Safe and healthy washing – 10 rules you need to remember

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Laundry seems like an easy household chore. Nowadays, a washing machine does everything for us, you just need to add the right detergents. However, it is worth trying to make our washing not only effective. Let’s focus on safe and healthy laundry. Here are 10 rules to help you in this process.

The following article was written as part of the #zeroemisyjni campaign, which aims to educate and motivate to actions to reduce CO2 emissions and stop global warming. From May 2021, all Ringier Axel Springer Polska brands have a zero carbon footprint. We must act together. The planet cannot wait.

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Choose ecological powders

Choose products that, instead of toxic substances, contain natural ones, such as borax, soda ash, sodium percarbonate, Marseille soap. There are powders available on the market without preservatives and unnecessary dyes and fragrances. Washing soda, eco balls or washing nuts will also be a good solution.

Prepare homemade powder and rinse aid

Natural washing powder cleans and whitens. For its preparation you need sodium carbonate, borax, baking soda, Marseille soap. Natural rinse aid whitens and brightens. To prepare it, all you need is spirit vinegar, lemon or lavender oil.

Use separate powders

We should use separate powders for washing white and colored items. The first ones contain whitening compounds and are stronger. Used for colored fabrics, they discolor. However, in the case of darker garments, a liquid with a lower pH will be effective, which reduces the fading effect.

1. Ticks – the most important questions and answers

Use a small amount of detergents

We do not need a lot of detergents for effective washing, especially in the age of modern washing machines. The less detergents are added, the less exposure to harmful substances in them will be. If the garment is heavily soiled, instead of adding a larger amount of powder or adding another preparation to the entire laundry, wash the stain by hand or soak with a stain remover. Also, give up the rinse aid. It’s worth replacing it with vinegar or baking soda. The smell of these agents will not be felt after the last rinse.

The right temperature

It should be remembered that only at temperatures above 60 degrees Celsius, the bacteria on our clothing die. Delicate clothes that should be washed at lower temperatures should be separated from those that are resistant to them. Allergy sufferers should always wash at temperatures above 60 degrees C, because only this temperature removes house dust mites from fabrics. During the period of illness, we should wash our clothes, towels and bedding at higher temperatures than usual.

Clean the washing machine frequently and thoroughly

From time to time, it is worth setting an empty washing machine to a program with a temperature of 900 degrees Celsius. Most microorganisms accumulate in the washing machine seals, in the detergent container and the filter, and when cleaning, you should pay particular attention to these places. You can use vinegar for cleaning. After washing, leave the washing machine door open to ensure proper air circulation.

Sort clothes

When segregating, we should take into account the colors of fabrics, the type of material and the purpose of the washed items. Color selection is easy, light things should be separated from colored and dark ones. As for fabrics, some should not be washed at high temperatures or even in automatic washing machines. Higher temperatures should be reserved for fabrics from which we want to remove as much germs as possible. These include, for example, the clothes of an allergy sufferer and textiles from his room. It is a good habit to read the symbols on the tags and follow these instructions.

Prepare clothes properly

Before putting the prepared clothes into the washing machine, all zippers should be closed. When opened, they can damage delicate materials with their teeth or damage the washing machine. Turn the garments inside out before loading them into the washing machine. Thanks to this, the color will be rinsed out of the clothes to a lesser extent and, thanks to this, we will reduce the destruction of the appliqués sewn on the clothes, and we will also protect the fabrics against pilling. The buttons should be unfastened, this way we will reduce the possibility of tearing them off.

Drying clothes

It is best to use automatic dryers to dry your laundry. Drying in the fresh air will also be beneficial. The sun will perfectly deal with any remaining stains on your clothes. If we dry clothes at home, we should do it with the window ajarto prevent moisture from building up in the room.

Do not overload the washing machine drum

It is best to put enough clothes in it to leave some free space in it. Thanks to this, we will be sure that no detergents harmful to the skin will remain on the clothes. But also remember that it’s best to do your laundry when more clothing picks up. Why? It is not ecological to run a nearly empty washing machine! You then use up a lot of energy. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, plan to do your laundry and turn it on when you have a pile of clothes on.

see also:

1. Is low temperature washing safe?
2. Safe home detergents – which one to choose?
3. Allergy’s home – ways to reduce allergens at home

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