Laundry: A big transition
Our laundry detergent got a big fat "F" from EWG. What does this really mean? It depends on how you look at it. Maybe nothing. Maybe something.
Our old detergent was deemed to have high developmental, endocrine and reproductive toxicity, moderate respiratory concerns, and some environmental concerns (e.g. acute and chronic aquatic toxicity). Since I like my organs and the environment, this was one of the first to be re-evaluated.
As it turns out, there are a lot of things to avoid in laundry, if possible. More info can be found here. There are also a lot of "green" laundry detergents. Reviewed.com actually tested a bunch of eco-friendly laundry detergent, using Tide as a comparison. They looked at how well it cleaned, along with its environmental impact and cost. Mrs. Meyers won the competition, but there were a few strong contenders. Earth911 discusses a few more.
We are currently trying out Biokleen's citrus-scented liquid detergent. It gets an "A" rating on EWG, 4.5 stars on Amazon, and has a citrus scent to make my husband happy. Final consensus pending but so far so good.
I also stopped using fabric softener and started using wool balls on a friend's recommendation. I love them. Added bonus: The clothes dry so much faster now. This change nearly eliminated the need for dryer sheets as well. We still use ~1/3 of a dryer sheet when the clothes are super static-y but these episodes are few and far between.
A summary of EWG laundry ratings for the previously discussed companies can be found here (as of Feb/March 2018):
Our old detergent was deemed to have high developmental, endocrine and reproductive toxicity, moderate respiratory concerns, and some environmental concerns (e.g. acute and chronic aquatic toxicity). Since I like my organs and the environment, this was one of the first to be re-evaluated.
As it turns out, there are a lot of things to avoid in laundry, if possible. More info can be found here. There are also a lot of "green" laundry detergents. Reviewed.com actually tested a bunch of eco-friendly laundry detergent, using Tide as a comparison. They looked at how well it cleaned, along with its environmental impact and cost. Mrs. Meyers won the competition, but there were a few strong contenders. Earth911 discusses a few more.
We are currently trying out Biokleen's citrus-scented liquid detergent. It gets an "A" rating on EWG, 4.5 stars on Amazon, and has a citrus scent to make my husband happy. Final consensus pending but so far so good.
A summary of EWG laundry ratings for the previously discussed companies can be found here (as of Feb/March 2018):
