When it comes to healthy living the first thing that comes to mind is usually diet and exercise…but did you know you know the detergent you use to wash your clothes also can have a big impact on your health! There are safer laundry alternatives to better the health of you and your family!
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When I started this healthy living journey I never even thought twice about our laundry detergent. I mean, it’s what I grew up on! There is definitely a sense of comfort using the same soap and products that our mom’s used and that makes our clothes smell so good. I still find comfort in that familiar smell, not to mention the fact that it works.
Unfortunately, it’s that comforting familiar smell, among other harmful chemicals, that makes these soaps down-right toxic to our health! It almost makes me mad to think about what they are putting in our products! You may be thinking I’m just overacting but here are some…
Down + Dirty Facts
Tide Laundry Detergent, among others, contain a chemical known as 1, 4-dioxide. The EPA has classified 1,4-dioxane as a probable human carcinogen. It also can vertigo, drowsiness, headaches, anorexia, irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs and potentially liver and kidney damage (Source).
“problematic” levels of 1,4-dioxane were detected in original formula Tide detergent (63 parts per million) as well as fragrance-free Tide Free & Clear (89 ppm).
Huffpost
The more I am learning about healthy living and toxins the more I’m learning how truly dangerous fragrances are. This is because there is no FDA regulation on “fragrance”. This one ingredient is labeled as a trade secret and companies can hide hundreds of ingredients within it, without disclosing them on the label.
Fragrances commonly contain phthalates which are chemicals that help the scents last longer. Health risks for phthalates are startling and include cancer, human reproductive and developmental toxicity, endocrine [hormone] disruption, birth defects & respiratory problems. These toxic villains are very hard to avoid because manufacturers are not required to list them on ingredient labels.
Force of Nature
A little laundry detergent may be harmless, but when you think about it, laundry detergent is one of the products, if not the most, products that you are exposed to every day. Unless you are Adam and Eve pre-“the fall” I’m pretty sure you wear clothes every day. Which means you are breathing these chemicals all day, every day. They are also sitting on your skin and potentially getting into your blood-stream, especially when we sweat. It’s not just your clothes, but your sheets, blankets, and towels and everything else you are washing.
If I had to choose one household ingredient for you to swap it would be for safer laundry detergent. I’m not trying to scare you, it’s just something that I am passionate about. I want you to be aware of the health of you and your family. Having hormone-alternating, cancer-causing, chemicals on you and your children all day, every day is just not necessary. The good news is that there are so many great safer laundry alternatives out there!
Safer Alternatives
Branch Basics (laundry soap and cleaner in one)
Thrive Market’s Selection of safer Laundry Detergents (affiliate link).
Seventh Generation (I have not used this one in particular but have used Seventh Generation in the past) (affiliate link).
This is the one I am currently using from Thrive. It’s not perfect and could be “cleaner”. I really like that it has safer ingredients, the pretty scent, the cost and how it cleans. The smell did give me a little headache when I was smelling a lot of it while doing this post but it doesn’t otherwise. I am finding that as much as I’d like everything to be perfectly organic and perform perfectly, it usually isn’t this way. There is a balance and as long as we are making steps in the right direction + doing our best to steer clear of known toxins when we can, that’s a victory in my book!
Let’s #ditchthetoxins together for our health and the health of our families!
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