Lately I’ve noticed a big push in advertising for laundry sanitation products. As a mom it seems like I do hundreds of loads of laundry each week from germ covered kiddos so I figured I’d do some investigation.
After contacting the company I found out a lot about this product.
This product DOES GO in the fabric softener dispenser. It does NOT get added to detergent in the wash cycle. It absolutely CANNOT come into contact with laundry detergents, softeners or any other products.
It needs to go in the final rinse and remain for a minimum of 16 minutes to even be effective!
The warnings listed on the label are scary and the product specialist even stated “to take them 100% seriously.”
So should you have this in your home? Well I’ll tell you no way will it ever come into my home! There’s several ways to safely sanitize your laundry without risking your health or your families safety!
Here’s just some of the fine print on the product….
Product Warnings:
Eyes: Get medical attention immediately. Call a poison center or physician. Immediately flush eyes with plenty of water, occasionally lifting the upper and lower eyelids. Check for and remove any contact lenses. Continue to rinse for at least 10 minutes. Chemical burns must be treated promptly by a physician.
Inhaled: Get medical attention immediately. Call a poison center or physician. Remove victim to fresh air and keep at rest in a position comfortable for breathing. If it is suspected that fumes are still present, the rescuer should wear an appropriate mask or self-contained breathing apparatus. If not breathing, if breathing is irregular or if respiratory arrest occurs, provide artificial respiration or oxygen by trained personnel. It may be dangerous to the person providing aid to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. If unconscious, place in recovery position and get medical attention immediately. Maintain an open airway. Loosen tight clothing such as a collar, tie, belt or waistband.
Skin: Get medical attention immediately. Call a poison center or physician. Wash with plenty of soap and water. Remove contaminated clothing and shoes. Wash contaminated clothing thoroughly with water before removing it, or wear gloves. Continue to rinse for at least 10 minutes. Chemical burns must be treated promptly by a physician. In the event of any complaints or symptoms, avoid further exposure. Wash clothing before reuse. Clean shoes thoroughly before reuse.
Ingested: Get medical attention immediately. Call a poison center or physician. Wash out mouth with water. Remove dentures if any. Remove victim to fresh air and keep at rest in a position comfortable for breathing. If material has been swallowed and the exposed person is conscious, give small quantities of water to drink. Stop if the exposed person feels sick as vomiting may be dangerous. Do not induce vomiting unless directed to do so by medical personnel. If vomiting occurs, the head should be kept low so that vomit does not enter the lungs. Chemical burns must be treated promptly by a physician. Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. If unconscious, place in recovery position and get medical attention immediately. Maintain an open airway. Loosen tight clothing such as a collar, tie, belt or waistband.
Handling Instructions:
Eyes: Safety eyewear complying with an approved standard should be used when a risk assessment indicates this is necessary to avoid exposure to liquid splashes, mists, gases or dusts. If contact is possible, the following protection should be worn, unless the assessment indicates a higher degree of protection: chemical splash goggles and/ or face shield. If inhalation hazards exist, a full-face respirator may be required instead.
Skin: Chemical-resistant, impervious gloves complying with an approved standard should be worn at all times when handling chemical products if a risk assessment indicates this is necessary. Considering the parameters specified by the glove manufacturer, check during use that the gloves are still retaining their protective properties. It should be noted that the time to breakthrough for any glove material may be different for different glove manufacturers. In the case of mixtures, consisting of several substances, the protection time of the gloves cannot be accurately estimated.
Body: Personal protective equipment for the body should be selected based on the task being performed and the risks involved and should be approved by a specialist before handling this product.
Respiratory: Use a properly fitted, air-purifying or air-fed respirator complying with an approved standard if a risk assessment indicates this is necessary. Respirator selection must be based on known or anticipated exposure levels, the hazards of the product and the safe working limits of the selected respirator.
Then if that’s not enough information for you… here’s the statement that sealed my decision:
Potential chronic health effects:
Once sensitized, a severe allergic reaction may occur when subsequently exposed to very low levels.
Other information:
They openly state their product was tested on animals. Specifically rats, rabbits & guinea pigs.
Here’s the real dirt on laundry:
Fresh clothes are dirtier than you’d think and you have no idea about it. It just not hygiene, there are plenty of issues that make clothes dirty even after washing. Here are few reasons:
The first reason is that washing machines are generally teaming up with microbes.
Even if you sanitize washing machines, you’ll end up washing mixed loads. So by the time wash cycle is complete, the clothes would still be dirty.
Ordinary detergents just remove dirt from the top layer. The deeper layers and clothe fiber remains home to pathogens even after washing.
The use of natural laundry sanitizer or some home remedies can ensure that clothes not only sparkle, but become really clean inside out.
Listed below are some options which you can consider for disinfecting laundry:
1. Lavender – This aromatic herb is used for variety of issues, in form of essence and oil. The most basic use is of its aroma. It is also used for improving immune system, getting relief from allergies and relaxing. But where can it be used as fabric sanitizer?
By just adding 1- 2 drops along with unscented detergent will render clothes pleasant smell, and disinfect them. Lavender has anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.
2. Tea Tree oil –Another good and natural solution to disinfect laundry. Tea Tree essential oil has been noted for its antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. This is why it is an important ingredient base for most cosmetics, detergent etc. Putting 2-3 drops of Tea Tree oil in the washing machine, with preferably unscented detergent sanitizes laundry. Besides, it gives a tinge of good smell to clothes.
3. Vinegar and Baking Soda – This combination not only works for white clothes, but has many uses for laundry care. Vinegar can be used as a fabric softener. A drop of essential oils like Lavender, Pine, Tea Tree Oil, spruce, pine, orange etc can be added to give clothes a pleasant smell. This mixture can be added during the rinse cycle.
If you use vinegar and baking soda together it will work brilliantly to remove hardest stains and help keep white clothes white. Vinegar also acts as natural disinfectant, killing germs, bacteria or mold present in the laundry, and removing soap residue as well. The backing soda acts as a natural cleaners and scrub.
Use 5 to 6 cups of vinegar, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of baking soda and 12 and 15 drops of your favorite essential oil. For a super fresh smell, lemongrass, orange, lime or lemon are good choices. Combine all the ingredients in a plastic container and use 1 cup per load as you choose
Another easy fabric softener blend is…
• 6 cups Vinegar
• 1 cup Water
• 15 drops Lemon, Orange, Lime, or Lemongrass oil
Combine all ingredients in a heavy-duty plastic container. Add 1 cup to rinse cycle for each load. You can also choose a spice oil or spice blend for the essential oil(s).
4. Grapefruit Seed Extract – With 10 percent extract in 90 percent water you can create a great disinfecting liquid and dip laundry one by one in it. Or you can run the grapefruit extract in between the rinse cycle to make your laundry hygienic.
5. Some Other Important Tips:
• Try washing clothes with hot water. Often cold water is used to save electricity.
• Avoid mixed loads. If not this, then at least exclude undergarments. Wash them separately.
• Clean washing machines regularly with hot water and detergent.
• Use a good laundry sanitizer disinfectant to ensure clean clothes.
• Soak kitchen towels and rugs in a few drops of Tea Tree oil, Eucalyptus oil or Lavender in water before washing them in the machines.
What initially drew my eye: Beautycounter’s commitment to products with safe ingredients. They have a list of over 1,500 ingredients that they promise to never use. They regularly pour over all sorts of studies and even commission some of their own to examine ingredients for toxicity. That’s awesome. But that’s not the whole story.
If you have any children chances are you have several of these baskets just like this at least once a week if not more.