Nifty Eco-Friendly Laundry Tricks Worth Trying

by Lisa Hoover on May 20, 2010 in Shelter

There’s no escaping it, laundry is a fact of life. Before you toss your next load of whites in the washer, take a look at these five planet-friendly laundry gizmos that claim to go easy on the environment while cleaning your skivvies.

Wonder Ball – According to the manufacturer, this spherical “proprietary blend of minerals and magnetics” reduces the surface tension of the water to allow the gadget to deep clean clothing fibers. It can be used with laundry detergent, or on its own with just water. It works in hard or soft water and will last you about 2,000 washes.

Dryer Balls – What’s good for the washer, is good for the dryer. Several companies make dryer balls, little orbs that you toss in the dryer clothes to keep your clothes from sticking together, so they dry more quickly. Apparently these little doo-dads can reduce drying time up to 25 percent. Who knew?

Static Eliminator Eco Dryer Sheets – Unlike chemical-laden disposable dryer sheets, these reusable alternatives can be used up to 500 times. The hypoallergenic fabric draws static electricity away from garments and whisks away clingy pet hair while tumbling around the dryer.

Soapnuts – Dried fruit gets your clothes clean? Evidently so. Soapnuts are actually the the fruit produced by a particular type of Himalayan tree. Once harvested, they’re de-seeded, dried, and packaged as a natural, organic alternative to standard laundry detergents.

Have you ever tried any of these laundry products? What did you think? Let us know in the comments. And for drying tips, don’t miss these eco drying secrets.

Images: Pretty in Print

Carol Haagensen
May 20th, 2010 at 4:45 PM
I have put a lot of work into getting an effective green laundry routine. The dryer balls totally beat up our clothes, they looked 2 years old after just a few washes. I loved the Soap Nuts liquid but could not afford to use it regularly. I love Charlie’s Soap – effective great for hard water good for the environment and cheap, and an old downy ball full of vinegar for softening.
sandy
May 21st, 2010 at 6:44 AM
I have the dryer balls that I got from http://www.reusablebags.com. They don’t help with drying time at all, and they don’t help with static cling, either. I was hoping they would help with the wrinkling aspect of drying clothes, but to my dismay they don’t help their either. Oh well.
Elly D.
May 24th, 2010 at 5:13 PM
On a good day, nothing makes your clothes dry and smell good any better than a clothes line in the good old outdoors. Just make sure you’re careful not to buy short clothespins. I did, almost had sheets and skivies on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. I live in Maine.
slee
May 26th, 2010 at 6:03 AM
I use a different wash ball and now only add the tiniest bit of detergent to my wash routine. Love it. I use rockin green laundry detergent because it’s eco friendly and made in the USA, which makes me happy. I’ve used PVC dryer balls before, and they do reduce drying time a little bit, and static a tiny bit, but I am switching to some *wool* dryer balls from buddhabunz.com because they can reduce drying time up to 50%, and that’ll be meaningful for me on rainy days when I can’t hang my laundry out.
The thing that concerns me about this list is that greener alternatives like wool or bamboo dryerballs and hanging cothes out to dry aren’t mentioned, when they’re by far better alternatives to adding to the amount of PVC in your life.
Lindsay Oberst
September 21st, 2010 at 7:18 AM
Wonder Balls are not green, but contain harmful PVC.