This is your ultimate guide to a more sustainable and eco-friendly laundry routine. Keep reading for general washing tips, product recommendations, and earth-conscious practices you can implement today to reduce your impact on the environment — one load of laundry at a time.
1. Is Your Washing Machine Full?
Before even throwing a load of laundry in your washing machine, question if it’s a full load. If not, consider waiting until you have more to wash. If there is something in your laundry pile that urgently needs to be washed, consider hand-washing that item instead. (There are loads of YouTube videos that detail how to effectively hand wash clothing.) There will always be cases where you can argue using the machine for smaller loads, but if your aim is to make your laundry habits more sustainable, plan ahead and only run a wash cycle when the machine is actually full. This means less loads of washing overall, which means less water usage.
2. Water Temperature: A Case For Cold Water
Wash your laundry in cold water. Detergents to a tremendous job of pulling sweat and grime out of your clothing and linens, making hot water less necessary than most people think. Hot or warm water not only uses more energy (making your hydro bill more expensive), but you actually risk setting in stains or damaging / shrinking clothing. Hot water can be harsh on textiles; dulling vibrant dyes used for colour, damaging the durability of certain weaves, and decreasing the overall life span of your pieces. Unless you absolutely *need* to wash in hot water (to 100% disinfect something, for example), use cold water instead. Washing in cold water comes with countless benefits. It will reduce your energy consumption, cut down on your electricity bill, extend the longevity of your pieces, and keep them looking new for as long as possible. Wash in cold water.
3. Washer Cycle
If your washing machine has an “express” or “quick” wash setting: use it. These settings are a lot shorter than the other wash functions, so they use less water (and get your laundry done a lot faster!). Any setting called “normal”, “sanitation”, or “heavy duty” can take 1-2 hours to complete — and therefore uses a lot more water in the process. Another wash function you can generally avoid is the “extra rinse” cycle. If you have a good detergent, it will rinse out the first time, leaving no leftover grime or residue on your clothing.
4. Detergents
On the topic of detergents, most mainstream options are full of harmful chemicals, toxins, dyes, and irritants. If you’re new to the world of clean and green detergent options, it can be daunting to do all that ingredient research yourself! Here are some of my personal favourites that have come from my own research.
For machine loads, I’ve been really enjoying The Unscented Company lately. They’re an exclusively fragrance-free company that offers refills and solid options to reduce plastic and water usage.
For hand-washing, delicates, and intimates (or “delicate cycle” machine loads) I absolutely love Soak wash. It has been a staple in my routine for years. It only requires one teaspoon of detergent per gallon of water (so it lasts for a very long time!) and it’s a rinse-free formula. No need to rinse several times to ensure all the impurities are washed down the drain. This detergent rinses clean from textiles the first time.
These are non-toxic, paraben-free, formaldehyde-free, (the list goes on) earth-friendly options that you can add to your routine the next time you need to stock up on detergent.
5. Fragrances
An additional note on detergents is that I use scentless formulas. Added fragrances can be harmful to the earth and irritate our skin and respiratory tracts. I also personally find that the cleanest smell = no smell at all. But if you’re someone who likes their laundry to be lightly scented, add a few drops of essential oil (not fragrance oil) to your detergent right before running your wash cycle. If you’re wondering where to buy pure essential oils, Saje has some of my favourite blends, and NOW offers essential oils of the highest purity and quality you can get. If you’re looking for scent suggestions: try lavender oil on your bedding to promote sleep, eucalyptus oil for a relaxing and spa-like scent, or any kind of citrus oil for a vibrant, energetic aroma.
6. Air Dry Your Laundry
After that laundry has been washed, the best thing you can do is hang dry your clothes. It saves money, saves energy, and is more gentle on materials. As discussed in the “water temperature” section above, high heat can cause fibres to break down and shrink, weakening your materials and reducing their longevity. Get yourself a clothing rack** (this one, or this one, to point you in a helpful direction) and hang to dry — bonus if you can do it outside! Natural sunlight* will brighten up your whites and kill any potential bacteria lingering in your textiles. Fresh air leaves a crisp scent on your linens and depending on how hot it is outside, line-drying is often a lot faster than a dryer would be anyways!
*If your load is taking a long time to dry on your clothing rack indoors, it means your space is damp. Try placing your drying rack near a vent or near a dehumidifier to remove moisture from the air accelerate the process!
**Pro-tip if you are line-drying your clothing in direct sunlight: turn garments inside out. Don’t leave items out in the sun longer than they need to be either. This will reduce the risk of the UV rays accidentally fading any dyes or colours. Otherwise, line-dry in the shade, if possible.
7. If You Must Use Your Dryer…
If you must use your dryer, use the lowest heat setting possible (which is also safer for your garments). Use either a timed cycle setting or use a humidity-detector if your dryer has one, so that it only runs as long as it detects any moisture in your load. Incorporate whatever suits the particular situation: any combination of these options is more earth-friendly than running a dryer on its highest heat setting for an hour and a half.
Additionally, use dryer balls as an alternative to dryer sheets! Mainstream dryer sheets contain fragrances that are harmful, leave a coating on your materials that can leave spotting and permanent damage, and the sheet itself doesn’t decompose easily. 100% wool dryer balls are fully compostable and keep your clothes from lumping together in the dryer. If desired, add a few drops of essential oils to your dryer balls to infuse your laundry with a light, fresh scent.
8. Eco-Friendly Stain Removers
As with laundry detergents, stain removers are also often chucked full with harmful chemicals. Opt for non-toxic stain removers instead. Two of my favourites are Grandma’s Secret Spot Remover and Miss Mouth Messy Eater. They both pack a serious stain-removing punch without the unnecessary toxins.
9. Frequency
This last one may be controversial, which is why I’ve kept it for the end. (I’m hoping that I’ve gained your trust by now!) Consider how frequently you actually need to wash things. (Because it’s probably not as often as you’d think.) Now, don’t write me off just yet. My suggestion is NOT “the most sustainable way to do your laundry is to never wash your clothes because if you never wash your clothes then you never use a washing machine so you never use water so you’re helping the earth.” Not even close. Laundering is important for hygiene, allergens, odors, stains, etc. and things that are completely soiled need to be cleaned. Musky dish towels, cloths that have mopped up spills, sweaty workout gear, undergarments after each wear, dust mite-filled bedding. I GET IT. But not everything needs to be washed after every wear.
Hear me out. That pair of jeans you wore once? Unless you rolled around in the dirt in them, you can probably get a few more wears out of them. That knit sweater that you wore *over* a t-shirt so it never actually even touched your body? It can probably get put back in your closet for a few more wears. That outfit you wore for literally 2 hours to run a quick errand and then took off the second you got home so you could get in your comfies? Yeah – you can most likely wear that outfit again before washing it. Consider the frequency. That’s all I’m suggesting. XD
Which of these are you looking forward to implementing first? What do you already practice? What clean laundry products do you use? Dish in the comments!
