Some laundry products that are considered a waste of money are fabric softeners, stain removers, and bleach. These products are often unnecessary and can be replaced by more cost-effective alternatives such as white vinegar or baking soda.
Additionally, many laundry detergents already contain enzymes that can effectively remove stains, making a separate stain remover unnecessary.
Some costly laundry products can also cause more harm than good to some of your laundry as we’ll discuss below. We’ll also suggest a few alternatives that can not only help your washing but also save you money too.
Laundry products to avoid and their eco friendly alternatives
- Fabric softeners: These products can be a waste of money as they are not necessary for cleaning clothes and can actually damage certain fabrics. Softeners can impair the ability of towels to absorb water and thus should be avoided.
Plus some detergents have fabric softener built in. If you have soft water in your home, you can probably skip it completely for that reason alone. And you may find yourself using less detergent with soft water, too.
Alternative: If you need a fabric softener alternative, you try white vinegar during the rinse cycle. - Dryer sheets: These products can also be a waste of money as they serve a similar purpose as fabric softeners and can leave a residue on clothes. Dryer sheets shouldn’t be used on towels either as they can also impair their ability to absorb water.
Alternative: An alternative is to use wool dryer balls, which can be reused for several years and help reduce drying time. You can also find plastic dryer balls but wool ones appear to be a better choice to fluff clothes up while also attracting dust and lint. - Special stain removers: These products can be expensive and not always effective. You can empty out a bottle quickly and not achieve much when what you needed was to scrub the clothes by hand.
Alternative: An alternative is to use a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar to remove stains. You can also soak clothing in a bucket of detergent and manually scrub the stains. Something a bit of elbow grease is really what is needed. - Overpriced detergents: Many detergents on the market are overpriced and contain harsh chemicals. You might find that a cheaper off brand does the trick for your laundry especially if you don’t heavily soil your clothing.
Alternative: An alternative is to use a more cost-effective and eco-friendly option, such as castile soap or baking soda. - Bleach: Bleach is a harsh chemical that is not always necessary for cleaning clothes. Unless you have white clothing with stains, you probably don’t need bleach for your laundry as it can bleed colors and thus should be avoided for that purpose.
Alternative: An alternative is to use hydrogen peroxide, which can be used for whitening clothes and has the added benefit of being a natural disinfectant.