Laundry Lesson

Last month, we decided to begin to eliminate plastics from our household. One of the first things to go was liquid laundry detergent in hard plastic bottles. We didn't toss out our old detergent, because we also try to maintain an economical household, and that would have been wasteful. We used it to the last drop, and even cut the bottle in half and wiped it clean!

Then, unsure of whether we would make our own detergent or use a store bought powder (in a cardboard box), a little research was in order. On our usual bi-weekly shopping trip, we  perused the laundry aisle and decided to pick up a box of 365 brand laundry powder. The ingredients were clean, no scents or fillers, and best of all, it was plastic free...or so we thought.

Back home, I enthusiastically opened the cardboard box only to find an over sized plastic bag filled with pristine white powder and a hard plastic scoop. Really?, I thought. At first I felt scammed by the cleverly designed, pretty pretty picture on the front of the box, but quickly recognized that I was to blame for being so naive. After all these years, I know better than to judge a book by its cover. I should have thought about the scoop, and searched online before hand for a company who either provides a cardboard scoop, or an aluminum pour spout.

I shook it off, and sent my husband (whom I will refer to, from today forth, as Thomas) back to the store for a refund. Take that Whole Foods Market! This step is of utmost importance to the eco-friendly consumer, you'll only be defeated if you allow it to happen, don't be afraid to return products that do not meet your standards.

Back at square one, and dangerously low on laundry detergent, we decided to attempt to make our own. We flipped through some green cleaning books we have at home and searched the web to find hundreds of recipes that all essentially include the same things: washing soda, some kind of soap or soap flakes, borax, and baking soda. It takes some work to grate the bar soap, but it's worth it in the end if you want a 100% natural, plastic free detergent.

The basic recipe (from Homemade by Reader's Digest):
1/2 cup soap flakes
1/2 cup baking soda
1/4 cup washing soda
1/4 cup borax
1 16 oz container with lid
*When washing diapers or stained garments, I like to add 2 TBSP Biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus (which we've had on hand for years, when we run out, I will not purchase more because it comes in a plastic tub.)

1) Grate a bar of soap on a course kitchen grater (We use a Microplane hand grater).
2) In a large bowl mix all ingredients together. Store in container.
3) Use about 1/2 cup per load of laundry (We use about 1/8- 1/2 cup depending on the size of the load, and the soil level of the clothing or diapers).

For the average household, this detergent is probably fine. For the first few weeks, I loved it, especially the cost compared to store bought. However, if you are cloth diapering, as we are, this powder will interfere with the absorbabilty of your cloth inserts, and may lead to leaks. We had no problems until we started using this powder. The first night that Dylan's diaper leaked, I thought it was just too full, but when it started happening several times per day, Thomas mentioned that he had read something about detergents mucking up cloth pads.

I consider urine leaking onto our mattress (we're co-sleeping) every night urgent, so I had to act fast. Realizing that I probably had to begin using liquid detergent again, I headed to the store. I wasn't expecting to find anything but the usual hard plastic bottles of liquid detergent, as I had been down this aisle many times in the past. To my surprise, there was another option this time.

Seventh Generation has a new liquid laundry product, called Natural 4X Laundry Detergent, that comes in a cardboard (surely plastic lined) container.The spout is hard plastic, as is the lid, but it's a step in the right direction, to be sure. The bottle reads "This bottle uses 66% less plastic..." The cardboard is compostable and recyclable. Though the packaging is somewhat progressive, I have a problem with Seventh Generation as a company. Seemingly every product that they make, across the board, is loaded with SLS. For the record, if there is ever any controversy regarding the safety of a product, I will err on the side of caution. If you have no problem with SLS, this detergent is probably a good option.

I think for the time being I will go back to using Organic Green Shield soap nuts liquid detergent. I plan to use this liquid for Dylan's diapers only. I will continue to use the homemade powder for all our other laundry needs. I also plan to find a recipe for homemade liquid laundry detergent that will not interfere with the cloth diapers, and do not plan to purchase liquid detergent again once this one runs out.

If the thought of making your own laundry detergent seems daunting, hold off, everyone has to start somewhere, there's really no wrong way to "go green," making the commitment to do so is the first step. Most days it feels like we're taking two steps forward and one step back, and I have to admit that even I worry about what we might do next.