What if I told you that your laundry detergent isn’t getting your clothes clean?
It’s been a long time since I first entered the world of nontoxic living, and I’ve tried many safer detergents over the years.
What I can tell you for sure is that if you’re using conventional laundry detergent purchased at your local grocery store, there’s no doubt in my mind that you won’t be able to tell if your clothes are actually clean.
Even if you’re using a Free + Clear variety, you will definitely want to keep on reading …
The Problem with Laundry Detergent
Unless you have sensitive skin or a known fragrance allergy, it’s unlikely that switching your laundry detergent is one of the first healthy lifestyle changes that you’re going to make. However, it’s an important one.
Think about this … you spend pretty much 24 hours a day in fabric that’s been laundered in your washing machine. Even if you sleep in the nude, you’re still enveloped in bed clothes.
An unfortunate truth is that laundry detergent residue remains on your clothing long after it’s washed and dried.
Can you smell the fresh scent of meadow spring, blissful breezy clean, intensely fresh, or lovely linen lilies on your pajamas and towels? That’s fragrance, which is used to mask unpleasant odors and condition consumers into thinking that things aren’t clean unless they have a fresh scent.
What makes those fragrances linger long after your wash is dry are harmful chemicals hidden under trade secret labeling laws. In fact, unlike cosmetics, US law doesn’t require manufacturers of home cleaning supplies to disclose ingredients on the packaging of their products.
Don’t believe me? Go check your laundry room and tell me if you can find an ingredient listing on your products!
But I digress. Back to that fragrance …
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It’s widely known that products with “fragrance” – whether laundry detergent, shampoo, or deodorant, for example – are loaded with hormone disrupting chemicals called phthalates. These toxic chemicals are linked to low sperm count, male reproductive birth defects, allergies, asthma and more. Read more here
When used in your home, these chemicals waft up through the vents in your dryer, polluting your indoor air and the air outside your home, filling your lungs with toxins when you inhale the sweet scent of your clean, fresh laundry.
Not only that … the laundry detergent you use gets rinsed down the drain and ends up in our waste water treatment facilities. Once there, water is separated from any dissolved solids. The solids left behind are called sludge, and are used as fertilizer for crops. Read more here and here.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not OK with food being grown with sewage sludge, so I’ll do my part to keep harsh chemicals out of the waste water produced by my family.
What About those Free + Clear Detergents?
Individuals who are “scent-sitive” to fragrance or have asthma, eczema or allergies will often opt for a “Free + Clear” variety offered by most brands these days. What’s not as widely known about these options is that they contain fragrance ingredients that are designed to mask the unpleasant scent of certain chemical ingredients in detergent, AND the stench of dirt and grime buildup in the outflow tube of your washing machine.
And that stench is what this blog is actually about.
About That Stench
Shortly after switching to a truly safe and nontoxic laundry detergent years ago, I noticed that my clothes started to smell. At first it was subtle, kind of musty, like the smell of a cotton shirt that’s been in storage for a year and just needs to be washed. Except that they were freshly washed.
What I didn’t know was that my clothes weren’t actually clean.
Now I’m not one to give up on a nontoxic solution just because I’ve hit a road block. So I did some research. I tried adding vinegar to the wash, but that didn’t help. Neither did baking soda. I tried adding a few drops of essential oils. That didn’t help either, so I tried a few more drops in the next load.
But our clothes stunk worse with every wash … kind of like vomit.
I have an uber sensitive sense of smell, so when my husband said he noticed a foul odor, I knew it had to be bad.
After many Google searches, I stumbled on something about the outflow tube (aka drain) possibly needing to be cleaned, and asked my husband if he could help me see if that was the root of the problem.
Sure enough, the washing machine drain was full of black gunk that looked and smelled disgusting!! We cleaned it out thoroughly, and the problem disappeared.
The solution took less than 30 minutes, cost absolutely nothing, and used no toxic chemicals. That’s a win if you ask me!
So I didn’t need to switch back to conventional detergents filled with chemicals that simply mask the odor of gunk from your washing machine. And neither do you!
Do yourself, your family and the environment a favor, and take the time to find something truly nontoxic. This brand here is what I’m using right now. It’s truly the safest laundry detergent on the market today!
A few other tips to keep your laundry smelling fresh:
- Run an empty, extra hot cycle with a ½ cup of baking soda every month or two.
- Reduce the amount of detergent used for each load. You’re likely using too much, which is going to lead to a gunky outflow tube sooner rather than later.
- Opt for a powdered detergent, as liquid is more likely to leave behind that gunky residue
- Avoid fabric softener sheets, as they’re highly toxic. Instead, use 8-10 wool dryer balls like these. Add a few drops your favorite essential oil, like one of my favorites here or here.
Did you get value out of this post? I sure hope so! Please take a moment to comment below and let me know if you’ve struggled with an unpleasant smell from clothing washed with a truly nontoxic detergent. I’d love to know!