I have been threatening to ban dryer sheets from our household ever since Lily developed a nasty rash when she was tiny due to a combination of dryer sheet perfume and hot summer weather. Today I’m happy to report that the deed is done and the Bounce sheets are no longer going to be on the shopping list.
For the past three weeks (and that means approximately 24 loads of laundry!), I’ve been using two products from Gaiam in hopes of reducing the chemical burden of our clothing and reducing the waste of all those discarded (non-compostable) dryer sheets:
- Static Eliminators - These nifty little clothes remove pet hair and static.
- Dryer Balls – These funky little balls soften clothes and allegedly reduce drying time.
Those of you who read TreeHugger know these dryer balls are not without controversy. They are made from PVC, which means their production puts bad stuff like dioxin into the environment. I can’t help thinking, though, that the relatively small amount of PVC is better for the environment than boxes upon boxes of dryer sheets and I know that the sensitive skin in this family is benefiting from our new-found lack of yucky laundry chemicals.
And these things really work! No static, even in fleece PJs. Towels and jeans are as soft as before and with no “slick” dryer sheet feel. This should eventually improve the absorbency of our towels and reduce the chemical build-up that can make them go sour faster too.
If I get really brave, I might forgo my Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent altogether and try out the Wonder Ball. This little guy works by reducing the surface tension of the water in your washing machine, thereby cleaning without detergent! I might have to wait until we’re done washing cloth diapers before I’m brave enough to try these!
2 comments
Nicole says:
October 22, 2007 at 12:06 am (UTC 2 )
Too cool to know that they work! I’ve always wondered!
We stopped using drier sheets sometime since the first kiddo joined us. It was due to a combo of sensitive skin, cutting unnecessary spending and the fear that the residue from the fabric softener would coat the cloth diapers and render them less effective. At first I meticulously pulled out and air dried anything synthetic to cut down on static. *That* went by the wayside with the second kid…so now I do nothing. I don’t notice static – I don’t know if that’s because I’m used to it or because we don’t have much of a problem. I’m too lazy to think about it anyway
I’ll have to check these things out!
Peg says:
October 19, 2007 at 12:42 pm (UTC 2 )
Okay – I’m going to give the first 2 items a try. Not sure about the 3rd idea of washing without any detergent. I’m old-fashioned enough that I’m skeptical about being able to get anything appropriately clean without using soap of some sort. (Believe it or not, my 70+ year old mom told me about dryer balls several years ago; she uses them!)