Zero Waste Laundry




Drying Your Clothes

I really hate dryer sheets, but they do work so darn well.  I don't have static on my clothes and all of the lint gets pulled into the lint trap, rather than spreading itself all over the clothing.  I could just do liquid fabric softener, but that's not very zero waste and I still have to dispose of the plastic bottle after it's done.  So what else is there?  

Wool dryer balls do not get rid of as much static as I would like, but they don't do too bad of a job (today I dried with just one and there was almost zero static, and it's horribly staticky out today!).  And these are completely the most zero waste product you can buy for your drying needs, other than the paper packaging they come in that you can either reuse, recycle or burn (and the balls themselves are compostable!).  I read that clipping a couple safety pins to the balls will help with static, and that's something I will have to try next.  

Vinegar is another suggestion, to put in your final rinse in your washing machine.  I have done this before and had great results.  And even though it's not zero waste, as it comes in a plastic container, I am already buying vinegar anyways.  And the bottles can be reused in a myriad of ways.  

Crumpled up aluminum foil in the dyer is another suggestion.  Though while aluminum can be recycled and it's the easiest and best thing to recycle, it's still not zero waste.  And my luck I'd lose the balled-up foil each load and end up having to use more than I should.  But, it would work in a pinch, as I always have this in the house anyways.  But will it help with lint build up?  Is static where the lint on clothes come from?  I am not sure.  I will have to research that.  

I have recently tried Cas's zero-waste-ish suggestion (from Clutterbug.me) of putting cut up sponges in fabric softener as a way to not use dryer sheets anywhere (she didn't come up with it, it's just what she does).  And I am here to tell you that this tip has aggravated me more than anything, as it doesn't work.  Like, at all.  I just recently switched cloth napkins and filled up my washing machine with all the ones I have (I've had them for years but never used them) and then I used the sponge trick and when I pulled out all my napkins, they were all linty and hairy!!  And totally full of static.  I've been using this sponge trick for a while now and it's just getting worse.  And I hate it.  So don't even try it.  Yuck.  Now I have to redry all my darn napkins with something that will get the static off).  Not only that, this "trick" set one one woman's dryer on fire! 


Washing Your Clothes

For me, I think the safest and best zero-waste-ish way to use a "fabric softener" will be vinegar and the best absolute zero waste way to keep static off my clothes will be wool dryer balls (maybe with safety pins?).  AND, the best way to end up with very little waste for detergent is that old-fashioned way of making your own.  The recipe I use is one box of washing soda, one box baking soda, 3 grated bars of fels naptha (I love the smell of this soap!), one container of Oxyclean, and one box of borax.  This lasts me practically an entire year.  That's about as zero waste as you can get (soap nuts are also zero waste, but cost more and you get more plastic packaging because you have to use more bags).  I use the scoop from the Oxyclean (the only plastic container in this recipe--and since you only buy it once a year, it's really not bad) for washing, one scoop per load.  


I hope this helps you on your zero waste journey!  

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