Green tip: Lose the beef-fat dryer sheets
October 23rd, 2009, 1:01 pm · 4 Comments · posted by William Diepenbrock, Editor
There’s a dirty little secret hanging out with your clean clothes. Do you know what it is in many dryer sheets that makes your clothes soft? Beef fat (aka tallow) … like from a dead cow. Yuck. When I learned this, I thought there has to be a better way to get my clothes soft … and there is:
Veggie Dryer Sheets: Some companies have come out with “tallow free” dryer sheets that use plant derived softeners instead. Method is one such company, and their Squeaky Green Dryer Clothes do the trick. They come in unscented, and also cool scents like French lavender. One thing I like about Method products is that they are readily available at stores like Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and even Home Depot. So there are no excuses.
Dryer Balls: You know those spiky blue balls you’ve seen advertized on TV that you can put in the dryer? I’ve been using these for a couple years now, and I love them. Dryer balls lift and separate the laundry, increasing the airflow and cutting the drying time by as much as 25 percent — that saves energy.
The balls also massage the fabric, which results in less lint and fewer wrinkles, softer clothes, and more absorbent towels. However, I’ve recently learned that the blue balls contain PVC (Polyvinyl chloride –- really bad stuff for people and the planet). So now there are some more eco-friendly versions of the same thing.
Nellie’s now offers a PVC-free version of dryer balls – spiky green balls. These even have the option of inserting a fragrance stick if you want. Another cool option is handmade wool dryer balls that you can get through at wooldryerballs.com. And if you’re feeling crafty, you can even make your own wool dryer balls. Check out this site for the DIY instructions on wool dryer balls.
The bottom line is, dryer balls of any kind, last for several years – and that saves a heck of a lot of energy, dryer sheets, packaging… and of course, cows.
Today’s Green Living tip comes from Pamela Sterling, owner of Laguna Green, Southern California’s first exclusively green kitchen and bath showroom, located in Laguna Beach, California. Pam is passionate educator, a talented designer, and an inspirational speaker on all things green.
(Image from Method Web site.)
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I happen to like tallow.
That’s very funny. In fact, tallow has a long and illustrious history of a highly useful nature. I was reading to my 6-year-old just last night how children in the 1870s used beef tallow to keep their leather shoes supple. And tallow candles were a staple.
I’m also convinced McDonald’s use of beef tallow was why its fries rocked, until they changed it.
On the other hand, those fries are still quite tasty, and if you can do the same thing for dryer sheets with a vegetable product, why not go for it?
Curoiously, Wikipedia notes that beef tallow is an ingredient in a biodegradable motor oil being sold by a company in Connecticut. So maybe if there’s less in dryer sheets, there will be more for that.
Great post! I bought my wool dryer balls from http://www.wooldryerballs.com too and they really do work as stated. Mine are a year old and still going strong!
“Like….a dead cow….yuck.”
What are you, 14?
Now that I, too, have learned this, my response is: “I could care less.”
Ever eat jello?