The other MLS: Reducing our exposure to toxic chemicals in laundry detergents
These days I have been more and more interested in the abundance of unusual chemicals used in our everyday life and have been making a concerted effort to try to reduce my exposure to chemicals. There is so much information out there in alternative news sources that it’s a challenge to decide which to believe. But in many cases I’d say I would rather be safe than sorry.
One thing that has been made clear is that, we can’t determine what’s best to use by getting only information from the main stream media. Personally I stopped buying tomato products and other canned goods for the BPA (Biphenol A) leaching into the food. I would never heat food in plastic containers and I worry about certain take out containers made out of plastic. When my pets try to get into my cleaning product cabinet, I don’t worry because they only run into vinegar, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. So far, I have only been using regular laundry detergent, but some interesting studies have convinced me to reconsider this norm we all follow.
The Sierra club did a very interesting study which they provided to the EPA, imploring them to restrict use of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NP) in public and commercial cleaners. Their study showed 61% of streams in the US carries contaminants with these chemicals from cleaners and the fish have shown effects of endocrine disruption. Nonylphenol detergents have been banned in Europe and Canada.
When it comes to personal care products, using the best and most natural ingredients has been a focus for me for much longer. I recently saw this video about laundry detergents that makes me want to stop using them completely. The alternative is 2 magnets in the washer (MLS) which may work as well or better than laundry soap. I haven’t tried this product but this video from Water Liberty intrigues me to try this new method to reduce chemicals in the environment. Also to reduce my skins exposure to dangerous chemicals that could have negative consequences. The other bonus besides being gentler to the environment is the huge cost savings of never buying laundry detergents and softeners again. Im definitely going to have to try this myself and I will post my results.
http://www.waterliberty.com/detergent/video.php
Update:
I received my magnets in a tiny inconspicuous box. The first load I washed white napkins covered with coffee stains, grape juice. The napkins came out completely clean as if I had used laundry soap. I did add some baking soda to the water as an additional water softener since it felt so unnatural to start a wash without adding anything to it.
The only issue is that the texture of towels seems very different, and a bit more coarse. But the wash is clean without the use of laundry detergents with unknown ingredients.