Washer and Dryer for the Chemically Sensitive

My dad and I are extremely chemically sensitive, and we really depend on washers and dryers. I often must put my clothes through the wash more than once to remove chemicals, so it seems like I am doing laundry very often. Furthermore, we must wash new clothes many times before we can wear them, so our washer gets a lot of use. For a chemically sensitive individual, a nice and dependable washer and dryer is a great blessing. I actually wish I had more than one washer! My dad and I both use Whirlpool Duet washers and dryers. They have been quite dependable and we have not had problems with them being too toxic. A few months ago we purchased a Whirlpool Duet dryer. At first it made me somewhat ill as it gassed off (perhaps solvents?). But it was a lot better after a week or two.

Washers

In this section I will compare a  top load washer with an agitator with a high efficiency front load washer.

Pros and cons of top load washing machine with agitator:

Pros:

• It uses more water, and seems to remove chemicals with fewer washings.
• Generally less expensive.

Cons:

• Sometimes quite loud/noisy.
• The agitator is hard on clothing, and clothing seems to wear out much faster than with a front load washer. This is an important consideration for chemically sensitive individuals who have a difficult time finding clothing they can tolerate.
• The agitator gets in the way when removing clean clothing. This is important because the agitator and sides of the top of the washer get chemicals on them when clothing is put into the washer. The agitator makes it difficult to pull out clean clothing without the clothing touching the agitator or the sides of the basket and getting chemicals on them. Therefore, the larger the opening on the washer through which clothing can be removed, the better.

Pros and cons of a high efficiency front load washer:

Pros:

• Gentle on clothing.
• Has a large opening through which clothing can be removed.
• Uses less water.
• Often quieter than washers with an agitator.

Cons:

• Generally more expensive.
• It may require a more washings to remove chemicals because it uses less water.

It may make sense to invest in a fairly nice washing machine that has extra features. For example the following features may be helpful for a person with chemical sensitivity:

• Super hot water. This may help to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other chemicals.
• Extra high spin speed. This feature removes more water from the clothing so the clothing does not need to be in the dryer or on the clothesline for as long.
• Extra long cycle. Our Whirlpool Duet washers have a cycle as long as nearly two hours. This is helpful if you want to wash the clothes for a long time but do not want to keep restarting the washer.

Dryers

I like dryers with a large capacity because they dry the clothes more quickly. I am sensitive to natural gas so we recently purchased an electric dryer and I am doing much better with the electric dryer. Natural gas makes me extremely tired and also triggers my arthritis symptoms.

Clotheslines

A clothesline is probably the ideal way to dry clothes for a chemically sensitive individual because the dryer makes clothing wear out more quickly than using a clothesline. However, if the neighbors use herbicides or other chemicals, using a clothesline may be a risky proposition as the airborne chemicals can contaminate the clothes. It is also beneficial to use a clothesline that you can wash. I purchased some copper wire and put it through the dishwasher, making sure to secure it so it wouldn't get tangled in the moving parts. The dishwasher removed any chemicals from the wire and it has worked well as a clothesline. I previously had purchased a clothesline made of plastic or synthetic material and I had to throw it away because I could not remove chemicals from it by putting it through the dishwasher.

The following posts related to laundry it may also be beneficial: Boiling clothing for the chemically sensitive, clothing for the chemically sensitive, laundry detergent for the chemically sensitive.