Friday, March 1, 2013

Good morning,

Conserving water by only washing full loads and saving energy by using cold water instead of hot are not the only ways you can be environmentally conscious in the laundry room.

Scroll down to see how you can keep some of those harmful chemicals out of the environment.

Thanks for reading,

Your Living Green editor

Email the Editor

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* Detergents. Components such as colorants really aren't necessary - they are often just there to make them pleasing to the eye as you pour them out. Fragrances are of particular concern as companies often aren't required to detail what these are comprised of. Just about every supermarket these days offers "earth friendly" detergents and usually you'll find they are quite a bit cheaper too due to the no-frills, low active chemical approach - yet they can be just as effective.

* If you need a bit of extra punch to your wash in terms of bleaching, consider adding a 1/2 cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle. By the way, a teaspoon of lemon juice thrown into your wash can also help your clothes to smell fresher.

* Other more environmentally friendly alternatives to brightening are a half cup of baking soda thrown into the wash, or half a cup of borax.