According to the American Cleaning Institute, the average American family washes 50 pounds of laundry a week—but we know it feels more like 100 pounds! With as much clothing as we're washing each week, we're always on the lookout for inexpensive ways to make our laundry routines easier and more effective, particularly laundry tips that cut down on ingredients and chemicals that could irritate kids' sensitive skin.
If you want to spiff up your laundry the natural way and ditch harsh chemicals, these five chemical-free laundry tricks are for you. Your towels will be softer, your white clothes whiter—and you won't have to pick up that bottle of bleach.
01of 05
Use vinegar as a natural fabric refresher
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/chemical-free-laundry-2000-3ee9800d21f14fda88d949f302355f2a.jpg "5 Chemical-Free Ways to Boost Your Laundry (1)")
If your clothes are getting a little musty—especially items that are frequently damp, like sports equipment or bath towels—try adding vinegar to the wash. "I know it sounds crazy, but it really works!" says housekeeping pro Melissa Maker of Clean My Space. The acid in distilled white vinegar will dissolve residue from products, which can hold on to odors, make clothes look dingy, and make fabrics feel stiffer, too. "I just fill my fabric softener compartment up to the line, you can't really screw it up," says Maker. She uses white vinegar instead of fabric softener—which can affect the absorbency of microfiber towels—but says that it can be used in place of detergent as well.
Just add essential oils
Maker is also a fan of using lavender essential oil, which is naturally antibacterial, anti-mold, and anti-mildew. "You can put it in with the vinegar or with your regular laundry detergent to help negate the smell of mildew and keep it from building up," says Maker. For those who don't like the scent of lavender, try tea tree oil, which is also antibacterial. One caveat: Be sure to get therapeutic-grade essential oils to make sure you get the real benefits and avoid skin sensitivities.
03of 05
Let baking soda brighten and deodorize
Baking soda is a natural deodorizer and brightener, and it's probably already in your pantry. To make your laundry detergent work harder, add 1/2 cup of baking soda to the rinse cycle of your washing machine. It will balance the pH in the wash to lighten stains and reduce any lingering smells, just like it does in the fridge.
04of 05
Ditch the dryer sheets
While many of us are attached to the smells dryer sheets impart onto our newly-cleaned laundry, they're not necessarily the best choice for keeping clothes fresh long-term. Dryer sheets work by releasing fragrances and chemicals that coat your clothes in softness and scent. But these chemicals may also coat the inside of your dryer, making it less efficient, and the residue on your clothes can pick up—and hold on to—dirt and odor.
Instead, use dryer balls. Wool balls are a popular option, but the old-fashioned tennis ball trick works, too. Simply add a few tennis balls to the dryer when drying towels and linens, and they will fluff up the clothes and circulate the air inside the dryer, without adding chemicals. Plus, it speeds up drying time.
05of 05
Fold clothes while they're hot
It's not always possible, but when you can, take clothes out of the dryer while they're still warm and fold them right away. Beyond checking that chore off of your to-do list, folding clothes before they cool will virtually eliminate wrinkles, since they won't have a chance to set.
If you can't fold the whole load right away, target items that show wrinkles the most. In a laundry basket, those would be jeans, dress shirts, and bed linens. Pull them out, give them a shake to loosen any wrinkles, and set them on top of the load of t-shirts and socks so they don't end up scrunched in a ball at the bottom of the basket. You'll enjoy nice, crisp pillowcase and sheet edges, no ironing necessary!
