.)
Liquid Fabric Softener or Drier sheets...what to do....? Look in health food markets for natural essential oil- or vegetable-based liquids from Seventh Generation, Ecover and others -- or Maddocks’ Static Eliminator, a non-toxic, hypoallergenic reusable dryer sheet. Better yet, says Green Guide, add either a quarter cup of baking soda or a quarter cup of white vinegar to the wash cycle (but not with bleach).
Image: bookgrl, courtesy Flickr
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Dear EarthTalk: Which is better for our environment: to use dryer sheets in the dryer or liquid fabric softener in the wash? It seems they both have properties that are not very green.
-- Deborah, via e-mail
If you’re concerned about the health and safety of your family members, you might want to stay away from both conventional dryer sheets and liquid fabric softeners altogether. While it may be nice to have clothes that feel soft, smell fresh and are free of static cling, both types of products contain chemicals known to be toxic to people after sustained exposure.
According to the health and wellness website Sixwise.com, some of the most harmful ingredients in dryer sheets and liquid fabric softener alike include benzyl acetate (linked to pancreatic cancer), benzyl alcohol (an upper respiratory tract irritant), ethanol (linked to central nervous system disorders), limonene (a known carcinogen) and chloroform (a neurotoxin and carcinogen), among others.
Since fabric softeners are designed to stay in your clothes for extended periods of time, such chemicals can seep out gradually and be inhaled or absorbed directly through the skin. Liquid fabric softeners are slightly preferable to dryer sheets, as the chemicals in dryer sheets get released into the air when they are heated up in the dryer and can pose a respiratory health risk to those both inside and outside the home.
For those who don’t want to give up the benefits of fabric softeners but are afraid to risk exposure to potentially toxic chemicals, National Geographic’s Green Guide recommends adding either a quarter cup of baking soda or a quarter cup of white vinegar to the wash cycle. Either one will soften clothes, while the latter will also address static cling. (Be sure not to mix either with bleach, though, as resulting chemical reactions could cause noxious fumes.) If eliminating static cling is your top priority, try drying natural-fiber clothes separately from synthetic materials. The combination of cotton and polyester is often the culprit behind static cling. Better yet, reports Green Guide, line dry synthetic clothing, as it tends to dry fairly quickly anyway.
A few companies have heeded the ever-increasing call for greener, safer ways to soften clothes and reduce static cling. Seventh Generation’s Natural Lavender Scent Fabric Softener and Ecover’s Natural Fabric Softener are both good choices that rely on vegetable products and natural essential oils instead of harsh chemicals to get the job done.
Another safer option is Maddocks’ Static Eliminator, a non-toxic, hypoallergenic reusable dryer sheet made out of a proprietary, chemical-free polynylon. The Canadian company Maddocks originally developed the material to rid industrial-scale mechanical systems of explosion-inducing static electricity, but soon realized that it could benefit consumers as well, who can now buy the sheets—each one is good for some 500 wash loads—from natural foods retailers as well as from several online vendors.
CONTACTS: Sixwise.com, www.sixwise.com; The Green Guide, www.thegreenguide.com; Seventh Generation, www.seventhgeneration.com; Ecover, www.ecover.com; Maddocks’ Static Eliminator, www.staticeliminator.ca.
EarthTalk is produced by E/The Environmental Magazine. GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.
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9 Comments
Add CommentWhat about dryer balls? (http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/dryer_balls.html) They don't help with static cling, but they do soften the fibers by the tumbling of the balls in the drum. They're chemical free and reusable, and they really do work.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLine drying is the best way to go. I haven't used a dryer in a decade.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe should eliminate these toxic chemicals from our clothing and reduce the amount of household electricity. Buy a $25 clothes dryer and practice patience and environmentalism. Bonus: your clothes will last much longer.
Vinegar is a good softener too.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wash my laundry with 1 part borax, 1 part washing soda (sodium carbonate), and two parts laundry soap (Naptha Fells). Occasionally I put in a little vinegar to prevent residue in the machine. It's a good softening option since I live in a place where I'm not allowed to line dry.
I second the comment about line drying. Clothes dryers are the biggest consumers of electricity in the home after the refrigerator, and they're rarely necessary. Clothes that never see a dryer do last longer, and when they're dried outside, they smell far better than any dryer sheet!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisdfdfsdf
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis may sound kind of silly, but my real questions is which of these methods will make my <a href="http://collegesportsfansstore.com/Collegiate-Snuggie/156/index1.html">collegiate snuggie</a> the softest? I have always wondered if one way is softer than the other.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would agree, letters and gruen, line drying is the way to go, and it doesn't have to be outside. A retractable line can be set up in spare room or basement and the clothes can dry in the home. An added bonus is if the home is dry the line drying tends to put moisture back in the air eliminating static in the house too. I line dry in the summer but live in MN so I have few months that is feasible so I line dry in the house (I do add vinegar to the rinse cycle). I also make my laundry soap from natural ingredients and am quite pleased with the outcome!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo address static cling, I just mist the clothes with water. I add a tiny bit of scented oil, plus a bit of rubbing alcohol to disperse it, to the water to make the clothes smell good.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe author of this post writes "benzyl acetate (linked to pancreatic cancer)." It's in Scientific American, so it must be correct, right? Please provide a citation to a scientific source linking benzyl acetate to cancer. Meanwhile, take a look at http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics1331.htm which says that benzyl acetate is, among other things, "not classifiable as a human carcinogen."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLater, we can talk about your other phrase "ethanol (linked to central nervous system disorders)," which is true for exposure to heavy chronic ingestion (as in alcoholism,) but very dubious in the context of minor exposure from laundry softeners.