As a young adult I often found myself wondering “how often should I wash my clothes?”. I didn’t really know the answer, so erred on the side of caution a bit too much and washed my clothes pretty much after every wear. With the exception of trousers, that maybe got two or three wears before being chucked in the laundry pile, I operated a one wear only policy.
It wasn’t until after I became a mum, and my laundry pile was less of a pile and more of a mountain, that I realised that maybe it was ok to not wash every single item of clothing after every wear. The wake up call for me was when I was washing my daughter’s sleep suits after every wear, even if she’d needed changing in the night, so had only worn the suit for a few hours. I soon realised that as long as the sleepsuits looked and smelled clean then my daughter could wear the same sleepsuit several nights in a row and nothing terrible was going to happen.
Since then I have relaxed my one wear laundry policy, relying on looks, smell and feel before assessing if something needs to go in the washing machine after just one or two wears. Not washing your clothes quite so frequently helps prolong their life, saves you a bit of money, and helps the environment, as well as saving you time and energy so it’s something I’m completely on board with!
If you want a bit more reassurance then going by nose alone, then I found this handy guide on how often should I wash my clothes from the people at Real Simple that I’ve reproduced here, and you can read the full article here.
How often should I wash my clothes?
image courtesy of Real Simple
What do you think? Are you onboard with washing your jeans after every four to five wears, or leggings after up to three wears? I have a toddler in the house – think sticky hands, snotty noses, and so forth, so I would be very lucky if I could get my jeans lasting up to needing a wash after five wears!
And how often do you wash your clothes? I’m curious!
Hello! Let’s talk about eco friendly alternatives to tumble dryer sheets today.
First things first, I try hard not to use my tumble dryer when I don’t need to. I much prefer line drying my laundry but sometimes when the weather doesn’t play ball then needs must.
Through sheer frugality and through never being convinced that you need yet another product for your laundry, I have never used tumble dryer sheets. From what I can understand people use them to a) scent their clothes, b) soften their clothes and c) to reduce static cling, so I kind of get why people use them.
The thing is tumble dryer sheets aren’t quite as innocuous as they look. Those little sheets can contain volatile organic compounds like butane and acetaldehyde, which can cause respiratory irritation, and quaternary ammonium compounds, some of which are linked to conditions such asthma. Meanwhile the term “fragrance” can hide a huge variety of chemicals which manufacturers don’t have to disclose on account of being classed as trade secrets. Yet the chemicals used can be toxic or known allergens.
As well as the potential health problems that tumble dryer sheets can cause, there’s also the environmental impact of having to bin the sheet after each use. Is there an eco friendly alternative? I like to think so. If you’re looking to green your laundry, then here are some eco friendly alternatives to tumble dryer sheets that address all of the above.
Eco friendly alternatives to tumble dryer sheets
Wool Dryer Balls
I appreciate that wool dryer balls sound like the most hippy-ish thing in the world. In the interests of research I bought some wool dryer balls from eBay to give them a go, and it turns out I quite like them. Scent free, they soften your clothes as the dryer spins, and help prevent static cling naturally. And if you do want to scent your clothes, simply add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to the balls before placing in the dryer.
Quick, easy and reusable: what’s not to love?
Apparently the wool dryer balls help your washing dry quicker, but I haven’t noticed a considerable decline in drying time. You can’t win them all!
Dryer Eggs
I also have some knobbly dryer eggs from Eco Egg, that apparently have been scientifically proven to reduce tumble drying time by up to 28%. I haven’t tested this claim (life’s too short!) but some people have claimed they do significantly reduce drying time. The eggs also reduce static cling, and eliminate the need for fabric conditioner.
The eggs come with essential oil scent sticks that you insert into the middle of the egg, and you can replace this when the scent wears off. The good news is you can use them without the scent sticks if you are scent averse or don’t want the added expense of buying scent refills.
Make Your Own Fabric Softener
If you want to soften your clothes the easiest and cheapest way to do this is during the wash cycle. Here’s a quick guide on how you can make your own fabric conditioner, which softens clothes as well as helping to eliminate static cling.
Scented Fabric Scraps
If you just want to add scent to your laundry, then place a few drops of your favourite essential oil on a scrap of fabric and add to your dryer at the start of the drying cycle. Natural fabrics work best, so try an old cotton flannel, a bit of muslin, a cotton handkerchief, or something similar.
Other tumble dryer tips
If you want to avoid static cling the best thing to do is to avoid tumble drying polyester and other synthetic fabrics, such as lycra and synthetic fleece. Natural fabrics, such as cotton, don’t tend to cling as much as polyester. Meanwhile, polyester tends to dry quite quickly when hung up to dry.
Another top tip is to avoid over-drying your clothes. Completely dry clothing spinning around in your tumble dryer encourages the formation of static, so try taking your clothes out the dryer 5 minutes before you normally would to see if that helps.
If you do have a problem with static cling that none of the above helps with, some people swear by crumpling up a ball of tin foil and placing that in your tumble dryer along with your clothes. I have not tried this as I don’t buy tin foil, but it’s certainly something to keep in mind!
Another unusual tip for eco friendly alternatives to tumble dryer sheets that I have seen bandied around is to add a teaspoon of hair conditioner to a scrap of fabric and place that in the dryer alongside your wet clothes. I haven’t tried this either, but it’s another trick to keep up your sleeves if none of the above work for you! I would use an eco friendlier brand of conditioner if giving this a go.
Missed anything? Let me know in the comments below!
I'm Wendy and welcome to Moral Fibres, a green lifestyle blog. I believe that sustainable living should be hip, not hippie. Here you'll find all sorts of easy hints and tips here for living a greener life that won't compromise your sense of style. As well as the blog I've also written a book on natural cleaning - Fresh Clean Home is out now! Want to know more? Check out the about page for more information or explore the archives using the category tabs above. Moral Fibres is always free to read. If you want to support the site's running costs you can buy me a coffee.
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