Locomotion, resources, consumption: the sustainability debate is in full swing in many areas. Less noticed is an area where there is a lot of potential. Sustainable washing.
Depending on how many people live in a household, the washing machine may run once a day. Since the practical appliance does the work, sometimes in tandem with a tumble dryer, consumers do not notice how much water, detergent, additives and energy are used (except perhaps when looking at the electricity bill). In practice, however, almost all of us wash far too often, too elaborately and without making optimal use of the washing machine. With a few tips, however, it is easy to wash sustainably - which is good for the environment and your wallet!
Sustainable washing 1: washing less is also possible
In our usually cooler latitudes, not every piece of worn clothing has to go into the laundry immediately. Underwear does, of course, but blouses, trousers, jumpers and other clothing are not dirty after being worn once or twice. If the garment does not smell of sweat, you can hang it on a hanger and air it out. This works well on the balcony, but also in the flat.
Wash after 2: Prewash only for heavy soiling
The prewash cycle, which is automatically activated on many machines, is often not even necessary. Only if really dirty white laundry is to be treated effectively does the complete prewash + main wash programme at 60°C or more make sense. Otherwise: simply omit it or prefer the machine's eco setting.
Sustainable washing 3: it's all a question of temperature
Clothes, including underwear, do not need high temperatures to get clean. For themajority of our laundry loads, one wash cycle at 40°C is perfectly sufficient. You can also switch down when spinning, because on the highest setting the laundry almost dries, but the regular heavy spinning puts a strain on the clothes.
Sustainable washing 4: there are organic alternatives for washing powder
Many heavily advertised detergents not only fail the product test, they are also usually overdosed. But there are other options. You can make washing powder yourself or try out innovative gadgets like Washing balls . After all, the purpose of detergent is not directly to clean. It works by breaking the surface tension of the water and allowing it to penetrate deeper into the fabric. In addition, washing powder is mixed with fragrances that later create the "clean" smell. Washing balls also lift the surface tension and are sufficient for all washing cycles in which no heavily soiled garments are whirled through. If it absolutely has to be "fresh-smelling", you can add a drop of scented oil, and sweaty clothes can be soaked in a mixture of water and vinegar in a 3:1 ratio before washing.
Sustainable washing 5: Fabric softener can even do harm
Another overrated additive is the often-used fabric softener. It is unnecessary and in some cases even harmful, namely when textiles contain elastane. Swimwear, leggings, elastic jumpers and sportswear may become soft with fabric softener, but they also quickly become baggy. And mercilessly soft-rinsed towels, as suggested by advertising, dry far less well than untreated terrycloth. This is because the additives coat the textile fibres with a fat-based film. The fabric is therefore not softened, but only artificially trimmed to be soft.
Sustainable washing 6: remove stains with home remedies
Today, stubborn dirt and stains are often tackled with chemical aids before washing. But that doesn't have to be the case. Home remedies help with many stains: blood stains dissolve by soaking in cold (!) water, red wine stains sprinkled with salt disappear in the wash. Pre-treatment with bile soap is also very effective, but the small bars of soap are less prominently displayed in many shops than the "chemical mace". Especially for the treatment of stains, there are plenty of tips and tricks that mum and grandma still knew. So a lot can be saved when using the washing machine. Often it is enough to rethink one's own behaviour and to perform the washing cycles per week consciously instead of just on the side. If you put a larger amount of clothes in the drum a day or two later and switch down the temperature and spin setting, you have already done a lot!
