How clean are your clothes really.....

     I love freshly washed clothes.  I especially love freshly washed towels, still warm from the dryer.  I would even wash my sheets every single day just for that crisp clean feel if I didn't so loathe changing them.  But is clean really clean?  Just because a product promises to get the stain out and is full of the freshest of fresh fragrances does not mean your favorite tshirt is clean.  My favorite tshirt is white, plain and comfortable as long as she is washed correctly.  You see we've had a long journey, me and my favorite white tshirt.  It started the day I introduced her to Tide.  She'd gotten a little grungy along the day and what better way than a rinse with Tide to get her sparkling clean.  Off she went with the white towels and white socks into the washing machine.  A wash and rinse cycle later, she was back in business.  However, the minute I put my shirt on, my body was a walking allergic reaction.  The culprit: Tide.

     From then on I have tried everything from baby detergent to various detergents that claim to be free and clear.  As I learned more and more about all the harsh chemicals and hormone disruptors in laundry detergent, it became more and more obvious why I wasn't able to tolerate so many detergents.  I even found one brand at Whole Foods that came in a recycled container and promised to be free of dyes and fragrances.  And yet, when I got home and opened the back of the container (they have sneakily written all the ingredients inside a flap that you have to open...looks a little creepy doing that at the grocery store), sodium lauryl sulfate (a cancer-causing chemical) was one of the first ingredients.  Plus, I have learned that free and clear frequently means that the manufacturers use more chemicals to cover up the fragrances and colors in their detergents.  Makes you think twice about that detergent with the baby on the bottle, doesn't it?  I recently found NaturOli products online which uses soapnuts and a couple other natural products to clean, but I haven't tried it.  For now I am just using 1 to 2 Tablespoons of Branch Basics to clean my clothes, but constantly on the search for a truly clean detergent.  Is your favorite tshirt really clean?