My (Current) Eco Laundry Routine!
I’ve been doing some form of zero waste laundry for over 6 years. My eco laundry routine has changed along the way, too. So here is my current low waste laundry routine but you can check out old versions from Japan and Las Vegas.
And you can check out this video to learn all things sustainable laundry! Some of these I do, some of them I don’t do, so pick and choose what works for you.
Anyway, onto my current zero waste laundry routine!
Washing
I’ve tested MANY brands of eco laundry detergent over the years. While I am still testing some new ones and using up old ones, I think I’ve settled on a few of my favorites. Let’s break it down by category:
Powder: Meliora takes the cake. It’s the most affordable, truly plastic-free, and the company does so much to reduce their own waste and our waste as consumers. Not to mention, it works wonders in all types of machines and leaves my clothes fresh. Shop here!
Liquid: Though I am still a fan of Dirty Labs, ECOS has taken the cake for me for the best liquid detergent, and honestly, it comes down to packaging design. Dirty Labs can be a bit messy, but the pump on ECOS makes it easier to use, cleaner to use, and more accessible. I love the subtle smell it leaves on my clothes and how clean they feel!
Other detergent: the Eco Egg is also a fav! I love that it is truly zero mess, but it’s also zero measuring. It’s the easiest eco laundry I’ve ever tried. I can’t say it does the best on super soiled clothing, but it sure gets the job done, and it’s very accessible!
Stains
I cannot be trusted with clothes. I’m always getting some stain or another on them. But, good news, we have some eco options to help with this!
I’ve tested many a zero waste stain remover bar in my day, but my current one I’m working through is also Meliora. It’s lasting me FOREVER! I think I’ve had it for nearly two years. It works so well. I tested it on this BRAND NEW shirt that I got butter on and it got the stain out, yay!
What else has been really helpful is the Meliora oxi-boost…an eco-friendly alternative to bleach! We got SUPER dirty backpacking a few weeks ago, and this really helped lift the dirt and stains out of my trusty hiking clothes.
Deep cleaning
Sometimes, though, your clothes need a deep clean. I love to strip my laundry every now and then. I do this with dirty work clothes, soiled hiking gear, and period underwear. I tried this recently on period underwear that I hadn’t been able to deep clean in two years because we lived in an RV, and it got any underlying smells out! For clothes you wear on the outside, it helps brighten and freshen them up.
There are many recipes online for “laundry stripping,” so you can find one that works for you based on what you have at home to work with. But, here’s my laundry stripping recipe, complete with more Meliora!
Drying
I’m on my laundromat grind, so I’ve been using a dryer for years. Hey, no need to shame me for it. It’s what I have access to. I don’t love it because I can’t control the temperature or time. So, where I can, I do hang dry as much as possible. But our drying rack cannot accommodate an entire wash load. We usually hang dry period underwear, work shirts, and other items that we have to preserve as long as possible. Of course, we want to preserve all of our clothes, but it’s just not possible to hang-dry everything in our small space. I’m constantly eyeing the secondhand market here for a bigger rack, though!
Though we use the dryer, we have been getting back into the habit of using dryer balls! It was so much easier when we had laundry in our home. The dryer balls were right above the dryer. Now I have to remember to take them to the laundromat…which I have been doing in recent weeks, yay! This helps cut down dry time. Sometimes I do find I have to run the machine twice, which wastes money and energy. So, this helps eco-fy my otherwise wasteful habit.
Storage & Mending
The way we wash and dry our clothes matters when it comes to the longevity of our textiles, but storage matters, too!
To make sweaters last as long as possible, they are folded instead of hung up. I find hanging sensitive fabrics can stretch out the collars and even lead to holes in things like knit sweaters.
I hang all pants and other wrinkle-prone fabrics so that I don’t have to iron them as much. They’re already ready to go!
Any clothes with holes get added to my mending pile. This is just a stack of clothes I have that need mended when I get around to it. I like that this is low pressure. It can feel overwhelming to have to mend something immediately, but you can save it for later when you have more time. I am by no means an expert mender, but any mend is better than the landfill!
Clothes that are beyond mending get recycled commercially, or I recycle them at home. They get turned into reusable tissues, rags, pet toys, or rugs.
General tips
Here are some miscellaneous tips I use to make my laundry routine more sustainable:
Wash a full load…but not too full! We want to ensure our clothes our clean without wasting resources
Choose the “eco” or “green” setting on your machine if there is one. It varies how this works but it usually conserves water and energy
Where I can, I wash on tap cold. This means that the temperature of the water is not heated or cooled, but it’s whatever is in the ground. This is the most energy-efficient
I also dry on as low of heat as I can while my clothes still get dry to preserve them as long as possible
Not good at mending? Hire some help! Professional tailors or even paying a friend to add a button to your jacket works.
Maybe you noticed I didn’t mention laundry sheets? They’re not my fav swap in the world. Check out the nuance on the topic here.
There you have it! My new and improved (??) low waste laundry routine. How do you do laundry sustainably?
The moral of the story today is that there is no one-size-fits-all laundry routine. My own eco laundry routine as changed over the years and that’s okay! You don’t have to put yourself in a box and stay there. If you try something else, move, or change your mind about a product, that’s totally fine. Keep learning and trying new things!
As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)
Emma
