Non-Toxic Laundry Solutions

 Getting Your Clothes Clean without the Toxins

Since we know Facebook and Google stalk our moves it was not surprising “Crystal Wash” and other laundry balls started showing up Getting Your Clothes Clean without Toxinsas adds in my Facebook feed. The claim to these was that they can deep clean and disinfect by increasing the pH of your water. Still in my laundry struggle, I bought an Amazon version to try them out. Zero cleaning production. Four kids, one who recently potty trained. Our clothes get dirty. These did not get them clean at all.

 

Some things just seem to good to be true and they usually are.  According to tests they did (on the “real” non bargain brand balls), stain removal was better than hot water alone but washed clothing far worse than any detergent. The entire review may be read here:

http://laundry.reviewed.com/features/crystal-wash-tested-does-this-detergent-alternative-actually-work

 

What’s next?

Soap nuts. Soap nuts have been around forever. They seemed almost too simple. Being determined and having failed at every other avenue I decided to give them a try. I bought a bag off amazon and reluctantly tossed them into the wash waiting for another failure. This time I was pleasantly surprised.

 

What is a soap nut?

Soap nuts are actually berries (therefore they are nut allergy safe.) that contain a natural soap called saponin. Saponin can penetrate the fabric to clean unlike your average “soap” They do not “foam” like most commercial soaps. You can buy organic ones which means they were collected in the wild and do not contain any pesticides (generally a non issue since apparently insects do not enjoy their taste.)

 

You toss a handful in a bag and put them in the washer. They last about 5 loads (you can take a peek in the bag to see if they are done if you can’t keep track. I have also heard of people using a dry erase marker right on their machine to keep tally. Chances are with two teenagers also doing laundry that will never be accurate here.

The Results:

So far I am a fan. They are not going to brighten your clothes so you need to toss something in with your whites periodically-then again I always ran into that with any detergent. They are getting our clothes clean-and did get put to the test towards the end of our potty training. If you are still searching for a natural way to clean your clothes without the toxins this is the closest I have come and will stick with it for as long as I see them working.

Dryer Balls in Laundry

DIY Laundry Detergent

Is Homemade Laundry Detergent really the answer?

 

I love homemade. You know what you are getting. You can skip the toxins and save money. A winning situation-unless of course you DIY Laundry Detergentare talking about laundry detergent.

 

Last week I began addressing laundry detergent at the request of many. In my quest for looking for a truly safe but effective laundry detergent I tried making my own several years ago. My son immediately had a reaction. Why? Borax.

Borax has sound its way into a lot of homemade “nontoxic” detergent recipes. Borax scores a 6 on the EWG ingredient toxic rating. Although “natural occurring” it can cause organ system toxicity and is considered a moderate hazard. My son, who was about a year at the time, broke out in a rash so I discontinued using it.

 

I tried other detergents (including an essential oil company one I wanted to love but it just was not getting my clothes clean and I could feel a residue on them. Later, still researching, I tried another powder form homemade detergent (no borax included). It definitely worked better than the detergent from the essential oil company I had been using since there was a visible brightness in my towels I hadn’t realized had been missing. Unfortunately it still didn’t seem to be getting the job done 100%. Doing yet again more research I found a few interesting posts:

 

The full article may be read here:

http://butterbeliever.com/homemade-laundry-detergent-soap-diy/

Some highlights:

-Soap residue in your washing machine can cause damage. Machines are designed to use detergents NOT soaps. (Most home made are made with castile soap of one form or another)

-Soap residue gets stuck to your clothing trapping dirt, and bacteria.

-Fabrics are not effectively cleaned by soaps unless you were applying elbow grease and friction like back in the day J

-Most homemade recipes contain mostly water softeners such as borax, baking soda and washing soda) they do not actually get your clothes clean.

Then there is this…people who used homemade detergent for a period of time then stripped the “clean” laundry and this was the water left behind.

http://www.fortheloveofclean.com/laundry-love/the-bad-the-worse-and-the-ugly/testimonials-from-former-users-of-homemade-soap-photo-gallery/

 

I know a lot of you are loving your essential oil based laundry detergent or your homemade laundry detergent but it may be wise to put it to your own test. The link below gives instructions on how to “strip” your clean laundry to see what’s really left behind. If it’s really working you should get great results to share!

 

http://www.fortheloveofclean.com/laundry-love/special/strip-deep-clean-or-sanitize/strip/

DIY Laundry Detergent


 

Toxins in Laundry Detergent

Laundry Detergents: Cleaning your clothes or adding toxic chemicals? (Part 1 of 3)

I have had a lot of requests, messages and questions about laundry detergent over the past year and I have been holding off because I Toxins in Laundry Detergenthadn’t found the perfect solution myself despite years of trying. Since I have tried so many things I want to break this down over the next few weeks so information doesn’t get lost. This week’s focus: toxins likely in your store bought detergent.

What to avoid:

Diethanolamine: This can be linked to tumors in kidneys and the liver. It has links to developmental toxicity and is considered an eye and skin irritant. EWG scores it as a 10 (the most toxic ranking) http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/search.php?query=Diethanolamine&h=Search

Quaternium-15: Added to help a product clean better. Another known carcinogen that releases formaldehyde. (Scores an 8 out of 10 according to EWG)

Nonylphenol ethoxylate: Also labeled as: AMMONIUM NONOXYNOL-4 SULFATE, AMMONIUM SALT PEG-4 NONYL PHENYL ETHER SULFATE; AMMONIUM SALT POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 200 NONYL PHENYL ETHER SULFATE; AMMONIUM SALT POLYOXYETHYLENE (4) NONYL PHENYL ETHER SULFATE; P-NONYLPHENOL, ETHOXYLATE, SULFATE, AMMONIUM SALT; PEG-4 NONYL PHENYL ETHER SULFATE, AMMONIUM SALT; POLY (OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL) , .ALPHA.-SULFO-.OMEGA.- (4-NONYLPHENOXY) -, AMMONIUM SALT; POLY (OXY1,2ETHANEDIYL) , αSULFOω (4NONYLPHENOXY) , AMMONIUM SALT; POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 200 NONYL PHENYL ETHER SULFATE, AMMONIUM SALT; POLYOXYETHYLENE (4) NONYL PHENYL ETHER SULFATE, AMMONIUM SALT; ALIPAL CO 436; ALIPAL CO-436

Linear alkyl sodium sulfonates (LAS): Toxic to aquatic life and may be a skin and eye irritant.

Petroleum distillates(also called naphthas): This ingredient can be linked to cancer and lung damage.

Fragrances: We have covered this a lot in the past. A “Fragrance” covered by trade secret may include any number of over a thousand different chemicals. Some have never been tested for safety and others are known carcinogens.

Polyalkylene oxide or ethylene oxide: One or both may be added to help “stabilize” the product. Both are linked to respiratory issues, kidney and liver damage.

Laundry “Brighteners”:

naphthotriazolystilbenes benzoxazolyl, diaminostilbene disulfonate. These may be linked to reproductive issues and do not necessarily “wash off” your clothing.

I once used the “Think Dirty” app to scan almost an entire isle at Target. Some that I assumed were going to come out on the better end-did NOT. It was actually shocking and I left without detergent. I was determined to find a safer detergent. Next week we will explore some other options I tried and what the downfalls were.

*Please note: This list does NOT include toxins in dryer sheets since that was covered in a previous post)

Toxins in Laundry Detergent


 

Toxins from Shower Curtain

I learned this a number of years ago but was recently reminded when it was time to replace my shower liner again. You likely have at Shower Curtain Toxinsleast one (possibly two if your outer curtain is also plastic and not fabric) toxic shower curtain.

What is making your shower curtain toxic? 

The most common culprit is Vinyl Chloride. (PVC) which is a carcinogen. The chemicals involved are released further with a warm, moist environment. (Note: your shower?)

PVC in your shower curtain can produce phthalates, which are linked to ADHD, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and lower IQ, asthma and reproductive issues. Phthalates evaporate into the air as well and then cling to the dust in your home.

Ethylene Dichloride vapor can affect your nervous system, respiratory system, liver and kidneys.

Lead: This is usually familiar to people since we have banned it in many things (pencils, paint etc) Unfortunately it is still out there and according to the Department of Environmental Safety it has also been linked to kidney damage, learning disabilities, damage of the nervous system and anemia.

Petroleum: we have covered the dangers of petroleum in the past few weeks. It has also found its way into EVA and PEVA liners. In exchange for being chloride free they have subbed in petroleum to obtain pliability.

Solutions?

Yes! This one is an easy fix! There are safer and sustainable shower curtain materials. I went with organic cotton. Nylon is another quick drying choice.  Water resistant Polyester can be found as another solution to this problem. Slightly more expensive you can also find Hemp Shower curtains. Making a habit of closing the curtain after you shower allows it to dry out helping prevent mildew on any curtain.

Shower Curtain Toxins


 

Safe Products for Dry Skin

If you missed last weeks blog be sure to check out part one that kicked off these few weeks about petroleum skin care products. People LOVE Aquaphor. They swear by it for a variety of things-much like petroleum jelly. I once bought a huge jar of it (cringe) years ago when my daughter was getting eczema on her legs. Later we learned she was allergic to apples and that solved that problem.  Shortly Safe products for Dry Chapped Skinafter my purchase years ago I switched to oil moisturizers and that solved our dry skin issues.

Unfortunately moisturizer alone wasn’t keeping up with my son’s awful skin reactions to the toilet seat. Yes, you read that correctly-details in last weeks blog if you missed the crazy allergy. Aquaphor was suggested to me by many people (along with petroleum jelly) to heal his bottom.

What is In Aquaphor?

Aquaphor contains the same main ingredient: petrolatum.

Petroleum: This can cause organ toxicity (non-reproductive) and scores a 4 on the toxic scale according to EWG. http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/1723/Aquaphor_Healing_Ointment/

Lanolin alcohol: up next with a 3 rating. Derived from sheep glands-it is often an allergen without proven effectiveness.

Mineral oil: Another ingredient that is from hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum. Mineral oil lists cancer among its concerns along with developmental toxicity and allergens.

There are several other ingredients that rate fairly safe so averaging out the overall rating toxin wise to a 2. Does Aquaphor work? Yes. Everyone I know swears by it and when I used to use it I was a fan. Will I use an unsustainable or petroleum product on my child’s skin? Nope.

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Moisturizer Ingredients
Healing Salve Ingredients
Solutions:
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Should You Use Petroleum Jelly?

A few weeks ago we had an odd situation at my house. My youngest son finally toilet trained. (HOORAY!) Unfortunately, as he began using the toilet his bottom became redder and redder.  My first assumption was that it Toxins in petroleum jellymust be a chemical in the underwear and in my excitement I had not prewashed them all.  After prewashing nothing changed, except my ability to return the underwear he could no longer wear.  My next assumption was that he must need organic cotton underwear.  Hundreds of dollars later at Hanna Andersson nothing had changed.  In the end it seemed he was allergic to the toilet seat.  I really wish it had been the underwear-so much easier to solve!

I spoke to a lot of people during the phase of trial and error.  Shockingly name brands of Vaseline or Aquafor, were suggested as a solution to keep his bottom healed. This was a reminder that not everyone realizes these are petroleum-based products and have no business being rubbed on our skin.

While original Petroleum Jelly Vaseline brand only has one ingredient-that ingredient is Petroleum. White Petroleum rates a 4 out of 10 on the toxicity scale. https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/515875/Vaseline_Petroleum_Jelly/

What is wrong with this solution?

Oddly enough if you chose the “baby version” it becomes even more toxic as it also includes fragrance, which scores an 8 out of 10. (10 being the most toxic)  Petroleum jelly is a by-product of the oil industry. Aside from not being an eco friendly or sustainable product, it is not the best skin care solution.  Vaseline brand in particular is highly refined, regarded as non-carcinogenic and non-comedogenic and has been triple purified. (Please note that there are different grades of purity so if you are opting for petroleum jelly you may not want to bargain shop here. Not every brand is considered non-carcinogenic!)

Toxins in petroleum jellyWhy the draw to petroleum jellies?

It gives you the illusion of moisturizing all while sealing in the dirt, bacteria and suffocating your pores. Refined or not I definitely do not think it’s wise to use on an area likely already containing bacteria and locking it onto cracked skin.

Additional dangers?

Yes. As an adult you are less likely to put your hands in your mouth but unfortunately children are a little grosser than that. It is likely a child could rub his bottom and then put his hands in his mouth. Getting petroleum in your lungs can cause lipid pneumonia. It’s not common, but neither is being allergic to the toilet seat and yet it happens.

What is the best solution?

In the end I used our Healing Salve  and a custom made salve with coconut oil and some essential oils since it was such a large sensitive area that it was easy to keep layering on without needing to rub. Within a few days the redness was hardly evident. Sadly we also had to order a fabric (ICK!) cover for our toilet seat to keep him off the plastic-but I will solve that gross problem with a lot of laundry!


 

Unsafe Levels of Lead in Mardi Gras Beads

Metal beads often used for parties and parades contain toxic levels of lead.

These necklaces can be found year round in goody bags, and at events. They are colorful, sparkly and have a huge appeal for children.

It’s possible you may have acquired some on New Years Eve and brought them home to your child as a nice surprise. Lead in Mardi Gras Beads

 

Several years ago you could have found many strands lying around my house for my then toddler daughter to enjoy. After learning how toxic they are they all disappeared.

 

Mardi Gras beads have tested for high concentrations of lead and other heavy metals.  Lead has been linked to brain damage, stunted development and a shortened attention span.  There are no safe levels of lead for children to be exposed to.

 

Some beads, upon being broken open actually contain pieces of old circuit boards and electronics. In addition to lead, 80% of beads tested contained arsenic, cadmium or flame retardant chemicals.

 

Lead mardi Gras BeadsBeyond your own personal exposure these beads are very damaging to the environment. It has been estimated that 900,000 pounds of flame-retardants and 10,000 pounds of lead help make up the yearly inventory of Mardi gras beads. The toxins seep into the water supply and the soil working their way into the food chain and back to us.

 

What can you do to keep these toxins out of your home?

Ideally don’t bother with the beads. If you are somewhere and the beads are being thrown around and passed out and you chose to let your child (or yourself participate) take some precautions:

-Opt for clear plastic ones when possible (these tested safe)

-Wash your hands with soap and water or at least a baby wipe after handling and before eating.

-Do not let children put the beads in their mouths.

-Never burn the beads or store them in sunlight.

-If you are in a position that you must handle the beads on a regular basis wear gloves.

Lead Mardi Gras Beads


 

Toxins in Eye Shadow

I have never been a make up person-to the extent that my husband still points out that I didn’t “bother” Eye Shadow Toxinsto wear make up on our first date. Now knowing what I know I am so glad I skipped applying all those toxins on a daily basis.

Since I am not the majority though, make up has its place.

What ingredients should you skip?

-Coal Tar:  This has come up in other products we have discussed. Coal tar is a known carcinogen and has been associated with skin tumors, lung, bladder and kidney cancer.

-Formaldehyde: Found in fewer eye shadows these days but is harmful to your liver and can cause skin irritations.

-Parabens: Found in almost all beauty products to give them an extended shelf life. Parabens (propylparaben, butylparaben, methylparaben) can disrupt hormones and are known carcinogens.

-Thimerosal: Oddly banned from most other make up except eye make up. It is a compound based on mercury, which is proven to impair brain function.

-Talc: You may remember the recent lawsuit won against Johnson & Johnson for the talc causing a woman’s deadly ovarian cancer recently. Unfortunately it is still sold and in many products. It is a known carcinogen.

-Aluminum Powder: This is what most make-ups use for color. If your make up uses both aluminum powder and the above-mentioned thimerosal it is twice as dangerous. Aluminum inhibits the body’s ability to detox mercury.

Bismuth Oxychloride: This is not a heavy metal but it does tend to clog pores and is often the culprit for those who suffer redness and itching from eye shadow. This ingredient is more of a lung irritant and skin irritant than a Make-up artist placing eye shadow on womantoxin.

Nano particles: such as mica and titanium dioxide if inhaled can accumulate in your lungs and damage your DNA. You will find mica even in your natural eye shadows-be conscious of not inhaling it.

What Is safe?

Mineral make up is the way to go-however be aware that not all mineral make up was created equal.  Many contain the ingredients listed above so be sure to choose wisely!

Iron oxides would be a safer choice for where your colorants are coming from.

Mica is mentioned above as well but it is the safer of your natural ingredients for shimmer and is found in most of even the organic choices. Sericite may also be on your ingredient list.  Sericite is a finer version of mica.

Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are safe as long as they are not nano particles.

As always-read the ingredients and know what’s in your products!

Toxins in Eye Shadow


 

A Safer DIY Hairspray

Toxins in hairspray accumulate over time, instead create your own!

Luckily the 80’s are behind us, so we use less hairspray. But it’s important to think about what is in it and read your labels wisely. In the 70’s hairspray included an ingredient linked to liver cancer in humans (vinyl chloride). Despite awareness it was not removed from the market for 10 years.  Hairspray stillToxins in Hairspray includes many other ingredients that “may or may not” contain cancer-causing properties.

What to avoid?

Some of the ingredients you want to avoid are aerosol propellants, alcohol, polyvinylpyrrolidone plastic (a carcinogen), formaldehyde and fragrance.  Fragrance itself can contain any number of thousands of ingred
ients in that one trade protected word.

Aside ingredients you are applying to your head there are the ingredients you are inhaling when applying. Inhalation of denatured alcohol and hydro fluorocarbons can cause breathing difficulty, low blood pressure, skin, eye and lung irritation.

Environmental Concerns?

Moving on from immediate health dangers is the environmental issue. Hairspray is considered the most dangerous beauty product on the market.  Hairspray contains so many volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) that can harm the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from harmful UV radiation.

What can you do?

The easiest thing to do is swap any aerosols you may have. We don’t use a lot of hair spray at my house so I have not tried these first hand but there are brands that score low on the skin deep website making them much safer than others.  https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/browse/hair+spray/

If you are ambitious you can make your own! I was going to try this recipe out for my daughters last dance recital but in the end I didn’t need to spray her hair. I have talked to people who have tried this one with much success!

1 Cup – Filtered Water

4 TSP – Sugar

2 Drops – Geranium Essential Oil, Lavender Essential Oil, and Rosemary Essential Oil.

 

  • Heat the water and dissolve the sugar. Once your solution has cooled, add the three essential oils and store in a spray bottle.

 

Lead Free Holiday Lights

If you’re like me you only think about the Christmas decorations twice a year-once to take them out and a second time to put them away.  While they are hidden away in the attic I am confident those strings of Lead Free Christmas Lightslights multiply.  That means it is rare I need to buy more strings of lights.  In the past I only ever considered replacing if they started to seem dated and would be a fire hazard. This year I wondered about the other dangers.

 

Most lights have a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) stabilized by lead to prevent cracking. Unfortunately there is no safe level of lead.  Lead is a neurotoxin that causes damage to the brain and nervous system. Lead accumulates in the body over time with each exposure. It does come off of the light strands on your hands as you touch the light strands and not many people think about washing their hands after touching the lights before they grab and eat a Christmas cookie.

 

How can you limit your exposure?

First-never let children handle the lights. Wear gloves if possible when stringing the lights and always wash your hands.  Don’t wrap your child or pet in light strings for a cute photo. After you undecorated your tree this year, toss your old lights and replace them with RoHS compliant lights for next season. The bonus? It saves you trying to put away the old ones without tangling them up!

http://www.environmentallights.com/led-christmas-lights/lead-free-led-christmas-lights/strings-with-replaceable-led-bulbs-lead-free.html

Lead Free Christmas Lights