Bubby and Bean ::: Living Creatively: 7 Tips For Eco-Friendly Laundry

This post is in partnership with Samsung, but all opinions are my own.

If you've been reading here for a while, you know that living an eco-conscious lifestyle is extremely important to me. (If you're a new reader, here is my very abbreviated background: I grew up with eco-activist parents, I was president of my high school eco club, I interned for an environmental organization throughout college, I ran an eco-friendly clothing label for 15 years, and now I make it a priority to teach my kids concrete ways to respect and help the earth.) I've shared a lot of tips over the years for ways to be more sustainable in our daily lives, but I recently realized that I'd never shared one of the easiest ways to make earth-friendly choices at home: through our laundry. Today I'm sharing 10 tips for making an eco-difference, right in your laundry room.

1. Use eco-friendly laundry detergent.

Most commercial laundry detergents contain harsh chemicals like dyes, phosphates, and chlorine. In addition to their potential to irritate skin, they can be harmful to the environment. Thankfully, there are quite a few options for eco-friendly detergents today, and you can find them at most stores and/or online. Look for unscented and "free" detergents without dyes or toxins.

2. Choose an eco-friendly washer and dryer.

This is the most important tip! When we moved into our current home a couple of years ago, we quickly realized that neither the washer or dryer were working properly. We did a lot of shopping around, and ended up purchasing a Samsung AddWash™ Front-Load Washer and Samsung 7.5-cu Gas Dryer. They are genuinely our favorite appliances we've ever owned, and we have been absolutely thrilled with how well they work. And their eco-friendly features make them truly stand out.

First of all, ENERGY STAR certified washers use about 25% less energy and 45% less water than regular washers. (Front loading washers in general also use less water and are more eco-friendly than top loaders.) ENERGY STAR certified dryers use about 20% less energy than regular dryers. Our Samsung Home Appliances washer and dryer are both ENERGY STAR certified. Samsung AddWash™ Front Loader Washers like ours also feature energy-efficient motors, and have special eco-friendly technology that dissolves detergent even at low temperatures, allowing it to quickly penetrate fabrics while saving energy. Their size makes it possible to do large loads at once, saving both water and energy. And the AddWash™ door is a game changer - it allows us to throw in forgotten pieces of laundry during a cycle, so we can reduce our water and energy consumption by avoiding the need to do an additional load. We also love our Samsung 7.5-cu Gas Dryer's vent sensor, which detects duct blockages and reminds us to clean our vent, ensuring our clothes get dry more quickly, which results in less energy usage. It has Eco Normal and Eco Dry settings as well.

3. Try dryer balls.

We used conventional dryer sheets for years, until I realized how many harsh chemicals they contain. I decided to try reusable dryer balls instead, and was considerably impressed at how well they work to soften clothes and reduce wrinkles. You can even add essential oils to the wool ones if you like your laundry to have a scent. And if you prefer dryer sheets or liquid fabric softener, there are earth-friendly options out there for those too.

4. Do full loads

There are plenty of times that my husband and I just want to get caught up on laundry and the temptation sets in to do a small load, but the best way to do laundry in an eco-conscious manner is to do large loads at once in effort to be less wasteful with water and energy. This is yet another reason I love our Samsung AddWash™ Front-Load Washer and Samsung 7.5-cu Gas Dryer. Their sizes allow for us to do large loads at once, and the AddWash™ door on the washer allows us to quickly add more laundry if we discover a few more pieces we need washed after a cycle has already started.

5. Use non-chlorine bleach

Bleach works for removing tough stains from whites, but it's not good for the environment. There are many more earth-conscious products available, usually advertised as non-chlorine bleach. I have found that lemon juice actually works really well too.

6. Steam those stains.

Pre-treating and stain remover products are usually filled with harsh chemicals that aren't earth friendly. Steaming is a great way to remove stains without any chemicals at all! This is another feature I love about my a Samsung AddWash™ Front-Load Washer - it uses the eco-friendly power of steam to remove stains. And it releases steam from the bottom of the laundry tub (most washers release from the top), which allows every item in the load to get saturated

7. Wash clothes in cold water.
I choose the warm and hot water options on my a Samsung AddWash™ Front-Load Washer. when necessary, but the majority of the time I choose cold. (It even has an "Eco Cold" water setting!) Most of the energy used by washing machines is to heat water, so when you opt for cold, you're simply using less. (Cold water helps colors stay bold and bright too!)