Freshly Laundered - Choose UnScented
"Please choose unscented laundry products"
Wearing perfumes in hospitals, waiting rooms, public transport, and most public places is DISCOURAGED, and our local medical clinic has put up a notice that asks patients visiting there to REFRAIN FROM WEARING PERFUMES.
Awareness of the reactions that many people have to PERFUMES and FRAGRANCES is a result of more and more people becoming "sensitised" to the chemicals in perfumes, soaps, deodorants, and yes, LAUNDRY PRODUCTS.
Unless you are choosing products such as Detergents and Dryer Sheets that specifically state that they are "UN-SCENTED", you will be purchasing these chemical fragrances and exposing others to them. It can be very helpful to gradually replace unhealthy products with healthy ones. There is little reason to use unsafe chemicals in laundry products when there are so many nontoxic alternatives that cost the same or only slightly more.
That freshly laundered smell in your clothes is mostly CHEMICALS.
The actual odour of freshly washed clothes is very faint and not noticeable from more than a few feet away, and lasts only a day or so. Any odour that is stronger than that is CHEMICAL , which is bothersome and offensive to many people.
In some cases, there are severe reactions to minor exposure to chemical fragrances. Over time and with repeated exposures, this reaction grows stronger and can become unbearable. Obviously, for now, there are more people who find these fragrances appealing than not, but a growing backlash to them is a result of awareness of the true nature of the fragrance.
It can be especially helpful to avoid unhealthy laundry soaps (where traces of the chemicals can be absorbed through the skin when wearing the clothes). Choose UNSCENTED, or ask at your local health food stores for laundry products made without fragrance.
We have been encouraged by the manufacturers to use these products with chemical fragrances. They do not warn us abnout the negative side to their products. Just because it is allowed for sale does not mean it cannot hurt us, that is an old misconception we all had at one time.
Manufacturers ARE NOT required to list the exact ingredients on a label
Chemical names are often disguised by using "trade names", so you may not recognize the chemical for what it truly is.
Other than scented laundry products, harmfull properties are found in:
Bleach , Chlorine - contain approximately 5% sodium hypochlorite solution. Chlorine bleach liquid and vapors are irritating to the skin, eyes, nose, and throat. Dermatitis may result from direct skin contact. Ingestion can cause esophageal injury, stomach irritation, and prolonged nausea and vomiting.
Instead, try - for household disinfecting, BORAX is an option. For bleaching clothes, oxygen (dry) bleaches work well, and liquid HYDROGEN PEROXIDE [H202] is a disinfectant and whitener [colours may fade or run].
Please keep a door open if you use BLEACH, get ventilation.
Fabric softener - Alkylcliethy, ammonium chloride, synthetic fragrances and detergents.
It can be harmful if a large amount is ingested.
Instead, you can use Vinegar and baking soda
Spot Remover - Sodium perborate, sodium hypocklorite, washing soda, chlorine. Poisonous to a child under 6. The fumes are bad for the lungs.
Instead, try - Water and a liquid dishwasher soap
Thank you from all persons with chemical sensitivities.
Chemical Illness:
Petroleum based chemicals can cause serious health problems over time. Research shows this can occur from exposure in the workplace - home and also from many consumer products.
Because of the time delay in exposure and symptom onset, as well as complexity of processes involved (individual liver enzyme detoxification efficiency - gradual attrition to neurological defenses, etc.), these illnesses are often overlooked, diagnosed incorrectly - or denied (by physicians representing the chemical or insurance industry).
Petroleum based chemicals are being found to cause significant attritional effects to the nervous system and immune system after prolonged exposure.
Illnesses identified in the medical research include adult and child cancers, numerous neurological disorders, immune system weakening, autoimmune disorders, asthma, allergies, infertility, miscarriage, and child behavior disorders including learning disabilities, mental retardation, hyperactivity and ADD (attention deficit disorders).
Petroleum based chemicals are believed to cause these problems by a variety of routes including - impairing proper DNA (Gene) expression, weakening DNA Repair, accelerating gene loss, degeneration of the body's detoxification defenses (liver and kidneys) as well as gradual weakening of the brain's primary defense - (the Blood Brain Barrier).
Identifying a specific chemical as the "original cause" of these health disorders is difficult and often overlooked as it typically requires years of exposure for the body's inherent defenses to weaken sufficiently to result in observable health problems.
THE RISE IN CHRONIC ILLNESSES IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN:
At the beginning of the 20th Century, the cancer incidence rate was about 1 in 50. Today 1 in 3 Americans are expected to suffer from cancer, and in the 21st Century the incidence is expected to reach 1 in 2.
Cancer is the number two killer of adults and is the number one cause of death from disease in children.
Since 1977, the rate of cancer among children has been rising at nearly one percent per year according to the National Cancer Institute. Central Nervous System disorders like Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis are rising annually. Birth defects are rising.
Over 150,000 babies are born with birth defects every year, the causes of which are unknown.
Annually there are over 500,000 early-term miscarriages, with another 24,000 late-term miscarried pregnancies and stillborns.
Asthma rates have tripled in the last twenty years, with 20 to 30 million Americans currently afflicted.
Childhood asthma has increased by more than 400% to 600% since 1980.
Did You Know?
There are more than 3 million poisonings every year.
Household cleaners are the #1 cause of poisonings in children.
Regular shampoos often contain formaldehyde as a preservative
Since 1980 asthma has increased by 600%
Common household products have been identified as triggers of asthma
A 15 year study found that women who worked at home had a 54% highter death rate from cancer than women who had jobs outside the home.
Manufacturers ARE NOT required to list the exact ingredients on a label
Chemical names are often disguised by using "trade names", so you may not recognize the chemical for what it truly is
A women's fertility has also been negatively affected by the increase use of chemicals. In 1934 only 21 cases of endometriosis existed in the entire world. Today over 5 million women have this condition.
What can you do?
There are many safe products on the market... all you have to do is change brands of products. Buy your products at a health food store, or order them from a reliable wellness company. Look for UNSCENTED products.
Jawg - from a note I put up in my laundromat.
PS
I encourage all to print off good info and leave it in public places. This is a our chance at a free press.