Non-toxic or clean laundry swaps were not the first on my list when I started my clean-living journey. It took me a while to start swapping out items one by one to finally arrive at what I feel is a great non-toxic laundry room regimen. These products I use for our entire family, including our daughter since she was born. I consider these products to be the best non-toxic laundry swaps that are family friendly, baby-safe, pregnancy-safe and also more environmentally friendly.
[This post contains affiliate links. This means I may make a small commission if you purchase through these links. I’m only going to recommend products that I have tried and love!]
Traditional mainstream laundry detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, stain removers etc are loaded with fragrances, and harsh cleaning chemicals, dyes, optical brighteners, bleach etc. If you’ve read my phthalate post here, you may remember many artificial fragrances contain phthalates which are hormone disrupting agents, and manufactures don’t need to disclose their fragrance ingredients either so who knows what else could be lurking in there. If you think about how much time we spend in our freshly laundered clothing, it’s literally 24/7! That’s 24/7 exposure to residual fragrance on our clothes and bedding and potentially residual harsh cleaning chemicals that could cause skin irritation and maybe respiratory issues as well.
Many classic mainstream detergents also contain high concentrations of Sodium Borate which can potentially pose risk for developmental, endocrine, and fertility/reproductive effects, with some concern for skin irritation/allergies and respiratory effects. Some ingredients are low rated for poor biodegradation and aquatic toxicity so may also have environmental impact. Per the EWG – 537 products scored a D rating and 465 products scored an F rating on their scale F being the worst and highest concern for toxicity – most of the top mainstream brands rate poorly on EWG – there are some products that pass their test but it’s very specific ones, you really have to read the labels and ingredients for the hypo-allergenic or ultra-free and clear labeling and still double check!
I was really frustrated when I looked up traditional baby-safe laundry detergent ingredients when I was preparing for Dempsey to be born. The ingredient list for the classic baby Dreft detergent is a mile long and it’s all chemicals you can’t pronounce and fragrance and skin irritants – check out the EWG rating here.
Although I do love looking up ratings and ingredients on the EWG website, unfortunately some of the data on EWG is outdated. You do need to do your due diligence when looking up ratings to see what year or formulation is rated. I would also say ratings can be skewed based on the word “fragrance” being on the label. If a company is transparent about where the fragrance comes from, notes if it’s phthalate free, or if it’s from essential oils, I’m okay with it and don’t agree with the EWG rating. For example, Zum laundry soap which is what I use and recommend – the rating currently on EWG is from 2012 (10 years ago) with an old ingredient list saying it rates C overall because of fragrance and botanical oils. Per the current bottle I have now looking up each ingredient I’ll list the ratings below:
- Water – sustains life – not rated
- Potassium cocoate – A rating
- Fragrance from essential oils – C rating for skin sensitivity/allergy – however, per the Zum website, the scent I use (Frankincense & Myrrh) has fragrance from essential oils and a trace amount of phthalate free fragrance oil, so to me this is very transparent and clean in my book.
- Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) – A
- Glycerin – A
So that’s my spiel on EWG and conventional laundry detergents. I could go on to mention even more ingredients to avoid like optical brighteners, phosphates which I think we’re banned a while ago, dioxanes which are cancer causing, sodium laurel/laureth sulfates and other skin irritants but I don’t want to go too crazy for this post today. Maybe I’ll do more on those ingredients at a later time if you’re interested.I want to really do more research first! For me, less is more – by using a super simple laundry soap, I know exactly what’s in my laundry and can feel safe using it for myself and my family.
So let’s get into the top 5 swaps for the non-toxic laundry room:
Conventional Detergent: swap for Zum Laundry Soap
Only 5 ingredients, scent from only essential oils, does a great job cleaning, never any skin reactions here including using this for my newborn baby as well. They make a few other scents but Frankincense & Myrrh is my absolute favorite we’ve been using here for over 3 years now and Dempsey also never had any skin reactions when she was a newborn either. They do make a baby scent which has lavender essential oil but I prefer the Frankincense & Myrrh to all of them!
Dryer sheets: swap for Wool dryer balls
Skip the extra fragrance and chemicals and grab yourself some wool dryer balls. These things help soften clothes in the dryer and get rid of the static cling. They also last for what seems like forever! You can also add scent to them as per number 4! I purchased a set with the essential oil spray included from Zum.
Fabric softener: swap for essential oil spray for the wool dryer balls
Spritz your wool dryer balls with a couple sprays of essential oil spray such as the ones from Zum, or add a few drops of your favorite to them. Never overwhelming, it’s just enough of a hint of scent. Fabric softener we mostly used to use for the scent, am I right? The wool dryer balls will keep the clothes from getting stiff in the dryer as well.
Stain remover: swap for Branch basics all-purpose spray
I pre-treat every stain with Branch Basics All-Purpose spray (made from their concentrate and water) – it works great on simple stains if you spritz right away and for tougher stains I mix with the below!
Stain removing powders: swap for Branch Basics oxygen boost
Skip the harsh chemical oxygen cleaning brands and snag this 2 ingredient oxygen boost from Branch Basics – you can buy it in a larger bag and reuse this canister pictured as well and scoop. I use this paired with the all-purpose spray for tougher stains – berries, pasta sauce, mud, chocolate etc and let sit for a little before tossing in with the rest of the laundry. For extra tough stains I go straight for their recommended concentrate/warm to hot water and ½ scoop of oxygen boost powder and do a nice soak on my items for up to 24-48hrs and that usually does the trick!
More on Branch Basics
More uses for Branch Basics – You can also make laundry detergent with Branch Basics as well! I’ve done this a few times but I always come back to my Zum because of the essential oil scent – but If you’re looking for something unscented, that worked great too! If you haven’t tried Branch Basics yet, you can get $10 off your order using this link. I started with the bundle and purchase what I need for refills. I have been meaning to upgrade to glass bottles but still have been reusing the plastic ones for now.
Less is more
What cleaner brands of laundry detergent have you tried? I’ve tried Mrs. Meyers, Biokleen, and Molly Suds, and I used to use Ecover for fabric softener and Mrs. Meyers dryer sheets until I ditched them entirely for a simpler regimen, less environmental waste and less potentially harsher substances on our clothes.
I also just wanted to remind you – you don’t have to ditch everything all at once. Finish what you have and slowly start to replace one thing at a time. It’s little changes everyday that can add up to a larger impact on our health over time. The less exposure to harsh chemicals and fragrances over time may benefit us in many ways – less disruption to our hormones and fertility, less exposure to skin irritants and less exposure to potentially cancer causing chemicals – it all adds up over time. Every little change helps.
Xo – Sarah