10 Eco-Friendly Laundry Tips

If you’re trying to adopt natural and more eco-friendly cleaning habits, one of the easiest places to start is with laundry practices.  There are many different alternatives to harsh detergents if you want to go green in the laundry department.

Natural laundry practices are especially important because clothing actually touches our bodies, as opposed to the surfaces in our homes. Of course, we’d only want non-toxic substances touching our skin.

Related: 10 Personal Care Uses for Baking Soda

Try any of these 10 Eco-Friendly Laundry Tips today and you’ll be on your way to healthy laundry habits:

1. DIY Laundry Pods: Laundry pods are one of my all-time favorite DIYs. They are so simple and easy to make. Check out my post here with instructions on how to make them.  I use these all the time instead of harsh laundry detergents.
2. Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap: I keep a bottle of this soap in my house at all times because there are so many uses for it. Laundry is definitely one of those uses, but I only use it in a pinch because at its 1/3 to ½ C. additive amount per load, I find the cost to be a little too expensive per load.
3. Washing Soda: Washing soda helps clean stains and heavily soiled clothing. It is high in alkalinity and helps soften hard water.   I use it as one of the ingredients in my DIY laundry pods and as an additive if I’m using Castile soap.  Use it as a presoak at ½ C. to 1 – 2 gallons of warm water. It can also be used to clean other items around the house.
4. Borax: Borax can be used to whiten whites instead of chlorine bleach and also to brighten colored clothing. It is also an ingredient in my DIY laundry pods. It can be used to clean other household items.
   

   Relate: DIY Makeup Remover Wipes

5. Vinegar:  Vinegar makes an excellent fabric softener. Use ¼ C. of white vinegar with a few drops of your favorite essential oil added to the washing machine’s fabric softener dispenser. Check out these other uses for white vinegar.
6. Baking soda: Baking soda added to laundry helps to whiten whites and it also softens water.
7. Essential Oils: Add several drops of your favorite essential oil to cut up pieces of cloth and put in the dryer to freshen and add fragrance to your laundry. I like to recycle some of my kid’s old baby clothes for this purpose.
8. Perspiration Stain Remover: Removing perspiration stains can be daunting so try to get to them right away. See my post here for a perspiration stain remover recipe.
   

   Related: 10 Uses for White Vinegar

9. Bluing: Bluing is an item that has been around for a long time although I never see it in the grocery store anymore. I by mine on Amazon. Bluing is a whitener that can be used in place of chlorine bleach as it doesn’t weaken the fibers of fabrics as chlorine will.  This non-toxic, biodegradable blue liquid is made from a very fine blue iron powder suspended in water.  It improves the appearance of white clothing and textiles by optically whitening them, but it doesn’t actually clean them or remove stains. The microscopic blue particles that it adds to the fabric makes clothing and textiles look whiter.
10. Washing Bags: Microfiber pollution is becoming more prevalent in our water supply with today’s mass consumption of clothing. When we wash clothing that is made from a synthetic material such as acrylic, nylon, or polyester, we release plastic microfibers into our water supply. Using washing bags such as these from Patagonia will catch microfibers in the bags so they can be disposed of in the trash.

If you’re interested in adopting more natural and environmentally safe cleaning products and practices, try any of these 10 Eco-Friendly Laundry Tips. They’re all super simple and easy to work into your laundry routine today.

Related: Simple Non-Toxic Household Cleaners

What eco-friendly laundry practices do you use? Please share in the comments section.

Lisa

Lisa is a mother of three lovely young women and is a new grandmother to a baby boy! She has been married to her high school sweetheart for more than thirty years. Lisa is originally from Dearborn Heights, Michigan, but has lived in the Tampa Bay area since 1984. Running a small business for over 25 years and raising a family has made for a busy, busy life with many ups and downs; it’s definitely been an adventure.

Lisa’s always involved in one project or another whether it’s work related or serving her community. She also recently went back to school to finish her bachelor’s degree in American Studies. Lisa tries to make every day a good day—that means learning something new, practicing kindness, and enjoying the present moment.