The way of ecological laundry, No detergent, No softener.
Do you know of any nature-friendly washing methods that reduce or eliminate detergents and fabric softeners in wastewater?
Here are two methods.
The first is to wash clothes using washing nuts, which produce a soap-like substance, and the second is to put washing balls in the washing machine with the laundry.
Rita
Nuts
What is rita nuts?
Laundry nuts are from a tree called Rita, which is native to India and Nepal.
They are sold dried and the inside of the shell contains a component called saponin. When the component dissolves in water, it foams like soap and removes dirt.
The saponin component also softens the laundry. It is like a natural surfactant.
How to use?
It is very simple to use.
Only about 4-5 nuts are used per wash.
Moreover, they can be used several times until the ingredients are removed from the nuts.
When they are falling apart, it is time to change them.
Simply put them in the small drawstring that comes with the RitaNut when you buy it and put them in the washing machine with the laundry.
There is no need to set them in the detergent slot and no fabric softener is needed.
A few drops of aromatic oil can be added to the bag when the nuts are placed in it to give laundry a natural fragrance.
How was that?
At first, I was half in doubt whether it was really possible to do laundry with such a nuts.
It is very easy to just throw them in the washing machine with the laundry.
Natural methods often have the image of being more time-consuming and troublesome, but in fact there is no need to spend time weighing and setting the usual detergent and fabric softener. It is almost as easy as gel balls.
When you start the washing machine, bubbles mysteriously appear.
I wondered whether it would be safe to leave it in until rinsing and dehydration, but the washed clothes looked as good as when washed with detergent. Moreover, the clothes feel fluffy, as if fabric softener had been added.
For me now continues to wash my clothes using laundry nuts.
Strong stains can be cleaned by hand first.
On top of that, you can buy them for about $15 per kg, which is more economical than regular detergent as you use three or four nuts several times.
The unusable nuts can be thrown back into the soil and returned to nature, making this the most natural and sustainable way of washing clothes.
Noix de lavage 1kg
€13.90
click to amazon
Washing
Balls
What is washing balls?
Washing balls are placed in the washing machine to agitate and wash the laundry as the ball beats the laundry in the rotating washing machine, making it easier to remove dirt and reducing the amount of water and detergent.
Mainly,
-
A function that only agitates the clothes so that they do not get tangled.
-
Balls that entangle debris in the sponge.
-
Balls that contain ceramic or magnesium components to generate alkaline ionised water and enable washing.
There are three types of ball.
How to use?
As with RitaNut, it is simply thrown into the washing tank with the laundry
How was that?
It is easy to put them in the washing machine, as well as the laundry nuts.
Two of the three types of balls need to be used together with the detergent, so they can simply be inserted, but this adds one more step to the process.
The first ball for agitation reduces the amount of detergent used in the washing machine, while still mixing the laundry thoroughly and removing stains, making it suitable for laundry that is not heavily soiled on a daily basis. This method reduces wastewater pollution by reducing the amount of detergent.
Spongy balls are good for removing debris, but require more water than usual to float the debris and absorb it into the balls, which increases the amount of water used.
Among the three balls, the ceramic or magnesium-filled wash balls are the most eco-friendly choice when looking at the effectiveness of the three balls. They do not use any detergent as they agitate the laundry and change the water with the ingredients, making them an environmentally friendly and detergent chemical free method for those who are allergic to them.
One drawback is that strong stains cannot be removed because no detergent is used.
However, this can be solved by pre-washing only the strongly soiled items.
ProfessionalTree 2 x Boules de Lavage
€16,99
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All of the methods described are simple and, in a small way, can reduce the environmental impact of your daily washing.
Why not give them a try?