Sustainable living has become essential! Unfortunately, most of our practices are unsustainable, and worst, we do not even know which ones exactly cause problems to the environment. But of course, if we keep reading about sustainable living, we will be able to understand the environment’s needs deeply. So ask yourself the following questions whenever in doubt:
Ask these questions to yourself whenever you feel you are doing something which does not come under sustainable or green living or harm the planet Earth. Such as laundry! Do you know how much resources (water and energy) we waste when we do laundry, of course, we can not avoid doing laundry, so what is the best solution available to us? Let’s read below. In this blog, we will talk about sustainable living and eco-friendly laundry hacks.
Let’s dig into these sustainable laundry tips and learn some ways to save or consume the resources appropriately.
Okay, so this is something serious! This is what we adopted from our previous generations that clothes should be worn only once after a wash.
Well! There is no need to do laundry every day.
Remember, with time the fabrics and their cleaning requirements have changed. You do not need to wash them after every use. If they do not have any dirt marks and do not smell so they can be worn more than one time without a wash.
Also, clothes such as jeans can be worn multiple times without washing. So you should buy fabrics that can be worn more than once without washing to reduce the daily consumption of water and energy used for laundry.
In today’s world, we can not avoid using electrical appliances, yet we can look for energy-efficient household products. On the same lines, Not every washing machine does sustainable laundry. Use high-efficiency washers for less water and energy consumption. A top-loader can use up to 54 gallons of water whereas an energy-efficient washing machine will use only up to 7 gallons. Huge difference, isn’t it? So now you know which one can be your and the environment’s good friend.
Well, if it is still not convincing, we have more reasons that are sufficient for a person to use an energy-efficient washing machine. If you do laundry in hot water, that means you have the additional energy required for the water to heat. Since these machines need less water so it automatically uses less energy for water heating. Also, it does not need a dryer separately as it leaves the clothes in a dryer state.
Indeed many clothes are better washed in hot water but not all. If there is no such requirement, then you should wash them in cold water. Do you know? 90% of American residents use hot water for washing clothes. So if they all start using cold water that means approx. 80-90% energy extra energy consumption can be reduced.
Millions of carbon footprints can be reduced every year and people can save a decent amount on electricity and water bills.
However, the amount of savings may differ based on your usage, quality of the heater and utility rates.
It is bad for your skin, animals or pets, and the overall environment. Conventional detergents, dryer sheets, and stain removers, usually have synthetic chemicals, which cause developmental toxicity, and oxygen-based brighteners.
If you want stain removals, you can use homemade removals such as old vinegar which is a great sustainable alternative to chemical-based fabric softeners and stain removers. Also, you can use homemade disinfecting wipes for home cleaning rather than cleaning products loaded with chemicals,
Well, this is easy and natural. You just need a rope tied from one end to another and a cloth clip so that your clothes do not fly to your neighbours’ place due to heavy wind flow. Also, natural wind drying increases the life of the clothes as they are not forced by electric dryers.
You can use rotatory clotheslines for faster drying even if they are completely loaded with clothes.
Dry cleaning involves the use of perchloroethylene (cancer and other health problems leading chemical). So you shouldn’t get your clothes drycleaned. If it is necessary look for green cleaners. It will be a better alternative for both you and the environment.
However, the best option is to avoid buying clothes that say ‘dry clean only.
Since it is crucial to have a sustainable lifestyle, everyone must try all possible ways to reduce their carbon footprints. This blog is on the same lines. Laundry is one of the necessary activities that we do perform on regular basis. So if we do not follow sustainable laundry practices, we are definitely ignoring a section that contributes a lot to environmental pollution.
