Toxic chemicals may be hiding in your laundry detergent. Find out what you need to know to stay safe and healthy and get your laundry clean. 

Doing the Laundry is the Worst. Okay, so maybe a few people like one aspect of laundry. But most hate it. I like putting my laundry into the washer and starting it. But then that's when I wish the Laundry Fairy would finish the job for me! Who can relate? 

Unless you live in a nudist colony, your skin is touching fabric 24/7, so what you use to wash your laundry is important to your health. Conventional laundry detergent (and many greenwashed "natural" ones too!) contains many unhealthy ingredients that can severely impact your health. In fact, your laundry room products are some of the most toxic cleaning chemicals in your house! 

With so much to sort through on product labels (if your detergent lists the ingredients on the label at all), it can be hard to sort through the good, the bad and the greenwashed. We have some ingredients to steer clear of when you are looking at a safe and healthy detergent.

1. Fragrance

Fragrances in laundry products can lead to skin irritation (which can be the cause of rashes, eczema, and itching). A big problem with fragrance is that companies can list them as one ingredient without listing all the components. Why does this matter? Most fragrance is synthetic and contains both phthalates  and petrochemicals (which is bad for the environment) which do not have to be disclosed. These components can cause headaches, asthma attacks, and skin irritations that don't always show up right away. They build up in our system and cause a gradual overload.

“Fragrance is considered to be a trade secret, so brand formulas are proprietary and the individual ingredients are not required to be listed on the label,” explains Tonya Harris, an award-winning environmental toxin expert and the creator of the Slightly Greener Method. “Fragrances in detergent can be made up of dozens of ingredients, of which some may be allergenic [and] toxic to the brain and nervous or respiratory system.”

Bottom line: stick with essential oils (real ones!) or go unscented, and stay clear of the word FRAGRANCE and PARFUM. 

2. Ingredients that end in "-ETH"

Ethoxylated ingredients are treated with ethylene oxide (a known carcinogen) when it's processed. A by-product of this process is 1,4-dioxane (another carcinogen) which is absorbable through the skin. 1,4-dioxane won't be listed as an ingredient on your products so it's important to stay away from ingredients that when processed create 1,4-dioxane as a by-product. Companies use ethoxylated ingredients to stabilize their formula so the ingredients won't separate. 

Bottom line: steer clear of ingredients that end in "-eth", polysorbates, phenoxyethanol, and PEGs. 

3. Sulfates

We have been conditioned in the last 100 years to believe that soap/detergent must foam or lather in order to clean. Sulfates are found in so many everyday products; everything from shampoo to toothpaste, and laundry detergent. They are a skin irritant that doesn't always show up as an immediate reaction.

Bottom line: avoid sodium laurETH sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate.

• Arhaus is a furniture company that creates earth-friendly products, sharing tips on their infographic to inspire people to make small changes in their homes.
• People have been conditioned to think that "clean" should have a scent, however air fresheners are known to contain phthalates which when inhaled can be harmful.
• Air fresheners such as Febreze®, Glade® PlugIns® Scented Oil and Renuzit® Cones should be avoided and replaced with fresh air, MamaSuds homemade organic essential oils, real wax candles from Mountain Rose Herbs, Aroma Naturals or Poofy Organics Candle Melts and diffusers with essential oils from Amazon.

In this post you will learn all about Phthalates and Fragrance, and why you should eliminate them from your life as much as possible. Phthalates (actually pronounced thal-ates) are a group of chemicals in a gajillion of products in your home. Concerns have been raised about phthalates because studies have found a link between phthalates and thyroid hormone levels in humans, and between phthalates and male reproductive health.

Phthalates can be found all over your house because they are in almost every product AND THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BE LISTED ON THE INGREDIENT LIST.Most often, phthalates are disguised under the word "fragrance".

They are so widely used it's nearly impossible to eliminate them from your life, but there are some steps to reduce your exposure by eliminating products from your life. No doubt, this is difficult and daunting at first but if you do it slowly you can gradually take this toxin out of your home. The first step I took was to eliminate the products that said the word "fragrance" on them. If there wasn't a full ingredient list, I searched for it.

Try to find at least 2 cleaning products that have "fragrance" as an ingredient. The problem you may run into is finding label ingredients for some of your household cleaners. You will definitely need to look on the internet for these. Search for: "Tide ingredients". The ingredient lists are out there, but most companies try to hide them.

Did you find that any of the products you gathered happened to be air fresheners? We'll learn ways to replace your air fresheners next time. I hope you've learned all about phthalates and fragrance and have a better understanding why it's important to stop using them.