites on a clothes line and let the sun bleach it while keeping your brights in the shade, but I know not everyone will do that, let's explore some alternatives.

Let's ignore the whole bleach issue at first and talk about just plain getting your clothes really clean. And therein lies the problem. Why not just use a really good laundry soap that gets your clothes clean and fresh instead of having to first treat for stains, then wash and bleach and soften and "perfume"? Good point, right? Well, in a perfect world that would work. In a perfect world your water will be nice and soft, you'd have the best washer on the market, your kids wouldn't play in the grass on their knees and no one in your family would spill or sweat, and all of your clothes would have the same fiber content and dyes would be stable, and . . . .  you get the picture. Laundry product makers just can't make any one product that works for all those variables. They really try, which is why the big commercial brands have crazy things like optical brighteners in them which fool the eye into thinking that your t-shirt is brighter and whiter than it really is. I'd personally rather have a t-shirt that is actually clean than one that just looks like it is. I'd rather have a t-shirt that smells nice simply because it lacks bad odors rather than one that smells nice because it has synthetic fragrance on it.

To get something really clean you first must consider the type of water you have. Is it soft or hard water? Most people have hard water. If you have hard water (and really even if you don't) you want to use a laundry booster. Laundry boosters condition your water so that your laundry soap just works so much better. Even if you have soft water laundry boosters are helpful in lifting stains and getting out smells.



Baking soda aka bicarbonate of soda can be found naturally although most of the stuff we buy is man made. Find it in the baking aisle of the grocery store. We all know it's great at removing odors and safe since you can even use it to brush your teeth. This is the mildest of the laundry boosters you can buy. It's alkaline, but mild enough to handle without gloves.

Borax is a naturally occurring mineral compound which has been mined and used by people for thousands of years. My family recently toured the ruins of borax mines in Death Valley California where they would haul the borax out with wagons hitched to a team of 20 mules--thus the brand name of "20 Mule Team Borax." Borax is more alkaline than baking soda and care should be taken to keep it off your skin and away from children. Because it's stronger it is also really good at killing germs, softening your water and removing stains. I use it in some of my stronger homemade cleaning solutions. Use according to package directions. Borax makes a great toilet bowl cleaner by the way.

Washing soda aka soda ash (not to be confused with washing powder) is also a naturally occurring mineral compound or it can be man made. It is a very alkaline compound which is so strong that it can also be used to strip wax off of floors and is great at getting out petroleum based stains. If you have a grease monkey in your family this might be the perfect booster for you. Once again, avoid getting it on your skin and keep it away from children. It can be found in the laundry aisle at most grocery stores and used according to package directions.

Before you rush out to buy a laundry booster, keep reading.

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But what about bleach? Well, we already know that chlorine bleach is not the answer so let's talk about oxygen bleach. I know, it sounds just plain silly to think that oxygen could clean anything. But some oxygen bleach is really using hydrogen peroxide to whiten. You know-it's the stuff they use to lighten hair and whiten teeth. OK, now it's making sense right? That's really very much a simplification of the explanation. You wouldn't want to pour liquid hydrogen peroxide on your colored clothing for instance. I'm no chemist (though I am married to one), so let's avoid the chemistry lesson and suffice it to say that most oxygen bleaches have been formulated to be color safe (check the label).

There are different types and brands of oxygen bleaches in both liquid and powder form. I like to keep things simple so I use a product that mixes a laundry booster like those mentioned above with hydrogen peroxide to make a great combination product. The one I use is Oxiclean. It's readily available and I can buy a 15 lb box of it at Costco which lasts me a good long time. You can also go to their website and print off coupons. Once again, it's a alkaline product and should be kept away from children.

How well does it work? Well, some of you know that I take TaeKwonDo. Our uniforms are white and made of a fabric that is very hard to get stains out of once it gets dirty. TaeKwonDo is not exactly a clean sport. We do wrestling and grappling moves on a not too clean floor, we do outdoor demonstrations and we sweat a lot. When the TaeKwonDo Master hands out uniforms he lets everyone know to not use chlorine bleach on them because bleach will cause them to disintegrate rapidly. The result of that is that most of the students run around in dingy grey uniforms. I use Oxiclean on mine and on my son's and ours stay nice and white. The difference is very noticeable.

So, now you have options. You can use a booster and a oxygen bleach or a combination product depending on your needs.

Please note that certain delicate fabrics such as some silks and wools should be washed with only the mildest of laundry soaps and these stronger additives should not be used on them.

Next time we'll delve into the wild and wacky work of stain removal.

Sue

Eco Friendly Laundry part 1: Washing

 
For years I have been giving away my recipes and tips for eco friendly and money saving cleaning products to anyone who wants them. In fact, I offer my best ones on my website for all to share. But in all this time I haven't had many converts that I know of. I can personally vouch for how inexpensive and easy they are to make and how wonderful they are to use and how they surprisingly work better than all those nasty smelling, harsh expensive, commercial products I bought for years. But I've always just touted the benefits.

What I have failed to do all these years is the fire and brimstone preaching equivalent of gaining converts. I've never bothered to use the scare tactics of harsh reality. And truthfully, that's not my style and I don't really want to start now. But there are a few facts that you ought to know about the products that you are bringing into your home and using in your own personal environment, on your garments, on your bedding and towels and dinner napkins and everything else in your home that you and your family are in nearly constant contact with day in and day out.

This is the first in a five part series on Eco Friendly Laundry.

I must admit that I don't make my own laundry detergent. It's not quite as easy to do as making some other products if you like liquid detergents though it is possible. Dry laundry soap is easier to make, but me and my machine prefer liquid so I buy it. Read on for my recommendation.

FACT:  Did you know that makers of laundry soap, softeners, bleaching agents, household cleaners, etc are NOT required by law to disclose what their products contain? Nope, they aren't. They may list some of the ingredients on the bottle, but they don't have to fully disclose what's in there. Sometimes they are protecting their secret recipes. Sometimes they just don't want you to know. Most eco-friendly brands voluntarily list ALL of the ingredients.

LAUNDRY SOAP vs.  LAUNDRY DETERGENT:

Most commercial laundry cleaning products are DETERGENTS.  Detergents by definition are petroleum based. Petroleum based products are slow to biodegrade. SOAPS on the other hand are plant based. They biodegrade much more quickly. Eco friendly laundry cleaning products are generally soap.

The used water that drains from your washer doesn't just go to the treatment plant to be treated and then returned to the system. Waste water treatment is not a closed system. Some water is released back into the environment and the treatments used cannot break down many of the chemicals used in making laundry detergents. They are released into an eco system that is not designed to deal with them. The water that is not released back into the environment does go right back to you and all your neighbors.

Eco-friendly brands contain highly effective plant based enzymes or ethanol instead solvents for removing stains. Solvents are harsh on the eco-system (your family is part of the eco-system). Traditional detergents also usually contain synthetic fragrances many of which have been proven harmful to marine life or have been found to be carcinogenic. The big commercial brands are heavy on surfactants some of which can mimic hormones in the bloodstream or can damage the immune system.

SIDE NOTE: Thankfully, the use of phosphates in laundry detergents has been banned for some time, but they are still used in some of your other cleaning products such as dishwasher detergent. Phosphates are basically fertilizer which end up in waterways causing excess growth of algae and water plants which deplete the oxygen and kill fish and wildlife. Phosphates are so bad that several states are now adopting a voluntary ban on them in dishwasher detergents as well.

I know you aren't ingesting your laundry detergent, but putting anything on or against your skin can cause it to enter your bloodstream if the particles are small enough. That's why applying a muscle rub like Aspercreme topically can ease the pain of the underlying muscles by sending the asprin it contains right to the effected muscles. That's why taking a nice hot bath with Epsom salts can almost magically sooth sore muscles. The magnesium in the salts enters your bloodstream. Sure, you can also take a magnesium supplement, but soaking in a bath of magnesium salts gives your skin direct contact all over your body and works much faster than ingesting the magnesium. Any residue left from your laundry products is on your clothes, your towels, your bedding, the air you breathe and some of it can certainly can enter your body.

Got your attention now?

BUT . . .

You've been using the same detergent for years and you know how it works, you like how it smells, you can pick it up while you shop for groceries . . . .

OR . . .

You buy whatever is on sale or you have a coupon for and those swishy eco-friendly products are more expensive and there are never any sales or coupons.

OR . . .

How can these things even clean well if they are so "gentle" to the environment?

To the first and last argument, I say just give it a try. When I tried it I was very pleasantly surprised because even though I was using less of the concentrated formula and it was unscented my clothes looked and even smelled cleaner. The brand I buy is available in almost every grocery store chain.

To those worried about your budget, take a look at the number of loads that the expensive little bottle of eco friendly detergent will wash. Compare price per load rather than price per container. And go on-line and you'll very likely find a coupon to print off. My favorite brand has an on-line coupon club. If your sale brand still comes out ahead in the price department consider if those few cents per load are worth it.

And what is my favorite brand? For years I have been using Seventh Generation. It's one of the most available brands out there so you're sure to be able to find it. I liked it so well from the start that I admit I haven't tried many other brands. It works equally as well on delicates as it does on dirty gardening clothes and my sweaty TaeKwonDo uniform so it's the only thing I buy. It comes in liquid and powder and does go on sale sometimes.

I did also try the Costco brand of eco-friendly detergent. The price was nice but I was highly disappointed to discover it contained a lot of synthetic fragrance.

P.S. I also use Seventh Generation dishwashing liquid. They also have a wonderful Blog and if you become their friend on their Facebook Page you'll receive an update every time there is a new post.

Check in next time for the second post in the five part series which will be on bleaches.

Gift Bags / Pillow Cases ?

I love items that have multiple uses and are eco-friendly. I grew up in house where gift wrap was often made from a cereal box and the comics section of the newspaper. For years I have been using inexpensive fabrics to make my own re-usable gift bags. My family loves my gift bags too because they make it so fast and easy to wrap gifts and wrapping odd shaped items is no problem.


My son, Caleb had his 8th birthday party the other day. He picked fabric from my stash of oriental print cotton fabrics that I purchased when we lived in South Korea. I whipped up these travel size pillow cases that double as goodie bags for his party.


Each child took one of these home filled with some toys and goodies and they can use them again as gift bags or put a travel sized pillow inside for car trips or sleepovers. When I make bags that do not double as pillow cases, I sew satin ribbon right into the seam to use to tie the bag closed and sometimes also sew gussets into the bottom corners so the bag has a flat bottom.


These also worked well for when the kids broke open the pinatas my son made. There was plenty of room in the bags that the kids could stuff their candy treasures inside.


Above: These are the pinatas that my son made for his party. The small one is a Malayan tapir (Caleb's favorite animal). The spider was fun as a pinata as it lost an eye or a leg with every good whack, which the kids liked. It looked cool hanging from its string upside down.

Earth Day Report

My 7 year old son's Earth Day Report:

If you have a big cardboard box you should never throw it out.  You should always play in it.

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle

Rethink

Green Tip: Window/Glass Cleaner

FACTS:  One of the largest contributors to indoor toxins in your home are your cleaning products. Makers of cleaning products ARE NOT required to list ingredients on the label. Commerical window and glass cleaners often contain 2-Butoxy-ethanol which is a suspected hormone disruptor as well as other suspect ingredients.  

We spritz these on our mirrors right over our toothbrush holders, mist them around our children and use them in confined spaces such as car interiors and bathrooms. And, let's face it: it doesn't smell that great either and it can actually build up on surfaces.

Make the switch from commercial window cleaners to CLUB SODA!  Club soda is fizzy water with citric acid and it's cheap, safe, colorless, odorless and every bit as effective as those icky blue cleaners. Flight attendants have been using it for decades to get spills out of clothing on airplanes. It does not streak and it stores very well even after it has been opened.  I've been using it for years.

TO USE: Put it in a spray bottle. I like the heavy duty spray bottles available in garden centers, but you can re-use another spray bottle. Let it go flat because it sprays better without bubbles. Use it like any other glass cleaner. It is safe to use around kids, pets, plants, fabrics and carpets: after all you normally drink the stuff (use sparingly around plants because of the mild citric acid). Kids can actually learn to clean using it. Let them clean their own smeary fingerprints off the sliding glass door!

If you are thinking you should try a green cleaning product, this is the one to start with. Nothing could be easier and you'll save money in the process. Share this one with your friends!

Check out my website for more free  GREEN CLEANING RECIPES.

Green Tip: Stop Your Phone Book Delivery

We arrived home from church today to discover a plastic bag and a new phone book in our driveway. It is five pounds of wasted paper that we no longer use. All the info in the phone book is readily available and more likely to be current on-line.

I had recently read something about a new website you can use in the United States to register to stop unwanted phone book deliveries: yellowpagesgoesgreen.org.

This organization is not associated with any phone company, but will contact companies in your area on your behalf for free if you register with them. There is currently no national opt-out system for phone book deliveries. Registering with them will not guarantee that the carrier will actually stop tossing a phone book in your driveway, but it's a step in the right direction in getting the companies to implement a better opt-out system.

It is estimated that about 500 million phone books are delivered the U.S. every year. That's about two for every person. It is also estimated that only about 10% of these get recycled and most never even get used.

If you do not use your phone book at home or at work, please take a minute to register and help your environment.

Earth Hour 2009

This Saturday, March 28, 2009 will be the third annual Earth Hour sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour began just two years ago in Sydney, Austrailia when 2.2 million participants turned off their lights for 1 hour. Last year this event went global with 50 million participants. This year the goal is 1 billion participants worldwide!

To participate, turn off your lights at 8:30 PM for one hour local time. That's all. There are no hard and fast rules.  

Earth Hour organizers suggest filling that hour with activities like having a picnic in the park with your family, viewing the stars in your backyard, telling stories, taking a candlelit bath or organizing a candlight game night. You might just find you are having so much fun you won't want to flip those lights back on at 9:30!

You can learn more about this by visiting the official Earth Hour Website.

If you intend to participate I'd love to have your comments on what you are planning ☺