Avoid Conventional Dryer Sheets

❌ Many of us do not realize how toxic and dangerous CONVENTIONAL DRYER SHEETS can be!

They contain unhealthy fragrances, toxic chemicals, irritants, and heavy pollutants that affect not only sensitive individuals, pregnant women, the elderly, pets, children, and wildlife, but all of us, too!

Yet, they are sold in regular grocery stores as harmless products.

Chemicals sensitive people can spot immediately when someone is wearing a garment that has been treated with conventional products, its typical toxic smell is recognizable.

Conventional dryer sheets contain toxic ingredients and chemicals that are cheap to produce, and harsh on us, the planet, and the environment. They are linked with asthma and respiratory damage, skin allergies and irritations, development and reproductive toxicity, posing cancer, and environmental hazards. You can check your current detergent's toxicity rating here at EWG.org 

Those toxic fumes coming from dryer vents are an environmental hazard!

Conventional sheet pollutants contaminate the air around us, provoking respiratory effects with developmental/endocrine/reproductive effects,  general systemic/organ effects cause acute, create aquatic toxicity, pollute the environment and reach long distances through the vent of the dryer. Read here.

Dryer Vents are highly toxic! 

What is even worse is this toxic mix of chemicals we smell coming from laundry rooms when walking on a sidewalk in a residential area, in the alley, in your garden, or even inside your home if you have open windows! Preventing us to leave the windows open or spend time outdoors in our backyard!

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I don't recommend any dryer sheets brand on the market! They don't meet any safety criteria, they are highly toxic and they are a waste of resources! Here are some ingredients found in them:

❌Conventional dryer sheets 

• Benzyl Acetate: Linked to pancreatic cancer

• Benzyl Alcohol: Upper respiratory tract irritant

• Ethanol: On the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and can cause central nervous system disorders

• A-Terpineol: Can cause respiratory problems, including fatal edema, and central nervous system damage

• Ethyl Acetate: A narcotic on the EPA's Hazardous Waste list

• Chloroform: Neurotoxic, anesthetic, and carcinogenic

• Pentane: A chemical known to be harmful if inhaled

• Brands: Tide, All, Gain, Cheer, Kirkland, and more

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Greenwashing dryer sheets

Avoid Greenwashing dryer sheets. Greenwashing is when a brand spretend to be eco friendly ,green when it not.

Even they want you to believe they are safe and natural, they are not!

❌ Greenwashing: they may try to convince you that their product is eco-friendly, with their green packaging and false claims, such as “natural” but they still contain toxic and unhealthy ingredients such as fragrances or ingredients that hurt the environment, such as palm oil, responsible for deforestation, human rights abuse and animal orangutan extinction.

Brands: Method, Mrs. Meyer's Ecos, and more:

❌ Seventh Generation Dryer Sheets   since it has the ingredient Di-(palm carboxyethyl) hydroxyethyl methylammonium methyl sulfates, know to be an asthmagen (sensitizing) and it causes reproductive toxicity in animals.       

❌ Beyond Natural Dryer Sheets    since it has the same ingredient plus fragrance   

❌ Grab Green Natura wet Dryer Sheets    since it has the ingredient benzisothiazolinone, a preservative substance that has very high acute toxicity to aquatic life and skin sensitizer.

❌ Better Life Natural Dryer Sheets since it has  Dihydrogenated palmoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate, know to be an asthmagen (sensitizing), causes reproductive toxicity in animals.

Avoid toxic dryer sheets and fabric softeners — you don’t need them!

I noticed that after using  Organic Laundry Detergents, there was no need for a fabric softener.

In fact, I recommend skipping it. If you can't do without it, here are the most natural alternatives on the market!

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Organic Dryer Balls

Finally a safer alternative to the toxic dryer sheets! 

✅ Organic Wool Dryer Balls naturally soften fabrics while reducing your drying time by up to 30%!

Safer for us and the environment🐠 Safe for everyone — people, sheep, and the planet. 

🍃Ethical Wool suppliers: Here you will find only brands committed to humane and eco-responsible farming and shearing techniques.

🍃Organic  Wool dryer balls: Wool, even though it is a natural material, could be still treated with chemicals during the process. That's we need to look for certified organic wool. The best dryer balls are the ones GOTS Certified Organic.

Note: There is only 1 brand I was able to find that meets my criteria of GOTS Certified Organic Dryer Balls: Avocado

The other brands, even if they are not GOTS Certified Organic, their natural dryer balls are still a great choice, healthier alternatives to the conventional toxic dryer sheet out there! 

 

All the dryer balls listed here are:

• 100% Organic or Natural Wool

• Unscented: so can customize with Organic Essential Oils

• Safe for Standard and HE Machines

• Reduces Drying Time by Up to 30-50%!

• Saves Energy & Money!

• Lasts Up to 1,000 Loads

• Quiet when in Use

• Super Duper Cute!

• Handmade with Love

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🍃Directions: 

1. Toss your Natural Wool Dryer Balls into your dryer. 

2. Add your wet laundry and start your dryer. 

3. Remove your laundry — just leave those Natural Wool Dryer Balls in the dryer for your next load!​

3-6 Wool Dryer Balls for a regular load of laundry

6-9 Wool Dryer Balls for larger loads, towels, or sheets

🍃How to wash them

Place the dirty wool balls into a mesh Laundry Bag or pillowcase and launder on a warm, delicate cycle. Then, put the balls in a sunny window until completely dried before returning to the dryer. 

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🍃How to Avoid Static Cling in Your Laundry

SEPARATE YOUR FABRICS BEFORE DRYING: Natural fibers (like cotton) take longer to dry than synthetic fibers (like workout clothes). So while your cotton is drying your workout clothes are overdrying causing static in your laundry. Other tips:

• Hang Dry Clothing

• Use Vinegar

• Use Wool Dryer Balls

• Use a safety pin on your dryer balls

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Now you have all you need to know for a safer, organic laundry experience. Wash your garments at home in your organic laundry detergent whenever possible and when you need professional laundering choose only eco-friendly dry cleaners that use the CO2 method. 

💚Here are listed the safest dryer ball brands on the market. Shop with my links to support my research!