Toxic Laundry Detergents and Their Alternatives

 Introduction

 Laundry detergents, and detergents in general, are a technology, or chemical composition if you prefer, that has developed greatly throughout the years, especially the last few decades. They have one purpose, to make cleaning easier and better, more efficient, and more effective, even adapted to different circumstances, for example, type of stain or water conditions.

And they have achieved their purpose splendidly. The advancements that have been made in detergent technology have a lot to do with why cleaning our clothes has become so much easier, simpler, and more effective.

Despite that, as we become more and more aware and sensitive to the chemical synthesis of these detergents, and the properties of the various chemical ingredients they are made of and contain, as well as their effects on life, health, and the environment, we begin to realize that all these advancements have come at a cost.

 Chemical Composition

 Synthetic laundry detergents typically contain builders (50% by weight, approximately), surfactants (15%), bleach (7%), enzymes (2%), soil antideposition agents, foam regulators, corrosion inhibitors, optical brighteners, dye transfer inhibitors, fragrances, dyes, fillers, and formulation aids. [1]

Builders are water softeners. Bleaches and enzymes help target specific stains. Many other ingredients can be added to a laundry detergent to provide special properties depending on the expected circumstances of use (solution viscosity adjustment, washing equipment corrosion protection, etc), or for aesthetic effect either on the item to be cleaned or the detergent itself (perfumes, colorants, softeners, etc).

Surfactants may be the most essential ingredients encountered in laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents, cleaning products, cosmetic hair-care, and personal care products which represent the main applications of these compounds. They are responsible for most of the cleaning performance in laundry detergents. Their function is to remove soil (oil, grease, dust, particles…) from solid surfaces and to keep it in suspension in the wash solution, preventing redeposition on clothes. They provide this by absorption and emulsification of soil into the water and also by reducing the water’s surface tension to improve wetting. 

 Health and Environmental Concerns

 All these ingredients, in our laundry detergents, are great in that they have made them more effective in cleaning our clothes no matter the circumstances, e.g. the type or intensity of dirt, the fabric, the water quality. 

They have even made our clothes smell much more pleasant.

The negative side is that, as has been observed and proven in the last few years, all these chemicals have several adverse consequences for our health and the environment.

Firstly, phosphates make laundry cleaner but also cause eutrophication, particularly with poor wastewater treatment. [3]

Phosphates in detergent became an environmental concern in the 1950s and the subject of bans in later years. [2] 

Surfactants, on the other hand, have a distinct toxic activity on aquatic organisms on account of their surface activity.

Furthermore, a recent academic study of fragranced laundry products found “more than 25 VOCs emitted from dryer vents, with the highest concentrations of acetaldehyde, acetone, and ethanol. Seven of these VOCs are classified as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and two as carcinogenic HAPs (acetaldehyde and benzene)”. [4]

These chemicals may remain in your clothes after a wash cycle, and transfer to, even penetrate your skin, especially when your clothes become damp, for example when you sweat.

 Alternatives

 If you want a more natural way to wash your laundry, free from all these potentially harmful chemical substances, there are several great alternatives.

Firstly, the Magnetic Laundry System cleans your clothes, effectively and efficiently, by generating a powerful magnetic field to change the surface tension of the water, – just like detergent does, only without all the toxic chemicals. [5]

Secondly, maybe with a little effort, you will find that many, probably less well-known, laundry detergent brands are offering natural, eco-friendly, non-toxic products.

Then you can always make your own homemade laundry detergent. Not only is it possible, but it is actually incredibly easy and significantly less expensive than regular detergent. There are many different types of ingredients with which you can create your homemade detergent, and you can even make both liquid and powdered detergent. You can easily find all of the required ingredients in grocery stores or online.

So, with all these notable natural, safe, environmentally-friendly alternatives, there’s no reason why you should continue using any potentially harmful toxic detergent.

 Conclusion

 Even though laundry detergents have become much more efficient and effective in the last few decades, this has come at a cost, as their chemical composition has been shown to have negative effects on our health and our environment.

Despite the increasing attention on the properties of these materials, leading to increasingly more stringent requirements regarding biodegradability, coming from renewable raw materials and their phosphate content, common laundry detergent products are still a long way from becoming truly safe and environmentally friendly.

It’s up to us to decide whether we want to take the risk of using common detergent products, with all their chemicals, or choose a safer alternative with similar cleaning effectiveness.

One thing is for certain, your best bet, for a healthy and sustainable laundry, is to go for an alternative, that eliminates your reliance on harsh chemical detergents, like the Magnetic Laundry System.

References

[1] Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Laundry Detergent, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laundry_detergent

[2] Knud-Hansen, Chris (February 1994). “HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE PHOSPHATE DETERGENT CONFLICT”. www.colorado.edu. CONFLICT RESEARCH CONSORTIUM. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2017.

[3] Kogawa, Ana Carolina; Cernic, Beatriz Gamberini; do Couto, Leandro Giovanni Domingos; Salgado, Hérida Regina Nunes (February 2017). “Synthetic detergents: 100 years of history”. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal. 25 (6): 934–938. doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2017.02.006. PMC 5605839. PMID 28951681.

[4] Anne C. Steinemann, “Chemical Emissions from Residential Dryer Vents During Use of Fragranced Laundry Products”, Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, March 2013, Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp. 151–156.

[5] The Magnetic Laundry System, https://flowdevmark.com/featured-products/magnetic-laundry-system/