Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
If you rely on tv and magazine ads to get your information, you probably think that fabric softener is a must for properly laundering your clothes. This is a complete fabrication, or lie. Fabric softener is actually a dangerous poison that many people use several times a week for decades. It comes in liquid, powder or chemically laden dryer sheets. These chemicals add a tremendous burden to the already overworked detoxification organs. Over time, the liver becomes less able to neutralize these chemicals leading to an accumulation in the body and chronic illness.
The chemicals in fabric softener lodge themselves into the fibers of the clothing. These chemicals enter the body through skin that either touches or wears the clothing. Even worse, these chemicals constantly off gas fumes, entering the body through the nose and mouth of the person wearing the clothes and into people in the vicinity of the person wearing the clothing. Once inhaled, the chemicals have direct access to the bloodstream. You don’t even have to use fabric softener to be affected by someone else who uses it.
Many of the chemicals used in fabric softener can cause central nervous system damage, including:
. blurred vision
. disorientation
. dizziness
. headaches
. memory loss
. facial numbness
. neck and spine pain
. aphasia (inability to produce or comprehend language)
. Alzheimer’s
. ADD
. Stroke
. Parkinson’s
. Seizures
. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Fabric softener manufacturers are not required to list all of the chemicals on their product labels. Here is a list of some of the toxic chemicals often used and their side effects.
. Ethanol: central nervous system damage; on the EPA’s hazardous waste list
. Limonene: eye and skin irritation; respiratory distress; carcinogenic
. Benzyl Acetate: known involvement in pancreatic cancer; eye and lung irritation
. Camphor (synthetic): coughing, wheezing, respiratory tract damage; eye and skin irritation; stomach pain; nausea; mental confusion; headaches; seizures; kidney and nervous system damage; high exposure can lead to unconsciousness and death; on the hazardous substance list; regulated by OSHA
. Alpha-terpineol: Loss of muscle coordination; nerve damage; lung inflammation and damage; fatal edema; severe mucous membrane irritation
. Linalool: depressed heart function; central nervous system damage; respiratory distress that can lead to death
. Chloroform: nausea, vomiting; kidney and liver damage; central nervous system damage; respiratory distress; loss of consciousness; on the EPA’s hazardous waste list as carcinogenic; Material safety data sheet warns against breathing vapors, as inhalation can be fatal and also advises against exposing the substance to heat (fabric softener goes into the hot dryer)
. Pentane: eye irritation; nausea and vomiting; central nervous system damage; major respiratory damage; skin rash; Material safety data sheet warns against inhaling vapors as it may lead to unconsciousness
. Ethyl Acetate: eye and lung irritation; kidney and liver damage; anemia; it is a narcotic that can cause stupor; on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list
. Benzyl Alcohol: nausea and vomiting; lung irritation; central nervous system damage; respiratory failure that can lead to death
It is difficult to get fabric softener out of clothing. You will need to wash the clothing many times in soap and baking soda. It can be helpful to add a few drops of citrus or lavender essential oils to the wash water. Hang the clothes outside in the sunlight. While hanging outside, spray them several times with 3% hydrogen peroxide. It is necessary to repeat this process for more than a month to eliminate the fabric softener embedded in the clothes.
To eliminate static cling, add 1/4 cup of baking soda to the wash cycle or add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. It is very important not to use vinegar at the same time as bleach because this chemical combination causes the production of toxic fumes. Hanging clothes to dry outside also helps to reduce static cling.
Fabric softener is NOT a laundry necessity or even a luxury. It is a dangerous poison that can lead to chronic illness and in some rare cases, even death. There are safe substitutes for conventional fabric softener, so there is NO reason to ever use it.
If you want help detoxifying your body from years or decades of fabric softener use, come in for acupuncture. Acupuncture is a great way to ramp up your body’s detoxification abilities and help rid yourself of these dangerous chemicals.
For more household and lifestyle tips or to schedule online, visit my website at www.AcupunctureSolutionsOnline.com or call during regular office hours, (239) 260-4566.
Acupuncture & Natural Health Solutions
2355 Vanderbilt Beach Rd, Suite 146
Naples, FL 34109
