Eco-products help green up your next load of laundry
Throwing a load into the washing machine will leave your sheets or clothes a lot cleaner but the environment a little dirtier. Each load can produce up to 3.3kg of carbon emissions according to UK statistics – but this can be heavily reduced by washing in cold water with eco-friendly laundry products and hanging the washing out to dry.
The modern obsession with cleanliness has a significant impact on the environment. Sheets must be washed weekly, towels get thrown in the dryer to keep them soft and dry in winter, clothes end up in the wash basket daily.
And that’s just around the home. Work sites, hotels, hospitals and aged care facilities with strict hygiene regulations have created a giant laundry industry with many outsourcing their washing.
According to statistics published by the UK Guardian newspaper, the carbon footprint of a humble load of laundry can be as high as 3.3kg of carbon emissions:
- 0.6kg of carbon produced by washing at 30 degrees and line-drying;
- 0.7kg of carbon produced by washing at 40 degrees and line-drying;
- 2.4kg of carbon produced by washing at 40 degrees and tumble-drying in a separate vented dryer;
- 3.3kg of carbon produced by washing at 60 degrees and drying in a combined washer-dryer.
The figures clearly show that washing in colder temperatures and air-drying – either inside or on an outside line – is significantly better for the environment.
While white sheets and lightly soiled clothes may come out clean in cold water with mild detergent, what about oil and grease stains? Bodily waste and fluids? Some loads undoubtedly need hot water and tough-acting cleaning products to kill germs and viruses and leave the washing clean and reusable.
Eco-friendly liquids and powders are available, but do they have what it takes to produce clean clothes and linen in really tough conditions such as a remote mining site or workshop?
The answer is yes.
Leading environmentally friendly products such as the Extreme Green laundry range – supplied by Australian company Envirosafe Solutions – has been developed with industry in mind.
It works effectively in locations where the mineralisation and calcification of hardwater means many standard commercial laundry powders fail to get hardworking clothes clean. Biodegradable and safe in all septics, the Extreme Green range has a reduced-phospate content to protect waterways.
“We have vastly reduced the phosphate content of the product and re-invented the process with other boosters that are safer to our surroundings to still attain the results that a challenging workplace requires,” Envirosafe Solutions managing director Murray Simon explained.
Next time you throw a load into the machine, think about the environment. Make the switch to effective, safe environmentally friendly laundry products, peg the washing outside to dry, switch to a cooler water setting and make sure you only wash with a full load.
For more information on Envirosafe Solution’s range of environmental cleaning products contact 1300 88 90 70 or email info@evss.com.au.
Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/nov/25/carbon-footprint-load-laundry
