A Bluedot Guide to Laundry 

Many people prefer to avoid thinking about laundry altogether. Unfortunately, this mundane chore has an outsized environmental impact that demands attention. Washing and drying clothes accounts for about 8% of a home’s annual electricity use (and that doesn’t even include the energy needed to heat water!). Many laundry products contain ingredients, like plastic, that can harm our oceans, and the synthetic materials from our clothes shed tiny plastic particles during laundering, too. Our detergent itself may even contribute to microplastics accumulating in our waterways. In short, getting clothes clean comes with real environmental costs — which makes it all the more worthwhile to find smarter, lower-impact ways to do it.

Happily, you can easily make small changes to your laundry routine that have a positive impact on the planet and your wallet, as well as extending the life of your clothing. Read on for some of our top laundry tips and a list of our favorite products.   

Pre-Treatments and Stains

A good routine starts before you turn on the machine. Bluedot Living’s eco-advice columnist, Dot, has fielded many reader questions about laundry over the years, and has learned that many of the best stain fighters are simple ingredients you probably already have at home. Whatever you use to treat stains, it’s always a good idea to do a spot test first. 

The Laundry Evangelist, also known as Patric Richardson, recommends white vinegar for many tough stains. “I love vinegar for pretreating,” he told Bluedot, adding that he prefers it to lemon juice because “it’s just so much cheaper, and it’s so readily available, and so many people have it.”

For odor-logged garments, Richardson suggests rubbing a paste of baking soda and water into the fabric before washing. For oil stains, dry baking soda can help absorb grease before laundering. Foam shaving cream can work on tomato, coffee, mustard, makeup, and even vomit stains.

For brighter whites, Richardson recommends pre-treating with vinegar. Soak whites in a mixture of one part distilled white vinegar to six parts water for several hours or overnight. Just don’t add that vinegar to the machine: It breaks down the cleaning compounds in the detergent. Adding a half-cup of lemon juice to a machine full of whites, however, is a useful whitening treatment, especially when you dry clothes outside. “The lemon juice reacts with the sunlight to enhance bleaching power,” he says. 

Even so, Dot warns: “Don’t expect planet-friendly laundry detergents to produce the same blinding white clean that some conventional detergents do. That Woah! White! is thanks to what folks in the biz call optical brighteners, which don’t actually make clothes cleaner — they just cast a blueish tinge rather than a yellowish one, making clothes appear cleaner.” Those blueing agents, she adds, are neither “biodegradable nor healthy for our waterways or their residents.”  

Washing

Cold Water Does More Than Save Energy

Washing in cold water is one of the easiest ways to make laundry less resource-intensive. It reduces the energy required for each load, and can dramatically reduce microfiber shedding from synthetic textiles. Shorter wash cycles also help reduce microfiber shedding, as do filters designed to capture microplastics before they are released. 

More Detergent Is Not Better

Using too much detergent sounds like a minor mistake, but it can actually make clothes look worse (and you’re pouring money down the drain!). Richardson explains that excess detergent can leave residue behind, especially in modern machines that use less water. Detergent contains surfactants, compounds that lift dirt away from fabric and into the wash water. But if there is too much detergent in the drum, the machine may not be able to flush all of that residue away.

The leftover residue “resettles back into your clothes,” which can leave whites in particular looking dingy rather than bright. He is especially critical of pods, saying, “There’s enough detergent in pods to do like five loads of laundry.” He advises choosing powders or liquids and customizing the amount to the load size.

Clean the Machine, Too

A washing machine needs some maintenance to keep it running its best. Fortunately, that maintenance is easy. To prevent mildew and remove any built-up product, put white vinegar in the machine and run a wash cycle on hot. Use up to four cups of vinegar on large machines; half as much should suffice for smaller ones. Depending on how much laundry you do, you may want to clean the machine in this way once a month or once a season. It doesn’t take long and can help extend the life of your washer. And, always leave the door of the washing machine open after running a load to allow the drum to dry out and prevent mold.

Drying

Dryers are among the most energy-intensive appliances in the home, and they can be surprisingly hard on clothing. Prolonged agitation and heat (from drying as well as washing) weaken synthetic fibers, increasing shedding. Those microplastics escape through your dryer’s vent, as well as the wash water. 

To extend the lifespan of your clothes and reduce microplastic shedding, wait to do laundry until you have a full load. Per Dot: “The more clothes, the less friction, the fewer microfibers released.” Set the heat on your dryer to low. Take advantage of sensor drying so the machine stops when clothes are dry. Clean the lint trap after every load to keep your machine running efficiently (and reduce the risk of fire). If you dried a load of natural, plastic-free clothing, you can drop that lint in your compost bin.

Timing also matters. Running laundry during off-peak hours can reduce strain on the grid and lower emissions tied to electricity demand. As former Bluedotter Lianne Bobochenko reports in How to Trim Your Energy Bill, energy is often cleaner when demand is lower, because utilities rely less on fossil fuel “peaker” plants. Many machines now offer delay-start settings, which make it easy to shift laundry to evenings or overnight.

Air drying — whether on a rack or a line — eliminates that energy use entirely while also helping fabrics last longer. 

Microplastics and the Complicated Question of PVA

What’s in Laundry Pods and Sheets? 

Traditionally, laundry detergent came as a powder or liquid. In 2012, Proctor & Gamble released the first Tide Pods, and the easy-to-use format gained popularity. By the late 2010s, lightweight laundry sheets packaged in slender cardboard envelopes emerged. Both products rely on a water-soluble polymer called polyvinyl alcohol to hold their unusual shapes. 

Polyvinyl alcohol, also called PVA or PVOH, is a synthetic, petroleum-based polymer. Because it dissolves in water, many consumers assume it disappears harmlessly. The reality is less clear. 

Understanding Polyvinyl Alcohol  

A 2021 study published in The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health considered the environmental impact of PVA. The authors of Degradation of Polyvinyl Alcohol in U.S. Wastewater Treatment Plants and Subsequent Nationwide Emission Estimate conclude that about 12,2000 to 22,200 metric tons of PVAs are used and degraded in U.S. wastewater each year. Some goes directly into waterways, while some goes through wastewater treatment plants. The majority of that PVA remains as either water or sludge, and may be released into the environment, applied to land, incinerated, or placed in landfills. (Check out this helpful diagram depicting PVA usage and emissions in the United States.)

The researchers state that PVA “is a threat to the ecosystem” as it can carry or release heavy metals and other water-soluble pollutants. At the same time, there is disagreement about how to interpret those findings. 

PVA and Public Policy

In late 2022, organizations including the non-profit Plastic Pollution Coalition petitioned the EPA to study and regulate PVA, arguing that “when you toss a laundry pod into your washing machine, the plastic doesn’t disappear, it just breaks up into tiny plastic particles.” Blueland, a company that makes minimally packaged cleaning concentrates we like, joined the PPC in that petition. (Blueland also contributed funding to the study shared above.) The EPA declined that petition in 2023; its organizers say they will file a “#podsareplastic” rebuttal.

The debate has started to move beyond academic circles. In 2024, a New York City Council member introduced a bill that would have banned the sale of laundry and dish pods and sheets containing PVA. The legislation did not pass, but it drew national attention to the issue. NYC-based Blueland supported the bill, while major cleaning product manufacturers opposed it.  Trade publication Packaging Dive reported that the American Cleaning Institute — whose members include Clorox, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble — argued that these materials “dissolve completely” and do not contribute to pollution or contaminate recycling streams.

More Nuance

Even among sustainability-focused voices, there is no simple consensus. Bluedot contributor Jim Miller, who looked into the issue, notes that “there’s a lack of good information on the ‘environmental fate’ and toxicity of these water-soluble plastics.” In other words, the science is still evolving.

Miller noted two positives to the detergents made by companies that use PVA and market their products as environmentally friendly. As examples, the pods made by Dropps and the sheets made by EarthBreeze use non-toxic ingredients that are better for wildlife and waterways than the ingredients in conventional formulas.

Pods and sheets are lighter and more compact than traditional liquid detergents, which reduces emissions from shipping. Sheets in particular eliminate bulky plastic jugs, cutting down on visible household waste. 

Faced with this mix of incomplete data, competing claims, and real trade-offs, Bluedot has taken a cautious stance. Marketplace editor Elizabeth Weinstein chose to stop recommending products that contain polyvinyl alcohol. “I wish we knew more about the long term effects of PVA,” she says. “But given the information that we do have, I’m not comfortable recommending items that may turn out to be directing microplastics into our waterways — especially when effective, truly plastic-free products exist.”

Low-Impact Laundry Habits That Don’t Cost a Thing  

• Wash clothes only when they are actually dirty or odorous.
• Wait for full loads to reduce friction between garments.
• Use cold water to cut energy use and reduce microfiber shedding.
• Don’t overuse detergent: it can actually cause whites to yellow. 
• Clean your washing machine periodically. 
• Air dry when possible, or use low heat in the dryer.
• Save energy and extend the life of clothing by turning on your dryer’s sensor.
• Clean the lint trap after every load.
• Run laundry during off-peak hours when possible.
• Deep-clean your dryer vent periodically.

Our Favorite Laundry Products

Dirty Labs Bio Laundry Detergent and Enzyme Booster

Dirty Labs makes a highly concentrated detergent that uses bio-based enzymes to break down stains at a molecular level. A 21.6-ounce bottle can handle up to 80 loads, which significantly reduces packaging compared with conventional detergents. The formula is biodegradable and non-toxic, and the fragrance-free version is both Environmental Working Group Verified and recognized by the National Eczema Association. Dirty Labs also offers two sophisticated scents, in addition to a hand-washing formula and a powder enzyme booster.  

Cora Ball

The Cora Ball is designed to reduce microfiber pollution by catching fibers shed from synthetic fabrics during washing. Third-party testing suggests it can reduce microfiber release by about 31%. It works in any washing machine and requires no installation. While it does not eliminate the problem entirely, it offers a simple way to reduce the amount of plastic entering waterways with each load.

Friendsheep Wool Dryer Balls

Dryer balls are a reusable alternative to disposable dryer sheets, which often contain unnecessary chemicals and create waste. Friendsheep’s wool dryer balls reduce static, can shorten drying time, and soften fabrics naturally. The company is Fair Trade certified and Leaping Bunny certified, and it plants a tree for every purchase. The hand-tufted balls come in colors and patterns so charming, they almost make laundry feel like less of a chore. 

Pennsylvania Woodworks Drying Racks

Air drying is one of the simplest ways to cut energy use, and Pennsylvania Woodworks makes it easier to do at home. The company’s handcrafted wooden drying racks are built in the United States using solid hardwood, offering a durable and plastic-free alternative to flimsy metal options. Designed to fold flat when not in use, they help save space while extending the life of clothing by reducing heat damage from dryers.

Organic Mesh Laundry Bag

Most laundry bags are made from polyester, which can shed additional microplastics into the wash. These organic mesh laundry bags offer a natural-fiber alternative for protecting delicate items in the wash, and help keep items organized without introducing plastics.