I’m almost to the end of my challenge and giveaway (enter please if you haven’t already) and here are some of my reflections on this whole hanging the laundry to dry thing….

• I have plans to keep this up for the rest of the summer. At least while it’s so hot. It keeps the house cooler, cuts on our energy usage (smaller bill), and things dry so quickly in this heat.
• I’m keeping up better with the laundry since I only have so much hanging space.
• It’s not that much more work than using the dryer and I feel very vintagey, homemakey while attending to the task
• An apron is a good thing to have while doing this. It holds the pins well and adds to the feeling mentioned above.
• Note to self keep clothes pins away from Peanut. She managed to remove the springs from half of my collection. It’s a little difficult to put them back together so I’m just going to get some more.

So heres some great techy information on what’s in many laundry detergents.

Masking Agents: What Are They Hiding?

·         Truly fragrance free products have a scent. If there is no scent, it is likely that the product contains a masking agent.

·         Masking agents are actually synthetic fragrances that neutralize the scents so that there is no appreciable odor in a product.

·         Masking agents have similar effects to fragrances – some people have skin and respiratory sensitivity to them.

·         If a product does not contain fragrance it may still contain a masking agent – “no masking agents” claims indicate to consumers with sensitivities to fragrance that there are no fragrances present.

Optical Brighteners: Not a Brilliant Idea

·         Optical brighteners are chemicals that make fabrics seem brighter or whiter than they are.

·         They remain behind on clean laundry as a coating and when invisible ultraviolet light hits this coating; they convert it into visible light to create an optical illusion that tricks the eye into thinking our clothes are super clean.

·         Optical brighteners are designed to remain behind on clothes/laundry which means they come in direct contact with skin.

·         They can cause allergic reactions in some people.

·         Some are poisonous to fish and other aquatic life.

·         Many are not biodegradable and remain in waterways.

Why Seventh Generation Laundry Products are Different

·         Plant-based laundry detergents are non-toxic and biodegradable

·         Hypo-allergenic

·         Free of phosphates and optical brighteners

·         Safe for septic and greywater systems

·         Not tested on animals and are Kosher certified

Learn more about Seventh Generation’s line of laundry products at http://www.seventhgeneration.com/Natural-Laundry-Detergent