The Quick Facts: The clothes dryer is the second biggest household user of electricity, after the refrigerator. Besides the impact on your utility bill, people spend money on fabric softeners and dryer sheets to “fluff,” reduce static, and make their clothes smell better after drying. Studies have found that these products can make us sick and harm the environment. To save energy, lower utility bills, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy and fuel use, opt for air drying — outside or inside — and skip the fabric softener and dryer sheets for a more healthy living.
You can smell it when you walk out the door of your home. You can smell it when you take your child for a walk in the neighborhood, house after house. What you smell is not the scent of fresh air, but “clean scent” or “fresh scent” dryer sheets. We all appreciate clean clothes, but studies have found that fabric softeners and dryer sheets can make us sick and harm the environment.
A Drain on Energy
The clothes dryer is the second biggest household user of electricity, after the refrigerator. According to the 2001 statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, about 5.8 percent of residential electricity is used for the clothes dryer. In fact, Project Laundry List, a nonprofit organization, says if all Americans use the clothesline or wooden drying racks, the savings would be enough to close several power plants!
The Toxic Load
While people are using dryers and using energy, they are also using many chemicals in the form of artificial fragrances in the process. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry-generated Material Safety Data Sheets (required documents with information about individual chemicals) from the 1990s, the following is a list of chemicals in fabric softener products and dryer sheets and their effects on human health:
- Benzyl acetate — Linked to pancreatic cancer
- Benzyl alcohol — Upper respiratory tract irritant
- Ethanol — On the EPA’s hazardous waste list; can cause central nervous system disorders
- Limonene — Suspected gastrointestinal or liver toxicant, immunotoxicant, kidney toxicant, neurotoxicant, respiratory toxicant, and skin or sense organ toxicant
- A-Terpineol — Can cause respiratory problems, including fatal edema and central nervous system damage
- Ethyl acetate — A narcotic on the EPA’s hazardous waste list
- Camphor — Causes central nervous system disorders
- Chloroform — Neurotoxic, anesthetic and carcinogenic (cancer-causing)
- Linalool — A narcotic that causes central nervous system disorders
- Pentane — A chemical known to be harmful if inhaled
People who use dryer sheets with fragrances are coating their clothing in a layer of chemicals. These chemicals are designed to stick and linger on clothing for that longer, extra “fresh” scent. People breathe-in the aromatic molecules in the air released by the toxins in the dried clothes, and absorb the chemicals through the skin via direct contact with the clothes. The chemicals are easily absorbed by the skin, especially when you perspire. The wetter your body becomes, the more easily the chemicals can move from clothing into your skin.
Don’t forget Fido or Fifi; fragrance chemicals can harm pets, too. Apparently, some people use dryer sheets to remove loose hair from pets and to reduce static. This is not good for pets. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, doing so can cause a variety of problems in animals ranging from minor irritation to widespread systemic distress and pulmonary edema. Animals lick their fur and directly ingest the chemicals, and lick the areas on which they rest which may have been washed and dried using fabric softeners or dryer sheets.
Studies continue on the effects of these chemicals on human health and pets. However, professionals say that individuals with allergies, eczema, asthma and other skin conditions are particularly susceptible to such toxins. Also, according to Grinning Planet, when thinking about the impacts of dryer sheets on health, “consider making a change if there are kids in your household. Children’s developing bodies are especially susceptible to the negative effects of chemical exposure.”
In addition to the impacts of these chemicals on human and pet health, the chemicals are released into the air and our waterways. The chemicals in fabric softeners are washed into sewer systems and are not removed. Many sewer systems overflow in rainstorms, washing a toxic soup, including the artificial fragrance chemicals, to local waterways. Studies are finding similar health impacts on marine and animal life from these chemicals.
Solutions for “Green” Laundry
In sum, skip the fabric softener and dryer sheets to protect the health of your family, pets, and the environment. Here are some greener and healthier options:
• For safer clothes softening without harsh chemicals, add a half a cup of vinegar (your clothing will not retain the smell of vinegar) OR a quarter cup of baking soda to the rinse cup of the wash cycle. (Special note: If you must use bleach, DO NOT PUT bleach and vinegar in the same load; vinegar and bleach can react poorly to each other and cause a toxic fume.)
• If you want a floral scent in your clothes, put a drop or two of essential oil on a clean washcloth or rag and toss it into the dryer. OR, fill a small cloth drawstring bag with dried aromatic herbs or flowers and throw in the dryer with your clothes. Make sure the bag is tied securely.
• Check out your local health food store for a natural fabric softener that uses a natural base like soy instead of chemicals.
• Buy naturally-made fiber clothing it’ll be softer without having to add anything to soften the fabric.
• For static cling, before putting your clothes into the dryer remove any 100% synthetic fabric items from your load. Hang them to air dry. They will last longer and you will reduce any static in your load.
Air It Out
To save energy, lower utility bills, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, opt for air drying – outside or inside. You don’t need much space to set up a clothesline outside, nor do you need full sun. Clothes will dry in sun (a natural disinfecting source) and in the shade. Don’t have clothesline poles? Wrap the clothesline around two trees, or attach it to the side of the deck or house.
Unfortunately, neighborhoods and homeowner associations are restricting clothesline installation due to aesthetic reasons, and some claim property values decrease due to outside clothesline use. Recognizing the environmental, health, and economic benefits of clotheslines, people are fighting these restrictions. In fact, a clothesline advocacy group called Project Laundry List exists to assist homeowners fight for the “right to dry!”
If outside drying is not possible, folding, free-standing dryer racks are ideal for inside spaces. A few clothes lines also can be installed easily in boiler, laundry, or extra rooms. Or, hang clothes on hangers from pipes hung from ceilings or walls.
By eliminating the use of fabric softeners and dryer sheets, you will save money and improve the health of your family. Take it a step further and reduce dryer use and you will save money, energy, and help the earth.
For related Real Mama Articles, see:
Global Warming Updates
Home Energy Eaters: How to Save Energy and Money Around Your Home
Information used in this article was found at the following sources, which you can visit if you want to find out more about this topic:
(http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/04-29/stop-static-cling-fabric-softener-article.htm, Grinning Planet, “Ahh…The Air is Filled with the Smells of the Season…and Dryer Sheets;
Alternatives to the Toxic Components of Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets,” Updated February 2010.)
(http://www.supereco.com/news/2009/05/05/dryer-sheets-turn-clothes-toxic/, “Dryer Sheets Turn Clothes Toxic,” by Lisa Poisso, May 5, 2009.)
(https://shop.sixwise.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=92, SixWise.com, “The Toxic Danger of Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets,” last accessed April 22, 2010.)
(http://www.naturalnews.com/002693.html, “Warning: many dryer sheets contain cancer causing chemicals,” by Mike Adams, December 05, 2004.)
(http://laundry.about.com/od/laundryproductsafety/qt/petsdryersheet.htm, “Dryer Sheets Are Harmful to Cats and Dogs, Keep Pets Out of Laundry Room,” by Mary Marlowe Leverette, last accessed April 22, 2010.)
(http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/172/1/Toxic-dryer-sheets.html, Green Living Tips, “Toxic Dryer Sheets,” November 15, 2007.)
(http://www.bestgreenhometips.com/2009/08/are-dryer-sheets-toxic/, “Are dryer sheets toxic? Green Cleaning by Jennifer, August 27, 2009.)
(http://www.ehow.com/how_4733688_stop-using-dryer-sheets.html, “How to Stop Using Dryer Sheets,” last accessed April 22, 2010.)
(http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/laundrylist-project-clothesline.html, “Use Clotheslines, Reduce Energy Cost by 5%,” by Brian Merchant, September 15, 2008.)
(http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/13/clothesline_rule_creates_flap/?page=1, The Boston Globe, “Clothesline Rule Creates Flap,” by Jenna Russell, March 13, 2008.)
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119007893529930697.html, “The Right to Dry: A Green Movement Is Roiling America,” by Ann Marie Chaker, September 18, 2007.)
(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/309631/the_bleaching_power_of_the_sun.html?cat=58, Associated Content, “The Bleaching Power of Sun,” by C. Jeanne Heida, July 18, 2007.)
(http://www.laundrylist.org/, Project Laundry List, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “making air-drying and cold-water washing laundry acceptable and desirable as simple and effective ways to save energy.” Last accessed April 24, 2010.)
Tags: air drying, dryer sheets, environmental harm, fabric softener, harmful health effects, lower utility bills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy
