The Truth About Fabric Softeners
A Taylor & Francis Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Anderson laboratory study revealed that 5 common fabric softeners had airborne emissions of 6 toxic chemicals that are commonly associated with acute respiratory irritations and inflammation.
Fabric softeners are made to stay in cloth fabric for slow release over a long period of time. This slow release into the air affects those wearing the clothes and people around them. The softeners leave an oil coating on clothes; the oil builds up on fibers and reduces the absorbent properties of the fabric (repels water).
The oils leave a sticky residue on dryer components like heat sensors that result in burn out of the sensor and reduced heat production. The sticky residue also collects on the drum and moisture sensors.
The residue oils that are transferred from the fabric softeners and dryer sheets to fabrics are flammable and take away the retardant properties of baby cloths.
The Toxic Dangers of Fabric Softeners and Dryer Sheets
Many people will remember a famous TV ad where a woman races to her washing machine, fabric softener in hand, only to arrive just as the wash ends. This woman who "forgot to ad the fabric softener" was actually doing herself and her family a favour.
Although they may make your clothes feel soft and smell fresh, fabric softeners and dryer sheets are some of the most toxic products around. Chances are that the staggering 99.8% of Americans who use common commercial detergents, fabric softeners, bleaches, and stain removers would think twice if they knew they contained chemicals that could cause cancer and brain damage.
Here is a list of just some of the chemicals found in fabric softeners and dryer sheets:
So how could products with pretty names like Soft Ocean Mist, Summer Orchard and April Fresh be so dangerous?
The chemicals in fabric softeners are pungent and strong smelling -- so strong that they require the use of these heavy fragrances (think 50 times as much fragrance) just to cover up the smells. Furthermore, synthetic fabrics, which are the reason fabric softeners were created in the first place, do not smell good either when heated in a dryer or heated by our bodies ... hence the need for even more hefty fragrances.
In other words, remove all the added fragrance that endears people to fabric softeners and -- like the cliché wolf in sheep's clothing -- the real smells of the chemical-laced fabric softener and the synthetic fabrics they were designed around may prompt people to shoot their laundry machines and be done with it.
Are "Soft" Clothes Worth It?
Fabric softeners are made to stay in your clothing for long periods of time. As such, chemicals are slowly released either into the air for you to inhale or onto your skin for you to absorb. Dryer sheets are particularly noxious because they are heated in the dryer and the chemicals are released through dryer vents and out into the environment. Health effects from being exposed to the chemicals in fabric softeners include:
