Laundry Blues

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Posted on Feng Shui Studies:

Scent Free Clothing – Thrifting

There is nothing quite so wonderful as the clean scent of clothing that has been dried outside in the sun and wind, and nothing so distasteful (at least to my nose) as the smell of fabric softeners in clothes  – not to mention the effects on the environment and health. The odour of fabric softener whether in the form of dryer sheets or a liquid, is very difficult to remove even after multiple scent free washings, and for people with chemical sensitivities like me, they are just not an option. 

Sometimes it feels like a lose-lose situation. New clothing can be a huge irritant when the clothing fibres are loaded with chemicals, not to mention the smell of dye. I am a fan of sustainable fashion: re-used, thrifted clothes, because the dyes, pesticides and other chemicals use to treat the fabric have gone, but there isn’t a huge gain when the garment has been repeatedly washed and dried with fabric softeners. It brings a new set of problems to deal with.

‘That smell’ can be removed though it takes some effort. Here are some things I have tried. Depending on how scent-saturated your garment is, you may have to try a few of the following suggestions:

  • I first hang my garment outside in strong sunlight for several days to break down the chemicals that coat the fibres in the textile. This also works on new clothing that have a strong scent – it is probably dye residues.  Of course the trade off here is possibly some fading from the sun so it is a judgment call.
  • If there is still an odour I soak the garment in baking soda: dissolve about a cup of baking soda in water and soak the garment in this solution overnight. Rinse and dry, repeat if needed.
  • Especially if the garment has perfume on it (I’m talking about traditional Perfume here, not fabric softener scent) I put the garment through the laundry cycle with about a cup of vinegar in the wash water and no detergent. I have read a suggestion to use peroxide based laundry detergent to oxidize fragrance residues in the fabric, however I have yet to try this out.  Next time I will discuss laundry alternatives to keep that item scent free!

    • (c) Deborah Redfern 2009. All rights reserved.

    Tags:

    : Green Cleaning, Green Feng Shui, Healthy Homes
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    D Redfern
    www.fengshuistudies.com

    About D Redfern

    Author, Feng Shui Teacher and Practitioner, Deborah Redfern began her formal feng shui studies in 2001 with Denise Linn. Her book Odyssey of the Heart: Paths to Wholeness through Feng Shui available at www.estel.ca, combines feng shui with life coaching, using the tool of the bagua map. Deborah is pleased to announce her Feng Shui Practitioner training course is available at Feng Shui Studies.com. Deborah is also author of on-line courses Dancing with Energy:9 Steps to Manifesting Your Soul's Desires with Feng Shui and Healing with Feng Shui and Color both available at www.selfhealingexpressions.com. Deborah is the designer and blogmaster for Where Energy Flows blog.

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