Is Laundry Detergent Actually Toxic?
- Cedar Clean Solutions
- Jul 8, 2023
- 2 min read
Let's talk about it!
When I first heard that laundry detergents and fabric softeners were toxic, I thought that couldn't be! Every person has laundry detergents in their home, it can't be that we're all turning a blind eye!
Well... it's true...
Unfortunately, the fact remains that nearly every household name brand is one of the MOST toxic chemicals in North American Homes! That boggled my mine too... I decided to do some digging of my own to see just how toxic we're talking. Here's what my research determined:
Most popular laundry detergents and fabric softens contain over 25 toxic chemicals.
Laundry detergent is one of the leading causes of accidental poisoning in children each year. Yikes!
Most Detergents contain 1-4 Dioxane, a carcinogen - this means CANCER causing!
The extensive list of chemicals include but are NOT limited to; fragrances, cleaning agents, bleach, stabilizers, brighteners, phosphate and EDTA.
These toxins are completely avoidable by making your own detergent!
The BEST part of this terrifying news is it's completely avoidable! You can make your own laundry detergents AND fabric softeners way cheaper at home! And who doesn't love an affordable solution.
Why make your own laundry detergent?
According to Chris Woodford, who holds a masters in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University:
Often we use the words ‘soap’ and ‘detergent’ interchangeably, but really they’re quite different things. A detergent is a chemical substance you use to break up and remove grease and grime, while soap is simply one kind of detergent.” (1)
The studies from the Universities of Washington reported that the air flowing from household laundry vents using scented liquid laundry detergent and scented dryer sheet contains over 25 volatile organic compounds, including seven hazardous air pollutants. Of that list, two chemicals—acetaldehyde and benzene—are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as known carcinogens, for which the agency has established that there is no safe exposure level.
So the question remains: "What can WE do instead?"
We simply make our own! Making our own laundry detergents and fabric softeners will not only avoid your exposure to toxic chemicals, but lower your carbon footprint AND save some change! That's right! Making your own detergent can be much cheaper and safer than store-bought brands.
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