Minimizing Laundry Pollution
Ironically, your attempts to maintain excellent hygiene habits often lead to environmental pollution. Every time you do your laundry, you are hurting the world's resources by releasing pollutants. As a responsible citizen, you should be aware of these dangers and do what you can to limit the damage.
Phenols
Some detergents contain phenols because they let the detergent actually get into the fabric to get dirt and stains out. While no one challenges the cleaning ability of phenols, experts agree that they can have toxic effects. They have been found to be carcinogens that can also adversely hurt the kidneys, lungs, and heart. One laundry detergent was found to contain estrogen, an often harmful hormone that has no business being released into rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Microfibers
So many fabrics now contain microfibers that approximately 1,900 microfibers can be washed out of your clothing during each trip through the washer. Microfibers and microbeads get into the bodies of marine organisms and negatively affect the food chain. Although all the problems stemming from this pollution source are not known, environmentalists are worried about the cumulative effects of these substances in the ocean.
Solutions
You can help reduce water pollution by using "green" laundry detergents. You can easily find out which of these products are rated safe by researching them online. Another excellent way to limit the damage caused by your laundry is to choose more natural fibers. Polyester is actually a plastic, so your family's many "ready-to-wear" items may be shedding thousands of harmful fibers every laundry day. Cotton, wool, silk, and linen items are friendlier to the world's water sources and marine life.
A whole-house water filtering system will also help you protect the environment from your laundry. Softer water requires less detergent to get your clothes clean, so you will be releasing fewer pollutants when your washer drains. Also, unfiltered "hard water" will yellow your clothes and make them look dirty when they are not. As a result, you will tend to wash them more often, increasing the strain on the earth's resources.
Washing your clothes can actually be a dirty practice. Using the right detergent can significantly reduce water pollution, but you need to do more. Buying natural fabrics, softening your water, and limiting your laundry can make your home more environmentally friendly without causing you any real hardship. You can stay clean while lessening your impact on the earth's resources.
For more information or to install a filter in your home, contact local water filter services, such as Friot's Water Treatment CO.
