On the subject of climate change... when it comes to washing clothes I'm pretty lazy, I just tend to buy a big bag of whatever gel-capsules are on offer at any particular time.
I'm well aware they are not eco friendly, and they even gunk up the washing machine after a while, and more importantly, my Egyptian cotten fine linnens feel a bit waxy from what I can only assume is a build up of cake over time from the wrong detergents I'm using.
I'm currently washing stuff with a dose of white/distilled vinigar to help clean out the washing machine and hopefully improve the fluffieness of my clothes...
But for the long term, what's a good eco friendly washing powder that doesn't make the clothes feel claggy and scratchy?
I’ll watch this thread with interest
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From my recent research,
1. wash clothing less often (except for underwear and sports kit)
2. use a lot less washing powder per wash cycle
3. wash at 30°C is adequate for most items (except cloth baby nappies)
Also the eco options tend to save money as well
We use Earth Breeze sheets, half a sheet per 30degC wash, with some supermarket own brand Vanish equivalent chucked in. That's for everything, including a lot of sports kit. Works well.
Method? Can get it on offer if you shop around. Ecover also all right.
Pack in fabric softener.
Method
🤣
Their labelling on some, pretty poor, kitchen spray makes me laugh. ‘We think that cleaner should smell of fruit, not chemicals’. 🤦🏻♂️ what is a smell other than molecules?
my Egyptian cotten fine linnens feel a bit waxy from what I can only assume is a build up of cake over time from the wrong detergents I’m using
Are you using a fabric softener? Or fabric softener integrated into detergent? That could be cause. Or you’re using way too much detergent. Unless you’re in a hard water area in which case consider moving. Or softening your water more.
Ecover 5l laundry liquid ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ecover-285429-Ecover-Liquid-Detergent-Lavender/dp/B06ZXYJHS9)
No fabric softener
No tumble drying (yes, even in Scotland).
30 degrees for 9/10 washes (1hr eco wash)
I've never used fabric softener or a tumble drier.
You need to put the vinegar in the fabric conditioner compartment for it to act as a sour. Putting it in the main wash means it will neutralise some of the alkalinity of the detergent making less effective at removing oils and greases.
I’m well aware they are not eco friendly
I don't think they are particular unfriendly any more. Back in the day that might have been the case, but I have read that the same movement that gave us eco-detergents also encouraged legislation that made all detergents less damaging.
The normal detergents do stink powerfully though. It's a bit like salty food - once you have been using eco detergents with their typically gentle smells, you can start smelling normal washing stuff all over the place even as people walk past on the street. If someone gives us an article of clothing or we buy something used we have to wash it multiple times to get the smell down to the point it's wearable.
Ecover liquid works very well (their dish wash liquid not so good), most washes at 20degrees.
We use an "eco egg" you fill it with pellets and just leave it in the drum for 50 washes or so before you have to refill it. One less step in the faff of clothes washing is a good thing. Our egg is starting to look a bit beaten up though which has me thinking it might be a bad thing in terms of microplastics
Liquid is better at cleaning most stuff than powder, so that's a good place to start. It's also worth experimenting with how low a temperature you can get away with - even with minging sports stuff and 2 young kids we manage with 30 degrees.
Been using Faith in Nature concentrated for quite a while now. Works with everything at all temperatures. Buy in 5l tubs and use it with a push pump to measure out.
Odd hot wash for base sheets and towels seems to help keep the machine clean, along with a change of job for me meaning less wood chip.
Just to add, I only do 40c washes, for 30-45 mins which might be part of my problem if it doesnt get hot enough for the tide pods.
I agree that newer low energy and low water machines and cycles just don't work with powder in drawer (or pods, but we've never really used them). Also, most modern machines do not do thier headline load weight - read your manual, many are less than half the headline load weight for a given cycle. Only one cycle will be full weight.
We use a liquid detergent, measured to ensure we use as little as we can, placed in a 'ball' in the drum. Our machine asks for a drum clean every 20-50 washes. We never do more than 30-40*c. Never had any issues with smelly machine.
Personally smaller amounts of a traditional powder, no softener, and no short cycle nonsense (2 1/2 hours with prewash), at 30 or 40C That's what I was advised by a clothes designer from a Scandinavian outdoors clothing company.
I am lucky to live somewhere water is not a limit
We buy Ecover zero liquid, 5l at a time. Not found anywhere local that does refills yet.
Mostly wash at 30, do hand towels and kitchen cloths etc at 60 which should help the machine clean out. No need for fabric softener.
If you want to be eco should you not be handwashing all your clothes with a bar of soap. Just think of the eco impact of your washing machine manufacture, shipping it round the world, and its disposal in due course. Then there is the electricity to power it.
We moved over to trying magnesium pellets, I understand they work by reacting with the walter to turn it slightly alkaline in order to remove dirt/grime etc. Since we tried them we haven't gone back to powder or tablets. This is the kind of thing: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Terra-Wash-Mg%E3%80%90eco-Magnesium%E3%80%91Reusable-washes/dp/B01NBBXMO2
They say usable for 365 washes, but a bit of Googling suggests that you can refresh them with citric acid (such as Pulycaff or similar) and then they're good as new again.
Another Ecover liquid user here. Only downside is there's no place to refill an old bottle so I end up buying a new bottle every time.
We use SMOL cleaning products, convenient tabs with no plastic for clothes and dishwasher. For items that need bottles we send a box of empty ones back to them every year which are reused which is far better than recycling. No 'eco premium' either
Sheets here. From zero waste club.
Works great at low temperatures, minimal packing. Totally converted.
I'd guess which and environmental resources would be good
Ecover liquid works very well (their dish wash liquid not so good), most washes at 20degrees.
Their (Ecover) dish washing liquid has actually got a lot better these days and I use it exclusively now. Fairy always used to say 'harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects' on the back of the bottle (not sure if it still does?). Which isn't too great when you consider how much the water companies are dumping straight into the rivers.
Method laundry liquid gets my vote for clothes though, prefer it to the Ecover one.
We use Earth Breeze sheets, half a sheet per 30degC wash,
Ah, would be interested to know your thoughts on this as it's something I'm considering. There looks to be a number of brands available, have you tried any others? Thanks!
my Egyptian cotten fine linnens feel a bit waxy from what I can only assume is a build up of cake over time from the wrong detergents I’m using.
What temperature are you washing them at? My sheets are always washed at 60 degrees and, like yourself, use white vinegar (with essential oil) as a conditioner.
Also, try cleaning your washing machine by using 500g of soda crystals at 90 degrees and you'll need to do another rinse then wipe it with a clean cloth.
Unless you’re in a hard water area in which case consider moving.
Good luck with that. From real world experience anywhere south of London the water will be hard along with undoubtedly other areas that I'm not aware of.
Ah, would be interested to know your thoughts on this as it’s something I’m considering. There looks to be a number of brands available, have you tried any others? Thanks!
Only tried Earth Breeze, and only thought is "they work fine", can't really add any more than that really. The subscriptions thing is easy, they mail you when they're about to send more and if you don't need them yet cos you've got enough left you can put them off one, two or four weeks.
The Vanish/Astonish/own brand stain remover is all the same stuff, and is used to get the pong out of running/cycling kit, of which there is quite a lot in every wash.
We use SMOL, zero plastic in the washing liquid packaging. Seems to work fine.
You can post back the fabric softener bottles and they get refilled.
You can post back the fabric softener bottles and they get refilled.
Fabric softener is, honestly, an absolute waste of money, chemicals, everything. It makes towels less absorbent, it screws up any type of breathable membrane, it has one real function and that is to make things smell 'nice', but once you stop using it (and indeed any fragranced washing powder/liquid/sheet) you realise that your clothes don't smell of anything, and everyone else's smell like a branch of Lush.
And as for the softening part of fabric softeners, honestly, does anyone actually need that? Are your towels made of steel wool?
We've been using soap nuts for about five years, swapping out what's in the net every ~4 washes.
Another SMOL user here, we also add a bit of white vinegar (not sure about being eco friendly) in softener draw when washing towels and bed linen.
I use SMOL, liked the smell at first and have since become oblivious to it. They don't claim to be an eco brand for the detergent itself, but no giant plastic bottles is good.
with some supermarket own brand Vanish equivalent chucked in
I use Dettol equivalent and my washing never stinks like it used to sometimes without the bleachy element. But surely this negates any eco benefit of the detergent itself?
We also have the "leaf" or sheet detergent which works and smells good. Again, no plastic but not sure about the chemicals.
We’ve been using soap nuts for about five years,
@n0b0dy0ftheg0at - do they actually work? My sis gave me some years back, I didn't really give them a fair go.
I use Dettol equivalent and my washing never stinks like it used to sometimes without the bleachy element. But surely this negates any eco benefit of the detergent itself?
Not especially. The stain removers (dunno about the Dettol one) tend to be Sodium Percarbonate, which is the same stuff as homebrewers use as a no-rinse steriliser. It degrades to sodium carbonate, water and oxygen, all of which are non-toxic.
There is the plastic tub they come in, obvs, but a quick Google shows that it can be bought as refills in paper/other bags
**EDIT - or Dri-Pak Oxi Boost is in a cardboard box, and a LOT cheaper than the 'brands'
We've started using sheets.
Seem to clean just as well as the liquids / powders we used before (Ecover, BioD and a few others zero waste place powders). Also don't leave the same residue or stale smell, although that might be more to do with a better outlet pipe.
We won't be going back.
@jimmy They work fine for us, maybe helped by very rarely having to deal with anything more stubborn than my sweaty cycling kit after a turbo session.
And as for the softening part of fabric softeners, honestly, does anyone actually need that? Are your towels made of steel wool?
We're in a super hard water area and yes towels come out the washing machine like brillo pads if you don't use softener...
Their (Ecover) dish washing liquid has actually got a lot better these days and I use it exclusively now. Fairy always used to say ‘harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects’ on the back of the bottle (not sure if it still does?). Which isn’t too great when you consider how much the water companies are dumping straight into the rivers.
Regardless if it gets spilled out of a CSO or goes through a sewage works; Waste water treatment works do not remove chemicals in the water as part of the process. It's a biological process to remove the human waste from the water.
We’re in a super hard water area and yes towels come out the washing machine like brillo pads if you don’t use softener…
Only for the first use though, surely, and then they're fine? I dunno, maybe it's just because I've never used it because I don't see the point, that I don't see the point (and have lived in really hard water areas too)
We’re in a super hard water area and yes towels come out the washing machine like brillo pads if you don’t use softener
Give your towels a good shake before letting them dry. It works.
everyone else’s smell like a branch of Lush
This. Riding in a sportive is like being gassed by the overpowering perfume of most riders fabric softened gear. I hate it.
I live in a hard water area, don't use softener, don't have a tumble drier. Yes, towels can be a bit hard the first time you use them after a wash, but it's not a big deal - I've never lost any skin. Certainly doesn't justify spending the money on all those dubious chemicals and plastic bottles.
We’re in a super hard water area and yes towels come out the washing machine like brillo pads if you don’t use softener…
Softener reduces absorbancy. I put some white vinegar in the softener compartment.
Stopped using 'conditioner' years ago; no adverse effects and a money saver.
Same as not using hair conditioner; does nothing, costs a lot so...get rid.
'Conditioner' is a euphomism for marketing bullshit.
