Step 12: Generating eco-friendly Waste: Let’s talk clothes washing

Let’s look at the types of waste we generate ( some of which we aren’t even aware we generate) and try to look at ways to make it cleaner and greener and on the way, get rid of even more packaging and chemicals. Shall we start?

 

I. Household Liquid Waste:

Have you ever thought about what is in your waste and where it goes? And I don’t mean just your garbage (that’s another post) , I mean the dirty or grey water as it is called, from your washing machine, dish washer, shower, bath, laundry tubs, kitchen sink, hand basin….Let’s look at all this a bit more closely, shall we?

Waste water from the washing machine: Washing machines account for almost a quarter of household wastewater or, depending on your machine, about 60–180 litres per wash. So, in effect, washing six times a week could send more than 1000L down the drain in one week alone. Add to that your dishwashing, shower and bath water, and you’re soon up to 4000L a week for the average family of four. Not to mention the  detergent, fabric softener, stain remover, dryer sheets, possibly bleach….that’s quite a chemical mix that you send down the drain every time that you do a wash. Here is a list of laundry chemicals for you to boggle yourself with. So, what do I suggest? Well, you could either buy eco-friendly products or make them yourself! Why not? Plus they are cheaper on the pocket, a win-win situation!

Detergents: Making your own detergents sounds like quite the task so you could buy eco-friendly ones. Here is a review of a few green detergents for my US readers. Here for my UK readers. If you can’t find anything in your area or on an online site or just wanna try your hand at something which is actually quite easy, you could try either or both of these 2 DIY detergent recipes:

Recipe 1: The Soap Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 bar of plain soap ( with as few ingredients as possible so stay away from Dove type soaps or antibacterial etc) or pure soap flakes
• 1 cup of Borax (in the laundry section of most supermarket chains)
• 1 cup of Washing Soda (this is also found in the laundry section and is not the same as baking soda)
• Salt
• Grater
• Airtight container

Method:

Grate the bar of soap into as fine a powder as you can manage or use pure soap flakes.

Put the grated soap or the flakes into your container and add the borax and the washing soda. The measurements for soap, borax and washing soda are of a 1:1:1 ratio. Easy, huh?

Put the lid on and shake well until completely combined.

To use, add 1-2 tablespoons per load of laundry.

Recipe 2: The Soapnut/Ritha Recipe

 

Ingredients:

• 3 litres of water
• 80 soap nut halves ( you can order these online or get them at your local organic shop). They come de-seeded so will be in halves
• A container
• 2 tbsp salt
• 60 drops of laundry friendly Essential Oils like Lemon, Lime, Lavender, Orange, Tea Tree, Lemon grass, Eucalyptus, Grapefruit, Rosemary, Pine, Spruce, Cypress, Thyme, Palmarosa, Citronella, Wintergreen, Bergamot, Cedar wood, Spearmint, Oregano, Cinnamon Bark, Clove Bud, Sage, Petitgrain bigarade, Vetiver, Coriander, Juniper Berry

Method:

Heat 2 litres of water in a large pot and when boiling add the nut halves.

Stir from time to time during 10 minutes. Switch off the heat. and let cool for half an hour

Sieve and put this water into a  storage container.

Put 1/2 litre of water in your pot again with the already boiled nuts and blend till a thick soup is formed. Be careful as its very soapy.

Then boil this for 10 mins and stir as before and then allow about half an hour to cool.

Sieve and mix with liquid 1 and 1/2 litre more of water.

Now add 2 tbsp salt for preservation.

Add  Essential oils to make it smell good!

I have been using this recipe for YEARS and I love it, especially for the coloured wash. For whites, once in a while, they will need brightening when following the soap-nut recipe in which case I use either of the 2 methods below:

How to Whiten Whites?

• Pre-soak the whites in washing soda ( 1 cup in 1 bucket of water overnight) and leave them out to air dry under the sun after washing them.
• Simply add one cup of hydrogen peroxide to the washer drum before adding water or clothes. The hydrogen peroxide can also be placed in the automatic bleach dispenser of the washer where it will be dispersed into the wash cycle.

How about Fabric softeners (FS)? Dryer sheets (DS)?

Some tips for DIY fabric softeners:

• Baking Soda: Add a quarter cup of baking soda to wash cycle to soften fabrics.
• Vinegar: Vinegar is a good non-toxic alternative to fabric softener. It softens fabrics and also helps prevent static cling. Use it on towels, diapers, and heavy fabrics like denim (avoid using it on delicates). Add 1/2 cup of white distilled vinegar to your rinse cycle.
• Vegetable Glycerin: Mix 1 cup of vegetable glycerin with 1 gallon of water, and add 1/2 cup of the mixture to your rinse cycle.

Some tips for DIY dryer sheets:

• Aluminum Foil: Believe it or not, a crumpled up wad of aluminum foil in the dryer eliminates static cling.

  

• Tennis Balls: While they won’t reduce static cling, they will keep your sheets nice and fluffy.
• Dry Bath Towel: Throw it in the dryer with your wet clothes and it will soften everything while they are drying.

How about Grease Removers?

Recipe: The Homemade Grease Remover

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons Cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda

Method:

Mix together and cover the stain with the formula. Let stand for 30 minutes or more to absorb as much grease as possible, then wipe away. Soak the remaining stain in the following formula:

• 1/2 cup White Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Water
• 5 drops Lemon or Orange oil

Soak until stain disappears. Wash in hot, hot, hot water.

Stain Remover?

Use hydrogen peroxide but make sure to swab a coloured garment with a cotton swab soaked in peroxide, on a hidden patch first. If the colour transfers, stop. If not, soak the stain for 10 minutes before washing it.

How about Sportswear Stench removers?

Have you noticed how modern sportswear, despite all its amazing qualities, somehow also has an ability to not just retain smell but to convert it into a stench which starts to emanate from your supposedly washed clothes as soon as you start heating up? Ugh! So unlike good ol’ and much cheaper cotton! Here is a nice and easy way to get rid of this stench:

Recipe: The Sports Stench Remover

Ingredients:

• I cup of vinegar or 1/2 a cup of hydrogen peroxide
• 1/2 a bucket of hot water

Method:

Mix the vinegar in the hot water and soak your clothes for an hour (if using vinegar) and not more than half an hour (if using hydrogen peroxide). Wash as usual. Add more vinegar if your clothes still retain the smell or soak for longer till you get the hang of it 🙂