Natural Laundry Detergent - Better for You, Better for the Earth

Why natural laundry detergent you ask?

Well, have you ever wondered exactly what's in your laundry detergent? What about your fabric softener and dryer sheets?

Do they have chemicals you should know about? Do they impact the environment? The answer is yes on both counts. If you want to take actions to reduce known toxins in your home, consider other safer laundry alternatives.

Although the choices may be somewhat limited in your local grocery store, there are now more options and, if you are willing, you can definitely find what you are looking for from an online retailer.

Despite being known as a room for cleaning, the laundry room may very well be the most toxic room in your entire home. Those traditional laundry products on the shelf above your washing machine are full of toxic chemicals, which have been known to cause serious health issues including cancer and liver damage.

And what about the impact on our planet as those chemicals are disposed of in the waste water running from your home? They eventually end up in lakes, streams and oceans where they negatively impact marine life in a myriad of ways.

Clearly, we can all do better by purchasing natural laundry detergent and other non toxic cleaning products that are healthier for our families and the environment. Many parents of babies or children with sensitive skin will attest to the fact that what you wash their clothes can make a big difference.

The key is knowing what to look for when you go shopping. More and more products on the grocery store shelves are claiming to be "eco-safe" or "environmentally safe," but that may or may not be true.

Just like other household cleaning products, the labeling of laundry products is not regulated. So companies can make all kinds of "healthy" claims. In fact, cleaning product companies are not even required to list the ingredients on the label. Thus, you may be literally buying products with hazardous substances and not even be aware of the risk.

So if you are looking for safe laundry detergent, it's up to you to discern what you are buying. When shopping for eco-friendly laundry products:

• Look at the list of ingredients and research them.
• Look for products that are made without chlorine and without phosphates both of which impact the environment negatively.
• Look for products that make specific claims such as "plant-based" versus ones that make a generic claim.
• Avoid laundry products with strong words on its label such as "Caution," or "Warning" or "Poison." These words speak for themselves and give you an indication of the dangers of the ingredients.

Some tips to for Creating a Healthier Laundry Room

• Try air drying some clothes outside when possible.
• Be sure that your washer and dryer are ENERGY STAR® qualified meaning they incorporate advanced technologies that use 10 to 66 percent less energy and/or water than standard models.
• Switch from regular varieties of detergent to concentrated so you get more uses from one package.
• Limit your use of dryer sheets that are not biodegradable. Consider washing natural fiber clothing together separate from synthetics to reduce static cling or purchase natural dryer sheets that biodegrade in a short period of time.

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