Save Water with Powder Detergents

[Guest guest]

Save Water with Powder

Detergents

 

With severe to extreme drought conditions

affecting parts of the U.S.

and Australia,

as well as elsewhere, we've got to start thinking about our water footprint,

not just our carbon footprint. There are numerous ways to save water, but

here's one simple way that might not have occurred to you: Switch from liquid

detergents to powders. Laundry liquids are mostly water (up to 80 percent),

with upcoming double and triple compact concentrates at best cutting that

amount in half. It costs energy and packaging to bring this water to the

consumer. So save three ways by using powder detergents to wash clothes. The

same holds for dishwashing detergents, when there's a choice, choose dry

powders.

 

Top Picks: Household

Cleaning Products

 

Last June, with mop buckets and sponges

in tow, we set out to find out which eco-friendly cleaners our readers thought

were most effective at getting the job done. On our web site, we surveyed six

popular brands each of eco-friendly dishwashing detergents, laundry detergents

and all-purpose cleaners, most of which are available at national chains such

as Wild Oats, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Here's what we found:

Among the hand and machine dishwashing

detergents we surveyed—BioShield Dishwasher Concentrate, Earth Friendly

Dishmate Hand Dishwashing Liquid, Ecover Natural Dishwashing Liquid, Naturally

Yours Hand Dishwashing Detergent, Seventh Generation Automatic Dish Powder Free

& Clear and Seventh Generation Dish Liquid—only Naturally Yours was

rated by our readers as less effective than conventional cleaners. Earth

Friendly Dishmate was so effective and mild that many of our respondents were

using it as everyday hand soap. Some respondents complained of film buildup

while using eco-friendly powder detergents, but you can easily remove that

foggy film by soaking dishes in a mixture of two parts water and one part

vinegar. One of the pros of environmentally safe dishwashing detergents is that

they lack harmful sudsing agents, such as sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate (SLS)

and diethanalomine (DEA), but the lack of lather led many survey respondents to

feel like their brand of choice wasn't cleaning their dishes. If you need a

hearty lather, switch to a liquid castile soap; your fellow readers recommend

Vermont Soap Liquid Sunshine, which can be used by hand or in a machine.

Our Laundry Detergent survey looked at

Bi-O-Kleen Laundry Powder, Ecos Liquid Laundry, Ecover Laundry Liquid, Ecover

Biological Washing Powder, Seventh Generation Laundry Powder Free & Clear

and Seventh Generation Laundry Liquid Free & Clear detergents. While

Seventh Generation's and Ecover's detergents were the most commonly used,

Bi-O-Kleen's Bac-Out and Bi-O-Kleen All Purpose Cleaner and Degreaser received

the highest praise for their ability to remove stains. Seventh Generation's

detergents received high ratings for cleanliness and color-fastness of darks,

but some felt like it left a stiffness to their clothing. That stiffness will

disappear by adding 1/4 cup of baking soda to your wash cycle. And in the open

comments section of the survey, a few people wrote that they use liquid castile

soaps like Dr. Bronner's and Vermont Sunshine as a replacement for traditional

laundry detergents.

 

One of the most encouraging conclusions

drawn from our All-Purpose Cleaners survey was that homemade mixtures of

vinegar and baking soda were considered the best solution to everyday cleaning

quandaries. However, of the brands we surveyed—AFM SafeChoice Super

Clean, BioShield Vinegar Cleaner, Bon Ami Cleaning Powder, Ecover All Purpose

Cleaner, Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner Free & Clear and Shaklee

Basic H—Bon Ami was the most popular, simply, readers said, because of

its affordability and accessibility. All brands were found to clean as well as

conventional brands, and none of the brands left films or stains.

With such a wealth of effective

eco-friendly cleaners, there's really no need for harsh commercial products and

the health threats they pose to your family. So head to your local natural food

market and try something green.

 

Buyer Beware

Dryer Balls and Sheets

 

As it turns out, those plastic dryer

balls that claim to be earth-friendly, because they soften fabric " without

chemicals, " are actually made of polyvinyl chloride, among the least

recyclable of plastics, whose manufacture and incineration release carcinogenic

dioxins. Toxic phthalates are generally used to make vinyl soft and flexible.

And because the colorful nubby dryer balls look like teething toys, this might

tempt young children to put them in their mouths.

Better Idea: Green fabric softeners by

Seventh Generation or Ecover, or simply add 1/4 cup of baking soda to wash

cycle.

So-called " cotton " static

eliminators are actually made of polyester: Another bust, unfortunately,

because their manufacture consumes petroleum, a nonrenewable resource, and they

aren't even made of recycled polyester.

Better Idea: To avoid static cling in the

dryer, dry cotton clothes and synthetic clothes separately. Or, adding 1/4 cup

vinegar to wash cycle will both soften fabrics and eliminate static.

 

From WillowLady

 

Goddess Bless!

GrannyMoon

 

http://GoddessSchool.com

http://goddessschool.com/Paganstudies/index.html

http://goddessschool.com/Paganstudies/healingarts.html

 

The GoddessSchool Bookstore

http://astore.amazon.com/ancestordetect08/

 

" Do not ask Goddess to guide your

footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet! " ~GoddessSchool