Yes…even dreaded laundry can go green! Most of us have learned our poor laundry habits from Mom who learned it from her Mom and so on. We now need to reteach ourselves and the next generation green laundry habits. The sooner change dirty laundry to green laundry the better! Green laundry habits will help us preserve the natural resources of God’s planet.
The average load of laundry is packed full of negative effects on God’s planet. Below are several reasons why green laundry habits are a must to help God’s planet go green!
* 34 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions that would be saved if every U.S. household used only cold water for washing clothes. 700 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions are saved each year by line-drying your family’s laundry. Plus, you would save money! 99 pound of carbon dioxide emissions saved per household each year by running only full loads of laundry.
* Chlorine should be avoided for so many reasons, including, skin irritations can occur, can form toxic chlorine gas, which can damage our airways, over 25,000 kids were either exposed to or harmed by household chlorine bleach in 2002 alone!
* 90% of the total energy used by a typical washing machine to heat the water; only 10 percent is used to power the motor.
* Common Laundry detergents and brighteners have negative effects on people AND the planet. Including; rashes, asthma, fish & water life, mammals, skin, burns, cataracts & corneal damage, lungs, and so much more.
Hopefully that is enough information to get you thinking…if not, you may be hopeless!
Avoid Ironing. YES! I love this one! It uses energy that could be used for something more important! If you can avoid ironing, do!
Eco-Friendly Soap. There are many green cleaning companies out there that offer Eco friendly cleaning supplies. Find one and use the products!
Speaking of Laundry Soap. Concentrated detergent is to be best. It uses less packaging and that means a smaller carbon footprint.
Invest in an Eco-Friendly Top-Loading Machine. Sure, this may be a pricey adjustment. However, it is well worth the investment into God’s planet in the long run.
Wash Cold. Whenever possible wash in cold or warm. Try to avoid hot water washing. It will save energy.
Water Heater. Lower the thermostat in your water heater to about 120 degrees. It will save energy and money.
Fill ‘er Up. Make your loads large enough to fill the washer. Do not over stuff, simply use the space available to its fullest.
Dry Together. Dry your clothes in categories. Dry your heavy jeans together and your light items together. Avoid mixing. Doing this will help your clothes dry quicker and more evenly, thus saving energy!
Wet Adds. Avoid adding wet clothes to a load that is already drying. This will cause the dryer to work more and take more time to dry, and use more than necessary energy.
Do Laundry All In One Day. This is especially good for drying. If you dry one load after another, the dryer is hot and will use less energy to heat up than if you put your clothes in a cold dryer.
Use Dryer Less in Winter. Using the concept above will give you an idea of what I mean. A cold dryer takes longer to heat up. If possible, line dry more in the winter.
Clean Lint Trap. You should lean the lint trap after every dry. This will keep your dryer working well and use less energy.
Dryer Exhaust Vent. Keep it clean and clear of debris. Check it at least monthly.
Line Dry. If you can, avoid using a dryer all together. This will save TONS of energy.
Wear Them Out. Make it a point to wear your clothes more than once. Obviously, if they stink, do not wear them again. However, if you wore jeans and a shirt to lunch, do not come home and toss them in the laundry pile. Fold them and wear them again. You should try to wear your jeans and pants 3x – 4x before washing and shirts 2x.
Never Use Bleach. Bleach is horrible for the environment and you. Instead, go the green way! Use 1 cup of borax or 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar instead. Vinegar is awesome. It will not only help your clothes get whiter, it will reduce static cling, lint and sweat stains.
Fabric Softener. Use a natural and better alternative. Again, vinegar will help with this. Put 1/2 cup into your rinse cycle. Or use 1/2 cup baking soda instead.
Avoid Dry Cleaning. If you can, avoiding it all together is best. If not try to find a dry cleaner that uses carbon dioxide (CO2) dry cleaning. Or, at the very least, wear less dry clean only clothing!
These Green Laundry Tips are sure to help make God’s planet greener. Let’s be good stewards of the earth He gave us and help our laundry GO GREEN!
Copyright © Green Christian Network
Stay Green!
