A clear indicator of an inferior laundry detergent is its inability to effectively clean your clothes, which is unsurprising. However, what truly categorizes a detergent as the worst is the presence of harsh and potentially toxic chemicals that should not regularly come into contact with your clothes or skin.

What Defines Low-Quality Laundry Detergents?

Providing an exhaustive list of every potentially hazardous ingredient found in laundry detergents would be a time-consuming task. Instead, let's focus on a selection of the most prevalent ingredients that can contribute to a product earning the label of the worst detergent.

Among the most concerning culprits are unsettling chemicals commonly present in items intended for your car, lawn care, or house painting. Yes, you might discover some of the same chemicals found in latex paints in the detergents used to launder your children's clothing. Are you beginning to shake your head in disbelief?

Another chemical that raises a red flag in laundry detergents is solvents. These substances appear in numerous laundry detergents as well as various health and beauty products. Recognizable chemical solvents include alcohol, ethanol, and acetone. Needless to say, you likely wouldn't want any product in this category consistently coming into contact with your or your child's skin throughout the day.

Artificial fragrances might not be favorable for good health either. However, in this case, there isn't a single ingredient, or even two, that can be specifically pinpointed. Reports from the International Fragrance Association reveal a total of 3,999 different substances have been utilized in fragrance compounds for laundry detergents and other products. Furthermore, these are ingredients that are not required to be listed on detergent packaging.

Laundry detergents containing artificial colors and preservatives can be classified among the least desirable options for regular use, as can those featuring harsh bleach or whiteners. The reason is that these compounds penetrate fabrics deeply, accumulate over time, and form a layer of persistent chemical residue that cannot be easily rinsed away. Even recently laundered clothing items may harbor unseen chemical buildup.

The Effects of Low-Quality Laundry Detergents on Clothing and Skin

Now that you're familiar with what defines laundry detergent culprits, it's crucial to understand why they earn the title of the worst. This is because the harsh chemicals they contain can frequently cause detrimental effects on both your skin and your clothes over time. These effects may include:

• Induce skin allergies, as well as respiratory problems and asthma
• Result in itchy, red, blotchy, or significantly irritated skin
• Lead to eye and lung irritation
• Trigger dermatitis or exacerbate pre-existing skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema
• Induce burning, pigmentation changes, and harm the skin's natural moisture barrier

Moreover, excessive use of bleaches and whiteners can lead to bleach-safe clothing turning yellow instead of remaining white. It's worth noting that bleach, regardless of the amount or frequency of use, can have detrimental effects on materials like nylon, silk, wool, and dyed fabrics.

While you may not intentionally apply laundry detergent directly to your skin, the harsh chemicals are prone to coming into contact with it nonetheless. This is because these chemicals linger in fabrics even after the wash cycle is completed. If you can still smell the soap or the laundry detergent after the items are out of the dryer, it indicates that there is still soap residue in the fabrics. This residue has the opportunity to permeate your skin, particularly if your clothing becomes wet due to sweat, sudden rainfall, or spills like milk or juice.

As laundry product companies are not obligated to disclose every detergent ingredient, you and your family may unknowingly be exposed to these harsh chemicals.

Choose Ozone Laundry with O3EcoLaundry

The safest option is to choose an ozone laundry system that differs from conventional washing products that contain chemicals. Ozone laundry utilizes the strong oxidation property of ozone to achieve a high degree of cleanliness while avoiding any irritation or damage to clothing and skin. So if you haven't made your decision, now is the time to try the Ozone Laundry System from O3EcoLaundry.