Monday, January 31, 2011

Green Laundry

Green laundry is an idea whose time has come and an idea that demands great attention.
The term Green Laundry is applied to a philosophy of textile care that focuses on reducing
the total environmental impact of traditional laundry operations.


Why is Green Laundry Important?

It is not commonly known, but textile care operations around the World consume an enormous
amount of water and energy every day. The textile care industry is one of the largest, perpetual
consumers of fresh, drinking water and energy on the Planet.


Textile care facilities also produce an enormous volume of wastewater every day. Wastewater from a typical laundry is loaded with Chlorine, alkali, acid, surfactant, soil, high BOD and COD and low to no DO. All of this means that typical laundry wastewater is harmful to the environment and to our limited fresh water supplies. A laundry built on green principles will not use the harsh mix of chemicals that produce all of these wastewater problems. A truly green laundry using a Water Energy Ozone Laundry System will actually produce wastewater with almost no chemical residues, low to no BOD and COD and a raised DO (Dissolved Oxygen) level.


In addition, textile care facilities produce a large volume of VOC’s, suspended particles and other undesirable airborne contaminants. Chemical residues in fabrics being processed in the dryers are iberated in the heat and discharged into the parking lot through the dryer vents. Many of these chemicals we know are toxic and some we don’t even know what they can do to us. Chlorine in tap water and bleach used in  traditional methods mixes with organic matter (body oils and fluids, food, etc) in the dirty linens to produce Trihalomethanes. A more common name for this class of contaminant is VOC’s or Volatile Organic Compounds.


These unhealthy compounds are released from all the washers and propelled from the dryers into the environment around most typical laundry facilities.


There are few household tasks that use up more water and energy than laundry, but all hope is not lost.  There are several environmentally friendly ways to do your laundry that will not only help the planet, but save you money as well.Manufacturers of many familiar products have had to alter their production methods to limit the amount of VOC’s their products release into the environment. Paint, glue, siding, plywood and other well known products have all been modified to limit human exposure to these undesirable pollutants.  





Undesirable airborne contaminants. Chemical residues in fabrics being processed in the dryers are liberated in the heat and discharged into the parking lot through the dryer vents. Many of these chemicals we know are toxic and some we don’t even know what they can do to us. Chlorine in tap water and bleach used in traditional methods mixes with organic matter (body oils and fluids, food, etc) in the dirty linens to produce Trihalomethanes. A more common name for this class of contaminant is VOC’s or Volatile Organic Compounds. 


These unhealthy compounds are released from all the washers & propelled from the dryers into the environment around most typical laundry facilities.