April Fresh or Asthma Attack?

Since I wrote the last post, I heard about another dreadful fabric softener story, so I think it's a topic to spend a little more time thinking about. First, the new story. Then a couple old stories. Then something for everyone to think about – even those who do not suffer from allergies or sensitivities to fabric softeners.

Last night at dinner, one of our companions for the evening mentioned that his father finally figured out the fabric softener was bothering him. For months he suffered from a rash all over his body. Originally he thought it was mold in his washing machine, so he got a new washing machine. No luck. Eventually, the fabric softener sheets were discovered to be the evil cause of his misery.

Another friend and colleague can only use certain kinds of fabric softeners. She won't go near any clothes that have been washed and dried in the wrong detergents. Don't offer her your sweater when she's cold if you've used fabric softener - you'll cause more harm than good. She has to take her own towels and sheets on trips with her to hotels or friends' houses. In the morning when she is walking her dog outside, she can smell from a block away if someone is doing laundry.

My mom is very similar. As soon as she walks into a house, she knows if someone has done laundry. She'll start itching and her eyes start watering. If she gets into a car with someone who uses a fragrant detergent or a fabric softener, same thing happens. It'll take her a couple days to get straightened up. She also has to pack her own sheets and towels when going on trips.

This seems to be an incredibly frequent sensitivity and allergy for people. I know these folks have a hard time, and it makes me wonder what it would be like if they had to work in a little cubicle close to other people that use these items. Or what public transportation would be like for them if they had to commute every day via that method? What a potential nightmare.

I think it's something the rest of us need to be mindful of when we are doing laundry. Do our socks really need to smell April fresh? Many of us can't smell our laundry five minutes after we put it on anyway, so what's really the point? Are my April fresh jeans more important than someone else's health and/or comfort? Is my fabric softener worth causing someone else a migraine or asthma attack or itchiness or watery eyes? Would I want something I use for aesthetics to cause someone else to feel like they have poison ivy?

“We need to rethink what is clean – our idea of clean may be hurting us,” said Sloane Barnett in her book, Green Goes with Everything. "And what's clean? .... It's when I come home and smell absolutely nothing... Utterly unscented. That's when I know my house is clean. And safe.”

Soft laundry without the chemicals

I haven't found one green person yet – whether they are green for environmental reasons or health reasons or both - that says fabric softeners are okay to use. Many say the dryer balls are great to use. But I got to wondering – they are just a hard plastic and we're putting them in a heated environment. Is that good? I've only found one person, so far, who says not to use them. I have found chemical-free towels that are supposed to do the same thing as the balls. They are supposed to work by the weave of the fabric. Interesting. I wonder if it works.

Also some recommend putting vinegar in the washing machine to create softness without a fabric softener. I use this method along with the drier balls for now. Don't worry. You can not smell the vinegar afterwards - less that a 1/4 cup per load will do the trick. There are some fabrics where one probably does not want to use vinegar – the acidity breaks down the fibers, supposedly.

Just something to think about. . .