Washing your clothes sustainably: good for the planet & your wallet

Here at CALIDA, you can find out why laundry is so harmful to the environment and how you can wash your clothes more sustainably and cost-effectively. Here’s a quick overview, which we’ll explore in more detail in our 10 tips:

For many of us, doing our laundry is as automatic a process as going to the bathroom every day. This means that, on days when you’re a bit stressed, you might put on a smaller load of laundry or accidentally use too much detergent – these kinds of faux pas aren’t the end of the world, but you should still be aware of them. After all, as well as using up costly water and energy, unnecessary washes or excessive detergent can also lead to an increased carbon footprint.

Detergents, fabric softeners and laundry perfumes flow out of our washing machines and directly into our waste water. The chemicals in these products, such as surfactants or bleaching agents, not only pollute the environment as a result – they’re also not even necessary for a thorough clean! This is a good reason to switch to eco-friendly alternatives or to make your own detergent, which is cheap and relatively easy to do; you’ll find instructions for this home-made detergent at the end of this article. But first, here are our 10 tips for sustainable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly laundry!

Even at the stage of buying a new washing machine, it pays to think sustainably. Although a used machine may seem cheaper at first, it will often use considerably more energy due to poor energy efficiency. This not only means that the machine is bad for the environment, but in times of rising energy costs, it’s also an enormous money burner. While some fridges already boast an energy rating of A+++, even the most environmentally friendly washing machines receive a rating of A.

Your laundry pile is huge again, even though you’ve only actually worn the clothes once or twice? To clear some space on the much disliked ‘laundry chair’, many people nowadays decide to wash their clothes even if they’re not dirty or stinky yet. It seems obvious, but you could significantly reduce the number of polluting washes you do by hanging up your worn clothes outside in the fresh air, for example, or popping them in the freezer overnight to freshen them up.

Especially when it comes to textiles that are robust and easy to care for, such as cotton or terry cloth towels, it is quite safe to load your washing machine until it’s full; this will reduce the number of washes you do, which will be easier on both your wallet and our environment. To make sure your clothes still have enough space in the washing machine, you should be able to fit one of your fists in between the drum and the clothes.

Delicate materials made from wool, chic lingerie or light blouses, on the other hand, will need a little more space in the washing machine. However, if you’re using lower temperatures and lower spin speeds anyway, it is no less sustainable to wash these items in the washing machine; you can also use a wash bag to protect more delicate garments and make them last longer. This will also add a little sustainability to your wardrobe.

To make sure their clothes get a really deep clean, many people decide to wash their laundry at as high a temperature as possible, for example 60°C or even 95°C. However, unless your clothes are completely soiled or contaminated, such high temperatures are entirely unnecessary and are even bad for energy consumption, the environment and the fibres of your clothes. Even when washing underwear, especially fine lace bras or delicate briefs, you should not exceed 30°C. And don’t worry: even temperatures below 40°C are enough to ensure a deep clean for your clothes and underwear!

It should go without saying that the pre-wash cycle on our washing machines also increases energy and water consumption. In fact, for clothes with a normal degree of soiling, this cycle is completely unnecessary and should therefore be avoided in normal, day-to-day life. To restore heavily soiled, individual items to their former brilliance without pre-washing them, you can use a suitable pre-treatment method instead: you can treat individual stains with eco-friendly stain spray or gall soap, or prepare entire garments for the wash cycle using a mixture of water and citric acid or vinegar.

To minimise the concentration of chemicals in our waste water, you should never use more detergent than you really need. You can find out the right amount of detergent to use by checking the back of the packaging; since the amount will also depend on the hardness of the water in your area, it’s not possible to give any precise rules for this. But generally speaking, the softer the water, the less detergent you need.

Of course, washing clothes by hand can also use up a great deal of water. However, before you start up the washing machine for one or two pieces of clothing and rack up additional energy costs, you should know that hand-washing can be well worthwhile. You can easily wash individual items in the sink with warm water and a little detergent; home-made detergent also works very well for this. Simply leave the clothes to soak in the water for a short time, then knead them thoroughly for two to three minutes, then rinse them with cold water.

Nowadays, there’s a whole range of eco-friendly detergents available that do not contain most of the usual chemicals. Generally speaking, washing powder contains lower concentrations of surfactants and is therefore more environmentally friendly than liquid detergent or washing capsules. In addition, there are already colour and heavy-duty detergents available that do not contain polluting substances such as phosphates, petroleum, microplastics, dyes, perfumes, preservatives or optical brighteners. When shopping for detergents, you can also look out for green certification such as the ‘Blue Angel’ or the EU Ecolabel.

It is well known that fabric softeners are bad for the environment – and also don’t really improve cleaning performance – due to the softeners and perfumes they contain. Despite this, many of us would rather not go without soft, fresh-smelling clothes. However, if you want to protect the environment and wash your clothes in a more sustainable way, we recommend avoiding fabric softeners where possible, or reducing them as much as you can.

After washing your clothes, it’s time to dry them. To speed up this process and avoid taking up space in their homes with a clothesline, many people use a tumble dryer. Yet another electrical appliance that uses an enormous amount of energy and isn’t exactly sustainable. To protect the environment, it is therefore advisable to switch to the clothesline, especially for quick-drying laundry such as cotton, linen or towels.

Out in the fresh air, your clothes will dry in no time at all – if it’s sunny, they’ll often only need a few hours. If you really can’t avoid using a tumble dryer, be sure to look out for energy efficiency when buying a new one, just as you would when buying a washing machine.

If you want to make your laundry day 100% eco-friendly and sustainable, you can easily make your own detergent. For this recipe, you’ll need:

• 1 part grated hard soap

• 1.5 parts washing soda

• 5–6 parts boiling water

• Dishwasher salt and essential oils for a lovely scent

• Optional: 1.5 parts baking soda + 1.5 parts citric acid to make all-purpose detergent

Here’s how to prepare your own detergent:

1. Dissolve 1 part grated hard soap and 1.5 parts washing soda in 5–6 parts boiling water; to make all-purpose detergent, you can also add 1.5 parts baking soda and 1.5 parts citric acid. If you like, you can also choose to add a little dishwasher salt and essential oils for a nice scent.

2. If all the ingredients dissolve after boiling the mixture the first time, you can boil it again after one hour and then again after about 12 hours to optimise the consistency.

3. Now, you can add 150 to 200 ml of your home-made detergent to the machine – and make your future washes cheaper and more sustainable.

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