My dirty laundry
Another good book find this week. Green This! by Deirdre Imus guides you toward "greening your cleaning." I discovered it when I was scouring the Internet, trying to figure out how to get some life back into my clothing. I use the washing machine that's in the basement of my apartment. It's shared with six other tenants and looks ancient. I'm almost positive it hasn't been serviced in ... ever. My clothes come out looking no different than when I put them in the machine. Laundry has become a very frustrating ordeal.
Imus informs me that adding a cup of vinegar (one that does not contain bleach) to your wash cycle helps to keep your coloured clothing bright. Also, apparently adding 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of baking soda acts as a fabric softener. It will also keep your clothes smelling fresh. She also recommends adding a couple drops of essential oil - such as lavender or lemon. Not only does is make your clothes smell great, but also brightens and disinfect. Who knew?
Imus doesn't just stick to the laundry room, she gives you tips for cleaning the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living areas.
What are some natural cleaning tips that you've found helpful?
Stay tuned for Monday's post. I promise I won't talk about books.
Read more:
• Make your bathroom eco-friendly
• 7 steps to eco-friendly shopping
• Green gardening
July 14th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Should the vinegar be added at the same time you're adding the detergent, or are you supposed to wait and add it like fabric softener. I used to put vinegar in the little cup in the middle of my front loader that's meant for fabric softener, but I'm not sure this is correct.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Hi Helen,
I believe that putting the vinegar in the fabric softener cup will release it during the final rinse cycle. Adding it manually will enusre it's put in at the right time. However, I'm not sure how much of a difference it will make if you just put it in the little cup. It might be easier than having to remember to manually put it in during the wash cycle.
When doing a little research on the Internet, I learned that adding vinegar to various stages of your laundry cycle will have different results. For example, add vinegar to the last rinse cylce to make blankets fluffy, reduce lint buildup and static cling.
You know what else vinegar can do? Remove soap, mustard, BBQ sauce, spaghetti sauce, ketchup, sweat stains and smoky smells. Who knew?