5 Little or No Cost Changes to Reduce Toxins in Your Home - Part 3
Change your laundry detergent
I know I know, we want our laundry to smell good. We want our clothes to look clean. It’s not something we eat or rub into our skin so…..is changing your laundry detergent really a big deal?
Let’s Chat-
Not only is your skin wearing laundry detergent almost every moment of 24 hours (think clothes, towels, sheets), but you’re also breathing in 24 hours of the day whatever fragrance and other chemicals are in this detergent as well.
When helping you determine which products to change for a safer household, I like to look at how often a product is being used, how many harmful ingredients are in the product, and how many of the ingredients are harmful, even at low exposures.
For the majority of my clients, laundry detergent is a constant and consistent dangerous exposure + likely your entire household is exposed SO it’s my fav “bang for your buck” change.
You are already buying laundry detergent anyway, so my favorite clean and effective options aren’t going to substantially increase your budget for this.
So how do I know if my laundry detergent is unsafe?
Here are the most common ingredients in laundry detergent I have found-you’ll want to avoid:
Ethoxylated ingredients so watch on your labels for PPG, PEG, Polysorbate or any ingredient that end in –eth such as laureth, steareth, ceteareth.
Methylisothiazolinone
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Anything ending in “paraben”
Cocamidopropyl betaine
Fragrance (if the brand is not EWG certified and/or the company will not disclose the full ingredients under the umbrella “fragrance”.)
Why should we avoid detergent with these ingredients?
They contain high risks of :
• hormonal system disruption
• kidney toxicity
• reproductive and developmental disruption
• being carcinogenic
• changing DNA
• increased breast cancer proliferation + earlier development of breast development, Pubic hair and menstruation
• eczema
• lung toxicity
• neurotoxicity
• allergic reactions
As shared in Part 1 and 2 of this series, chemicals we use in our home don’t just evaporate. Generally, the accumulate and contribute to indoor air pollution.
Changing your laundry detergent to cleaner options without the risks I shared above is such a simple change I recommend for all.
What laundry detergents are clean??
Check out my Approved page here for my top favorite and safer laundry options here.
If you are wanting more personalized review of what’s currently in your home and how you’d like to make changes, please check out the Work With Me tab!
* The information offered by me is for general educational and informational purposes only. None of this information is a substitute or replacement for professional or medical advice
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