Low Toxic Laundry Detergent, DIY Laundry Soap and Non-Toxic Products

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The laundry room can be an extremely toxic or a wonderfully safe area in your home depending on what products you choose to use. Here are some ideas and recommendations for low toxic laundry.

DIY low toxic laundry detergent

Here is a simple recipe for a low toxic laundry detergent you can make yourself. The hardest part about this recipe is grating the soap. We use an old cheese grater and some elbow grease to get the job done, but you can also use a food processor which is what was recommended to us when we first started making our own. Our food processor was loud and shaky when we tried it, but it may depend on the type of food processor. I highly recommend cutting the soap into smaller chunks if you are going to try this method.

• 2 cups washing soda
• 1 bar castille soap, grated
• Mix together and use about 1/4 cup per load

Stain Remover

For removing stains, we use a number of different products depending on the type of stain. We use everything from boiling water to Hydrogen peroxide to a stain remover bar depending on the stain and how long it’s been there.

• Boiling water – slowly pouring boiling water over berry or wine stains works really well. Just be careful not to burn yourself!
• Hydrogen peroxide works well for blood stains and other stains as long as the blood has not fully set into the fabric. Hydrogen peroxide is super cheap and available in the first aid area of many stores. It’s a good idea to test in an unseen area to ensure that it doesn’t cause bleaching on that particular fabric.
• Dr. Bronners soap and water works really well on dirt and stains. We often use this to pre-treat stains in our clothes before washing.
• MyGreenFills stain remover bar is a great stain remover with minimal ingredients. My Green Fills is a family owned subscription business and has a great following.
• MyGreenFills enzyme cleaner
• Shaklee Nature Bright Laundry Booster & Stain Remover

Natural Scent

Lavender or other essential oils can go a long way if you need a little extra scent on your laundry. I put about 5 drops in each wash load and then a few drops on my wool dryer balls.

Wool dryer balls

These can replace dryer sheets which are extremely toxic and full of endocrine disrupting chemicals. I buy our dryer balls at Trader Joes fairly inexpensive and completely reusable. Just throw them in with your clothes in the dryer and if you like drop a few drops of your favorite essential oils directly on the ball.

• Organic Wool Dryer Balls

Vinegar

Distilled white vinegar can also be useful in the laundry room.

• We have started soaking any new non-organic fabrics that come into our house in a 50/50 vinegar to water ratio for 3 days to help in removing the flame retardants and chemicals.
• Sometimes we will put in a splash with a load of laundry that needs a little extra love.
• Soak clothes in a mix of vinegar and cold water to set in colors and prevent colors from bleeding.