It’s time for yet another installment of my monthly series: Baby steps to getting green.
This month’s change wasn’t a very conscious one, so it’s shouldn’t be too hard to adopt.
I’m a neat-freak so it isn’t a surprise that this post will address cleaning or more expressly laundry.
I’ve changed my brand of detergent to Arm & Hammer Essentials. It’s a supposedly green version of the Arm & Hammer brand that I have been using for years. I said the change was an unconscious one because I bought the detergent because it was on sale, I only noticed it was green after I got it home.
I did some research (by research, I mean Googled it) and found that it is actually Phosphate-free and plant-derived, in the good way, not just for marketing reasons. It’s also double concentrated, so there is more product with less packaging. And they make a dye/scent-free version, for those who are sensitive to that…I found a lot of eco-freaks were really sensitive to dye/fragrances (wussies).
And to answer the common question, “Yeah, it’s green, but is it AS good?”
I can assure you that it is.
And here’s the kicker, it even works well in cold water. Which is the bigger change I have made with regards to laundry. I have quit using hot or even warm water, short of 1-2 loads a month (when using bleach on whites).
Something like 90% of the energy consumed by washing clothes is used in heating the water. I’ve been “going cold” for the past couple months and see no difference in the cleanliness of my clothes. So it makes no practical sense to use the heated water.
Again, I am not going to save the world by myself or by making these small steps. But every little bit helps, especially if we all begin making these changes.
*In that vein, I want to give a shout-out to one of my readers, who actually went out and bought a recycle mug after my last “baby steps” post. Thanks for reading and making the world a lil better place.
As always if you have any ideas or stories to share, please feel free to leave a comment.
Here’s a link of 10 Free Ways to Save Energy on Laundry.
3 comments:
Good call on the cold water. Modern detergents (even the green ones) work just as well in cold water as they do in hot or warm. And considering our "hot" water is nowhere near hot enough to kill any bugs you may be worried about, there is absolutely no reason to use anything but cold water for your laundry. Unless you like wasting money and energy:) The red menace and I switched to cold water over a year ago and have noticed no difference (and we don't even pay for our hot water). I have a green laundry tip for ya: stop using the dryer. Most clothes can be hung dry.
We always wash cold water too and it doesn't seem to have any drawbacks. My green step of the month will be changing our type of dishwashing soap to something more environmentally friendly (as of the grocery store trip tomorrow!) Thanks for the continued motivation to help the environment.
I agree wholeheartedly with the cold water argument. I started doing it just so my t-shirts wouldn't shrink, and they're just as clean as before. I also don't use a dryer for them shirts, which saves the earth exponentially, making me awesome.
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