Many people will remember a famous TV ad in which a woman runs to her washing machine, fabric softener in hand, only to arrive just as the wash is done. This woman who “forgot to add fabric softener” was actually doing herself and her family a favor.
Although they can make your clothes feel soft and smell fresh, fabric softener and dryer sheets are some of the most toxic products around. And chances are, the staggering 99.8 percent of Americans who use common commercial detergents, fabric softeners, bleaches, and stain removers would think twice if they knew they contained chemicals that could cause cancer and brain damage.
Laundry
Here is a list of some of the chemicals found in fabric softeners and dryer sheets:
* Benzyl acetate: Linked to pancreatic cancer
* Benzyl alcohol: Irritating to the upper respiratory tract.
* Ethanol: On the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and can cause central nervous system disorders
* Limonene: known carcinogen
* A-Terpineol: May cause respiratory problems, including fatal edema and central nervous system damage.
* Ethyl Acetate: a narcotic on the EPA’s list of hazardous waste
* Camphor: Causes disorders of the central nervous system
* Chloroform: Neurotoxic, anesthetic and carcinogenic
* Linalool: a narcotic that causes disorders of the central nervous system
* Pentane: a chemical known to be harmful if inhaled
So how can products with cute names like Soft Ocean Mist, Summer Orchard, and April Fresh be so dangerous?
The chemicals in fabric softeners have a strong, pungent odor, so strong that they require the use of these strong fragrances (think 50 times more fragrance) just to cover up the odors. Also, synthetic fabrics, which are the reason fabric softeners were created, don’t smell good when heated in a dryer or heated by our bodies…hence the need for even stronger fragrances.
In other words, remove all the added fragrance that draws people to fabric softeners and, like the cliché wolf in sheep’s clothing, the actual odors of chemical fabric softener and synthetic fabrics they were designed around. they can incite people to shoot their washing machines and go.
Is “soft” clothing worth it?
Fabric softeners are made to stay on clothes for long periods of time. As such, the chemicals are slowly released into the air for you to inhale or onto your skin to absorb. Dryer sheets are particularly harmful because they get hot in the dryer and the chemicals are released through the dryer vents into the environment. Health effects from being exposed to the chemicals in fabric softeners include:
*Central nervous system disorders
* Headaches
* Nausea
* Vomiting
*Dizziness
* Lowering of blood pressure
* Irritation of the skin, mucous membranes and respiratory tract
* pancreatic cancer
baby cloth
Soften your clothes safely with these tips
Even if you don’t feel the effects of these chemicals today, they can affect you gradually over time, and children, whose systems are still developing, are at particular risk. There really is no reason to expose yourself to these dangerous chemicals when there are natural alternatives. Not only are they safer for you, your family and the environment, but they are also much cheaper:
* Add a quarter cup of baking soda to the wash cycle to soften the fabric
* Add a quarter cup of white vinegar to the rinse to soften the fabric and eliminate stickiness
*Visit your local health food store for a natural fabric softener that uses a natural base like soy instead of chemicals.
Fabric softeners and dryer sheets probably aren’t the only toxic products in your home. Many household products that consumers consider safe are also filled with toxic chemicals. Our previous articles on PEG compounds in cosmetics and phenols in common household cleaners are two of the most popular articles of all time on SixWise.com and will make you more aware of the pervasiveness of harmful chemicals that can be removed from your home.
