Ah, yes. It’s allergy season. There are many things to love about Spring, but allergies are not among them.
Don’t you just love Spring? There’s something wonderful about seeing blue sky and sunshine after enduring a cold, dreary winter. As I sat at the kitchen table drinking my morning coffee today, I noticed the crisp breeze coming through the windows, the vibrant colors of the tulips outside and the itchiness in my eyes. As I left the table and scurried to the bathroom in search of allergy pills, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea for us to broach the subject of hypoallergenic laundry products.
People with sensitive skin are often allergic to the dyes and fragrances in laundry products. It often takes just one wash in the wrong detergent to cause their skin to itch or break out in rashes. As luck would have it, grocery stores shelves have become inundated with “free and clear” laundry products over course of the last ten years or so. One might think the laundry products would be cheaper, since they’re missing all of those extra dyes and perfumes, but that’s not the case. They actually cost just as much as their regular counterparts, and sometimes a little more. What follows is a recipe for a homemade hypoallergenic laundry detergent, which will be kind to both your wallet as well as your skin.
Supplies Needed:
3 cups of baking soda
3 cups of washing soda (Arm & Hammer makes a good one, which is available in most grocery stores)
3 cups of finely grated Castile soap (it’s made from vegetable oils and bars of it are usually large)
3 cups of 20 Mule Team Borax
1 large plastic container with a tight-fitting lid
Directions:
Combine the above ingredients in the large plastic container. Put the lid on and shake the container, in order to mix the ingredients. Make sure the container is clearly marked in order to easily identify its contents. Use 1/2 cup of the detergent for each load of laundry or 3/4 to 1 cup for heavily soiled loads. You can always double or triple the ingredients to avoid having to mix the detergent as often.
Those of us who battle extreme cases of allergies will also benefit from buying hypoallergenic bed linens. Look for ones that are made of silk or bamboo, since both are naturally hypoallergenic.
If you’re too busy to do your own laundry, let alone make your own detergent, let us do it for you. Laundry Care is fast, affordable and offers quality service. Give us a call today and see why we’re quickly becoming one of the area’s busiest laundry services.