Dangerous Dryer Sheets by Liora Leah

I received a story about how dryer sheets leave a residue on your dryer lint filter and potentially cause fires. There's a simple solution: stop using dryer sheets! The same toxic chemicals that coat your lint filter coat your clothes as well! Read on:

Date: 10/19/2006 1:54:55 AM ( 4 y ) ... viewed 6565 times

You've been programmed to use them since the day your parents forced you to start doing your own laundry. Put the clothes in the dryer, then toss in one of those springtime-fresh fabric sheets to make them come out all soft and static-free. Sounds so cuddly! But you're actually coating your clothes in a chemical cocktail, says advice maven Umbra Fisk, who suggests some alternatives."

Excerpts From: http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2006/10/18/dryer-sheets/index.html?source=umbra

"...the contents of mainstream dryer sheets can indeed be rather toxic. Unfortunately, we don't actually know everything that's in them, since the contents are treated as trade secrets by the manufacturers. But a few ingredients that have been identified in some formulations are benzyl acetate, limonene, and chloroform. Individually, these chemicals have been linked to cancer, and it's not likely they've been studied much in combination.

...The good news is that dryer sheets and their cousins, fabric softeners, are not at all necessary.

...Natural-fiber clothing typically doesn't create much static electricity while tumbling about in the dryer, making the static-fighting function of dryer sheets and fabric softeners unnecessary. And you can soften clothes yourself at home or at the Laundromat with natural alternatives. While you're washing, try adding baking soda during the wash cycle or white vinegar during the rinse cycle (but don't use vinegar if you're also using bleach, another toxic favorite).**

If dousing your clothes in vinegar sounds like too much of a stretch from your current routine, there are much-less-scary natural varieties of fabric softener widely available.

...Finally, recall that clotheslines, drying racks, and the like are the best eco-options anyway. Or try a combination: getting your clothes mostly dry in the dryer and then hanging them up to dry the rest of the way can reduce static cling while simultaneously decreasing both the energy used during drying and the necessary hang-drying time."

ARTICLES/RESOURCES

Cancer-Causing, Gene-Altering Chemicals in household cleaning products: http://prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SPIENV.story&STORY=/www/story/10-03-2005/0004158164&EDATE=MON+Oct+03+2005,+10:39+AM

Toxic Chemicals found in fabric softeners: http://www.immuneweb.org/articles/fabricsoftener.html

Eco-friendlier fabric softener: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/our_products/laundry/fabric_softener.html

Energy-efficient clothes lines: http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2005/06/08/umbra-clothesline/

Energy-efficient drying rack: http://www.gaiam.com/retail/product/10-8002

See http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2006/10/18/dryer-sheets/index.html?source=umbra for the whole ASK UMBRA article.

** I recommend using non-chlorine bleach only. For an excellent article about the toxic hazards of chlorine bleach, read: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/chlorine-in-household-cleaners.html

Eco-Friendlier non-chlorine bleach: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/our_products/laundry/chlorine_free_bleach.html

Thanks for Going GREEN!

Liora Leah

Excerpt from the Original Dryer Sheet Story:

The heating unit went out in my dryer. The guy that fixes things went in to the dryer pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. We always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.

He told us that he wanted to show us something. He took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. Now, the lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh!!! It didn't go through it at all!!!

He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it!

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Related Blogs:

"Eco-Laundry": http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=976578

Eco-friendlier laundry products and equipment that have less of an impact on the health of people and the environment can readily be found in today's market.

"Liora's List: Homemade Cleaning Supplies" http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=309&i=87 Homemade cleaning products use four simple ingredients: vinegar, soap, a "scrubber", and water. Oh, and don't forget the "elbow grease"! Read on for "green" cleaning in your home!

"Liora's List: More Eco-Cleaning Products! " http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=309&i=165 Oven cleaner, window cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, unclogging drains, alternatives to moth balls, floor and furniture polish, and more!

"Multiple Chemical Sensitivity & Cleaning Products" http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=309&i=89
Not all "Green" or nontoxic cleaning products, homemade or otherwise, are healthy for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Read more about recycled and non-chlorine bleach paper products such as toilet and facial tissue: "Eco-Toileting" http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=309&i=30