There are a lot of great options out there for using more natural products in your laundry. A lot of people don’t want the hassle and bother of mixing and making homemade laundry detergent, and that’s fine. There’s no need to have to create your own detergent in order to get healthier laundry and take the toxic chemicals out of your cleaning. Find a great existing laundry product, like Nothing But Soap’s Laundry Soap and then use these three tips to make your laundry safe for your family:
- BAKING SODA- good old fashioned baking soda (also known as sodium bicarbonate) was probably something that your grandmother or great grandmother used in her laundry, and it’s still good today. Add a half cup to a cup to each load of laundry for a natural alternative to help boost your laundry detergent. Baking soda can get stains out of clothes in the wash and can help soften the water. This is a good alternative to harsh bleaches or whitening agents and it won’t hurt your clothes.
- WHITE VINEGAR-
many fabric softeners contain harsh chemicals and toxic ingredients that can harm you or your family. We all want our clothes to come out of the wash soft and feeling good, so try white vinegar instead. Just add white vinegar to the fabric softener area of your washing machine. There’s nothing harmful or toxic in white vinegar, so it won’t hurt your clothing or your skin. Not only does it soften your clothes, but it also brightens whites and helps to get stains out. And an added benefit is that it cleans the washing machine while you’re doing laundry. You may notice a vinegar scent in the machine after the load is done, but don’t worry, it won’t leave your clothes smelling like vinegar. They’ll just be soft and lovely. - LAVENDER SACHETS-
Now that you have fresh and clean laundry coming out of the wash, you’ll want to make your clothes smell great in the dryer. Unfortunately many dryer sheets are laden with toxic chemicals that transfer to your clothes in the dryer. Then once you sleep in your clean sheets or wear your clean clothes, those chemicals transfer to your skin. One natural alternative to get great smelling clothes without the chemicals is to use lavender sachets in the dryer. You can really use any herbs or flowers in a sachet that you want, just make sure that the bag is securely tied so that it doesn’t come loose in the dryer. You can also add a few drops of your favorite essential oils to give the sachet an extra punch. Your clothes and sheets will come out smelling fabulous and there will be no harsh chemicals.
Luckily there are a lot of great, simple natural remedies to make your laundry look and smell great without all of the toxic chemicals.