Image: istockphoto.com/Nhuan Nguyen
Change in temperature
Eighty percent of the energy used during laundry is to heat the water. Coldwater detergents and the new washing machines have made it possible to get your whites and coloureds clean in cold water. Switching can reduce your energy consumption and help you save between $50 to $85 per year.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that hot water doesn’t actually sanitize anything unless the water is boiling nor it is likely to clean any better than cold water. Unless your clothes have oil or grease stains, cold water washing will get your clothes clean and prevent them from fading as quickly. Loosen stains by using a spot remover or try presoaking the item and then wash in warm water.
Wet vs dry
Powdered laundry soap is cheaper and also uses fewer resources to create than liquid soap. But liquid detergents do dissolve much easier in cold or hard water. Yahoo Shopping tested several commercial brands and found that powder detergents handled stains better while liquid detergent handled oily dirt and food stains much better. There is little difference between big-name detergents so there is no need to pay premium prices.
Secret ingredients
It’s difficult to know exactly what’s in our commercial laundry detergent since companies are not required to list ingredients used in their products. Most companies also change ingredients frequently and claim their formulas are made from secret recipes so can't be disclosed.
Typical laundry detergents are a mix of ingredients that include surfactants (anionic and nonionic), enzymes, anti-redeposition agents, fragrances and compounds that neutralize acids, whiten and brighten fabrics and reduce calcium and magnesium hardness in water. Most of these ingredients are derived from petroleum.
Main chemical to avoid
The backbone to any detergent is a surfactant active agent, also called a wetting agent or foamers. Surfactants reduce the water’s surface tension, making it easier to lift dirt off the fabric. The surfactant molecules also surround and break up stain particles, forcing them away from the surface of the fabric.
The number one surfactant to avoid is nonionic nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE), which breaks down into a NP (nonylphenol). Both chemicals are thought to be an endocrine disruptor that can stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells and both are very harmful to fish and marine life. It’s virtually impossible to completely remove them from water as well. The Sierra Club and other groups have started a petition that you can sign asking the EPA to do further research, mandate labeling of NPE in products and ban its use in industrial products.
Another type of surfactants used to neutralize detergent acids and make them non-irritating comes from the Diethanolamine family (diethanolamine, triethanolamine and monoethanolamine). All these chemicals are carcinogenic, linked to liver and kidney cancer. Again, these chemicals are harmful to most mammals and marine life.
Quaternium 15 is an alkyl ammonium chloride used as a surfactant, disinfectant and deodorant that releases formaldehyde, a carcinogenic toxin that should be avoided.
Other chemicals to watch for
Artificial fragrances are made from petroleum and because they don’t degrade are also extremely toxic. They can cause rashes and skin irritations and also contribute to the loss of marine life and algae growth.
EDTA (ethylene-diamino-tetra-acetate) is a phosphate-alternative compound used to reduce calcium and magnesium hardness in water. It’s also a foaming stabilizer and prevents bleaching agents from becoming active before they're immersed in water. But it’s toxic and does not readily biodegrade often bonding with other toxic heavy metals found in water.
Optical brighteners are a broad classification of many different synthetic chemicals that don’t get your clothes any cleaner or make your detergent any stronger. They simply convert UV light wavelengths to visible light thereby making laundered clothes appear "whiter." Not readily biodegrade, they are extremely toxic to fish and other marine life.
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a polymer that acts as anti-redeposition agent keeping dirt from getting back onto clothing in the wash water. Made from ethylene oxide, it’s similar to some non-ionic detergents and is not considered toxic but does add to overall pollution.
Home made detergent
Women’s Voices For the Earth offers the following recipe for homemade laundry detergent:
1 cup soap flakes
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup Borax
Soap flakes can be made by grating your favorite pure vegetable soap with a cheese grater. Mix ingredients together and store in a glass container. Use 1 tablespoon per load (2 for heavily soiled laundry), wash in warm or cold water.
This standard recipe can be adjusted for soft water by using 1 cup soap flakes, 1/4 cup washing soda adn 1/2 cup borax. For hard water, use 1 cup soap flakes, 1 cup washing soda, and 1 cup borax.
Read the labels
If you're too busy to make your own there are some enviro-friendly products out there. A green detergent should be non-toxic and biodegradable with no petroleum based ingredients, no optical brighteners and no dyes or fragrances. Typical ingredients may include corn and coconut-based for surfactants, soda ash and borax for water softeners and sodium gluconate and sorbitol as a natural anti-redeposition agent.
Green choices
Shelagh McNally is the editor of Green Living Online.
Green Living Blogs
"people who work with Borax use gloves and handle it with caution. Studies have linked it to reproductive problems in some lab animals, as well as a host of serious disorders at higher levels.
Boric acid is an acute eye and respiratory tract irritant, which is quite toxic if ingested. In addition, it is unavailable in parts of Europe because of concerns that it caused birth defects and problems with the reproductive organs of children. It is recommended that pregnant women and children in particular do not have exposure to Borax."