Laundry Love

by Patric Richardson

  Using these nontoxic products will make your family feel good about the clothes you wear, the towels you use, and the sheets you sleep in. No doubt, you’ll appreciate the fact that toxic chemicals are not touching your skin. And you’ll be even happier knowing that the products you use aren’t adding chemicals to your home or your community’s air, water, and soil. In addition, because high-quality, plant-based soap flakes and liquid laundry soaps require so little packaging, you’re creating much less to recycle—and you won’t have to lug those giant plastic jugs home—or to your recycling container.

  One more thought: Using environmentally friendly products can be sexy. One day a customer stopped by Mona Williams to stock up on laundry products. “For my son and for me,” she said, noting that they’d both taken Laundry Camp. And then she gushed, “He just loves you.” Intrigued, I asked why. Turns out her son was getting a lot of attention from young women in his college dorm—they were completely dazzled by his laundry room prowess, his laundry products, and how good his clothes—and he—smelled and looked.

  4. Always choose the thirty-minute washing cycle and the fast spin. Rely on the express cycle and you’re using less water and electricity, plus you’re getting better results. It’s true: Your washing machine is better able to force water through the clothes, thereby cleaning them better, with less water in your machine. And using a short wash cycle, rather than a long wash cycle, delivers much less lint into the wash water and, eventually, our waterways.

  Also, the fast spin is easier on your clothes, causing less wear and tear, than a slower cycle. It’s counterintuitive, but it’s true. Think of that popular carnival ride known as the Gravitron or the Starship, which uses centrifugal force to pin riders to the sides of the circular drum as it spins ever faster.

  The fast spin in your washing machine works the same way. The clothes, even delicates, are pinned to the sides of the drum as the machine empties out excess water. Now imagine if the spin were slower: the clothes would tumble through the space, causing abrasion and wearing out your clothes much faster.

  5. Be cool and line-dry. Like plogging (running and picking up trash), hanging up your clothes to dry outside is an eco-friendly workout. I mean it’s not like the calorie burn you get from hanging drywall, but hanging clothes is significantly better (consider all that bending and reaching) than throwing those clothes into the dryer. Plus, you’re getting a nice dose of nature, including loads of sunshine and fresh air, which boost your body’s oxygen to improve concentration and amp your serotonin levels to improve your mood. Makes you want to go hang laundry right now, doesn’t it?

  Line-drying is also better for your clothes. As I noted before, nearly any quality textile can endure about fifty trips through the washer and the dryer. Skip the dryer and you’ve added many more washing sessions to your garments, lengthened the life of your clothes, and saved yourself a lot of money.

  Perhaps most important, line-drying means you’re saving energy: A clothes dryer can use as much energy per year as a “new energy-efficient refrigerator, clothes washer, and dishwasher combined,” according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, a top-rated nonprofit focused on ensuring clean air, clean water, and healthy communities.

  6. Make garments last as long as possible. Conservation laundering methods—including washing your textiles less often and line-drying more often—make your garments last longer. Imagine if that gorgeous sweater or blazer you just bought could look as good six months or a year (or more!) from now. Well, it can. Think about how much money you’ll save, and how pleased you’ll feel every time you pull it on. Plus, you now know how to remove stains, which means that going forward you never need to throw away a favorite garment just because it has a stain. Simply grab your stain-removing supplies and get busy.

  You can take this one step further: One of my Laundry Campers was so excited about removing stains that she started shopping used-clothing stores to help her daughter build a great professional wardrobe at a fraction of the cost. She knew that if the clothes had stains, she could simply remove them! Why not follow her lead? Amazing finds are always waiting at vintage and consignment stores; and with that approach, your wardrobe won’t look like anyone else’s—it can represent you and your unique style.

  7. Shop thoughtfully. Seriously consider what you buy. Do you really need another black turtleneck? Maybe not. Or how about yet another pair of jeans? And how long will that trendy short skirt be in style? Or that cowl-neck sweater?

  While there’s no need to be a minimalist (if you don’t want to be), just weigh the value and longevity of the clothes you purchase and then enjoy the ones you do buy for as long as possible.

  For example, ask yourself, “Will this item give me the value that I’m looking for?” Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t. Does purchasing a high-quality item mean that you’ll be buying less in the future versus buying a cheaper garment that will likely wear out faster? Or maybe you like the style, fit, and price of an inexpensive item. That’s OK. Treat fast-fashion items with gentle care and they, too, can last. Just be aware of the downsides of fast fashion, and ensure that you’re supporting brands that pay fairly; do their best to support safe work environments; and stamp out textile waste, water pollution, and more.

  Finally, when you’re absolutely done with a garment and there’s no more life in it, consider recycling; many cities now offer curbside fabric recycling (including shoes). Or if the item still has some living to do, donate it to a reputable nonprofit organization, so that someone else can enjoy it. Just be sure that the items you donate are worthy of donating—would you give these same items to a friend? If not, recycle, don’t donate. Another great option is to invite your friends to a clothing-swap party to extend the use of all your clothes by trading with each other for fresh looks.

  When you do decide to buy a textile, consider purchasing items from makers who use natural fibers—cotton, cashmere, down, hemp, linen, and wool—all of which are renewable resources. You know by now that they’re just as easy to care for as fabrics such as polyester and rayon; plus, these natural fibers break down naturally, unlike synthetic textiles that release micro-plastic fibers and pollute our waterways and oceans (see more on this in the sidebar that follows).

  One more thought: The ever-so-soft fibers of cashmere (from goats) naturally offer up to eight times the insulation power of wool (from sheep) without its heavy weight. (Look at these fibers under a microscope—or check out a photo online—and you’ll see a huge difference.) Thus, cashmere is better able to keep you warm but not hot. Wearing either one of these natural fibers, however, means you’ll be less inclined to crank up your thermostat—yet another energy-saving measure.

  Lessening Your Plastic Output

  If you wear any synthetic fabrics, and pretty much all of us do, hundreds of thousands of microscopic plastic lint fibers are released into our public waterways with every load of wash you do. Unfortunately, these fibers make up a significant percentage of plastic pollution in our oceans. They’re also consumed by and harmful to marine life. Here are three things you can do to be part of the solution:

  Strive to support manufacturers who make clothes out of natural (e.g., cotton, cashmere, down, hemp, linen, and wool), not synthetic (e.g., nylon, olefin, polyester, and rayon), textiles.

  Every time you wash, use the thirty-minute cycle—the one I recommend for all of your loads. Short wash cycles use less water and create less abrasion, thus releasing fewer fibers.

  Add one or two new technologies to your laundering practices to lessen the number of plastic lint fibers released into our public waterways. Simple options include special laundry bags, in which you wash synthetic garments in order to trap microfibers, and balls, which pick up microfiber particles from your wash water (every few washes, you just clean the ball like a hairbrush, picking out the trapped lint). For a more serious approach to removing particles from wash water, consider installing a small lint filter appliance, which is attached to the back of y
our washing machine via hose.

  8. Use ENERGY STAR appliances. If you’re in the market for a new washing machine or clothes dryer, or if your landlord is, may I suggest ENERGY STAR certified appliances? These washing machines use 25 percent less energy and 40 percent less water than regular clothes washers, and these clothes dryers use 20 percent less energy than other dryers, saving you, on average, $180 over its lifespan.

  According to the U.S.-backed government energystar.gov, “If all clothes dryers sold in the U.S. were ENERGY STAR certified, Americans could save more than $1.5 billion each year in utility costs and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from more than two million vehicles.” That’s pretty darn impressive.

  To save even more energy, consider an ENERGY STAR heat pump clothes dryer. These machines use up to sixty percent less energy than a regular dryer and they operate without a heating element or a vent. That means you can install one practically anywhere, as it needs no sealing, it doesn’t vent your indoor air outside, and it doesn’t accumulate lint, meaning the risk of fire is much diminished. While a heat pump clothes dryer costs more than a standard dryer, these appliances save thousands of dollars in energy costs over their lifespan and go a long way toward improving our environment. Finally, while the heat pump dryer’s capacity is less than a standard dryer, your clothes get a gentler drying experience, which means they’ll last longer.

  9. Wash everything in one day. While I realize I told you that I initially learned to do laundry because I wanted the freedom to wash my clothes any day I pleased, I strongly encourage washing and drying all of your household’s textiles in a single day. Doing so means that all of your textiles, including your entire wardrobe, are ready to use. This gives you access to a full wardrobe that can be mixed and matched and blended together as needed, including clothes for both work and play. Having access to all of your garments allows you to own fewer things that can be worn interchangeably, and it better enables you to keep track of all the items that you own—perhaps helping you resist the itch to buy items you don’t really need. Finally, establishing a single laundry day means that you don’t need to think about laundry the rest of the week, and that is a gift to yourself.

  Imagine what would transpire if each of us stepped up to the challenge, using only laundry methods and products that were kind to the environment. That would be an amazing transformation for us, for our communities, and for our world.

  9

  Special Care for Special Items

  Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a washing machine.

  —WHOOPI GOLDBERG, ACTOR, COMEDIAN, AUTHOR

  Like Panama hats (which actually originated in Ecuador) and pocketbooks (which are neither books nor fit in a pocket), dry cleaning is a misnomer. You can’t be blamed if you thought that dry cleaning was similar to using dry shampoo—with dry-cleaning employees shaking giant containers of cornstarch onto clothes and then using small brushes to whisk away the dirt and cornstarch together.

  If only dry cleaning were that simple and that environmentally conscious. But unfortunately, that’s not dry cleaning at all.

  The term “dry cleaning” simply means that it uses no water—it does, however, involve liquid. At most dry cleaners, clothes are thrown into giant commercial washing machines with a colorless liquid solvent—usually perchloroethylene, also known as tetrachloroethylene, perc, or PCE—which is then removed before the employees press the clothes.

  Unfortunately, perc is extremely hard on clothes. In fact, unlike the idea that we grew up with—that dry cleaning gently cleans our finest clothes—it’s actually the opposite: machine-washing at home is better for these garments. And that’s the reason I started Laundry Camp in the first place: I was concerned that dry cleaning would be far too harsh on the vintage designer clothes I sold to my customers. So I dreamed up Laundry Camp to teach them the gentler washing techniques shared in this book.

  Even worse, perc is toxic to the environment. When exposed to air, it evaporates, breaking down into other chemicals, and eventually makes its way into our air, soil, and groundwater. Unfortunately, as of 2018, the EPA said it will no longer explore harms done by toxic chemicals to our air, our drinking water, our streams and lakes, or our land. In the case of perc, the EPA will only focus on harms done via actual manufacturing or when the chemical is used in dry cleaning, carpet cleaning, or certain ink-removal products.

  At least that’s something: According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organization), perc is “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Studies have linked it to bladder, cervix, esophagus, and kidney cancers—especially for dry-cleaning employees, those who live near dry cleaners, and people who use Laundromats that have dry-cleaning machines. In the meantime, it can also lead to other health problems, including headaches, nausea, dizziness, confusion, comas, and more.

  Many groups and individuals have been working toward a perc ban—for example, Minneapolis was the first major U.S. city to eliminate the toxic chemical in 2018, and in California, dry-cleaning machines that use perc must no longer operate by 2023. Meanwhile, perc has been banned in Denmark, France, and a few other countries.

  In light of the growing regulations against perc, some dry cleaners have begun using DF-2000 (isoparaffinic hydrocarbon), a petroleum-based chemical that, while less toxic, is still considered a neurotoxin (just like perc), a poisonous substance that affects the nervous system. Other dry cleaners have invested in liquid carbon dioxide, a much safer option but one that brings eye-popping dry-cleaning bills. Finally, some dry cleaners have switched to “wet cleaning,” which avoids chemical solvents and uses water and detergent—just like you can do at home for much less money.

  By this point in the book, you might know what I’m going to say: It’s time to break up with your dry cleaner.

  After all, how many times have you heard that you shouldn’t be with someone who’s toxic? And this toxic relationship you’re in with dry cleaning might be the one that’s most harmful to your life. Even if your dry cleaner employs “green” practices, this relationship is still literally costing you time and money. And for what? Anything your dry cleaner can clean, you can clean better.

  It’s true! You can wash nearly everything at home—even all those supposedly dry-clean-only items, including wool suits and sheepskin boots, wedding dresses and homecoming gowns, shower curtains and pillows, and so much more. I’ve listed all the how-tos below—some tips courtesy of the pros who came before me, and some that emerged from my curiosity and experimentation.

  That’s especially true when it comes to my wool-washing method, revisited below with wool suits and wool coats. Living in Minnesota since 1999, I began indulging my sweater habit in the cold climate until my annoyance with handwashing so many sweaters finally sparked my determination to machine-wash them. I knew the trick was to prevent any abrasion during the wash cycle—hence the mesh bag and the safety pins. After experiencing success with wool sweaters—even cashmere—I soon tried machine-washing my wool suits, my wool overcoat, and much more, always using the quick-wash cycle.

  So I must give credit again to Dr. Elizabeth Easter—my professor who first introduced me to alternative washing methods. And now I’m happy to share them here so that you, too, can wash nearly everything at home.

  Backpack: Empty out the backpack of everything in it, including wrappers, crumbs, and any loose fibers. Then zip everything up—except for the main compartment—to protect all the flaps during the washing cycle. Leaving the main (and likely dirtiest) compartment open allows it to be thoroughly washed. Wash on the quick cycle with soap flakes or a safe, plant-based, liquid laundry soap then line-dry.

  Baseball caps: Here’s a fun trick: Rather than throwing your baseball caps into the washing machine, even in a mesh bag, I recommend washing them in the dishwasher! Place all of your dirty caps on the top rack of your dishwasher, allowing its various tines to hold them in place; wash them on their own with dishwashing s
oap during a quick-wash cycle. Then line-dry.

  Bathtub mats: Bathtub mats aren’t textiles, so only their surfaces must be cleaned. Soak bathtub mats in a mixture of vinegar and water, and then scrub and rinse clean.

  Bath and kitchen sponges: Sponges can be thrown into a mesh bag and washed as normal in the washing machine. However, I prefer washing these, too, in my dishwasher, right along with my dishes, on the top rack.

  Beds (for pets): If Buddy’s bed requires laundering and it’s stuffed with Poly-fil, wash as normal in either a front- or top-loading washing machine. Be sure to add a tablespoon of bleach alternative to the wash to remove any oils from your pet’s coat. Then hang it up to dry. Once completely dry, fluff it up in the dryer, using the no-heat, air-fluff setting and a few tennis balls.

  If Mittens’s bed is filled with down, however, it must be washed in a front-loading machine; in a top loader, the bed will simply float and not get clean. If you only have a top loader, bake some cookies (or dog biscuits or cat treats) and go visit a fellow pet-lover with a front loader. Wherever you end up washing your pet’s bed, add a tablespoon of bleach alternative to wash away any oils from your pet’s coat. After washing, throw it in the dryer with a bunch of clean tennis balls to plump it up.

  Boots (suede-sheepskin): These specialty boots (Uggs and the like) require handwashing. Begin by spraying them with an equal mixture of vinegar and water, and then gently scrub them with your laundry brush and laundry soap to remove any salt. Next, submerge the boots in a bucket, a laundry tub, or even a bathtub, to which you’ve added soap flakes or a liquid laundry soap. Don’t use detergent, as that can negatively affect the boots’ moisture-repellant treatment. Let them sit in the soapy water for about twenty minutes, rinse them clean with fresh water, and then lay them flat to dry on their sides so that any extra water runs out. Placing them in front of a fan is great, but in front of heat—no way (heat, too, can harm the moisture-repellant treatment). Be sure to fluff up the sheepskin interiors with your fingers.