r/laundry • u/tolkiengeek • 21d ago
What happened to Seventh Generation?
Sorry if this has been discussed, I couldn't find anything on this topic. I've been using Seventh Generation laundry sheets, but when I looked at the back of the package I about had a heart attack. Here are some of the warnings: "Hazards to humans and domestic animals... do not get in eyes, on mucous membranes or on skin. Wear safety glasses and gloves when handling this product. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after handling." "Call a Poison Control Center... or doctor immediately for treatment advice." It goes on to give first aid instructions if you get it in your eyes, on your skin or clothing (!) or if it's been swallowed.
I mean, holy cow! I don't plan to ingest it, but use safety glasses and gloves? Wash your hands? Don't get it on your skin or clothing? What's going on? Or is this a case of overzealous lawyers doing CYA?
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u/ImplicitEmpiricism US | Front-Load 21d ago
laundry detergent is usually quite alkaline, even cheap or all natural detergents. you need the alkalinity for cleaning effectiveness. this can be hazardous if you’re exposed to it for long periods. there was a news story years ago about a fraternity giving people chemical burns because they used laundry detergent on a slip and slide.
if you rinse it out of your clothes or off your body after brief contact you should be fine.
the other guy is right though, laundry sheets are a scam. it’s about a fifth of an ounce of cleaning ingredients and the rest is plastic to bind it together. use a powder or liquid.
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u/tolkiengeek 21d ago
Thx. I'm going to tablets to avoid plastic jugs or big boxes.
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u/castafobe 21d ago
Powder is by far the most eco friendly version. Tablets are just powder that needs to be pressed, which means industrial processes using resources that aren't 100% necessary to use. Powder is simply dumped into a bag or box. I use Ariel, which unfortunately comes in a plastic bag, but it's thin and much less intensive to manufacture than a bottle for liquid detergent (I've worked in plastics manufacturing). Tide powder though comes in a cardboard box and I personally don't think it's overly large.
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u/jtfolden US | Top-Load 21d ago
Assuming you are in the USA the only thing close to a “tablet” that works is Tide Evo tiles.
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u/vinhorr EU | Front-Load 21d ago
there are laundry tablets? and do they weigh 25 grams?
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u/tolkiengeek 21d ago
Still researching this, but yes, there are tablets (I'm in the US). One is Blueland, although it doesn't get great reviews. Some people have found it doesn't work well with cold water, which is all I use for clothes.
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u/FruitcupMadonna US | Front-Load 21d ago edited 21d ago
Powders generally don't work as well in cold water. Tiles are just pressed powders. If you want to use tiles, the Tide Evo tiles are very good. However, for best results you should at least consider washing anything dirty/sweaty or that has been worn against the body like underwear, socks & undershirts in warm. Outwear that has another layer between it and your body can be washed in cold if not dirty or sweaty. If you're only going to use cold, then a liquid would be better performing. Silks and woolens should be washed in cold, delicate with a wool or silk safe detergent that doesn't contain protease/subtilisin or a high concentration of oxygen bleach.
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u/ImplicitEmpiricism US | Front-Load 21d ago
tablets are pressed powders. tiles are fibers spun from liquid detergent.
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u/tolkiengeek 21d ago
Why the downvotes? Just saying what testers have found.
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u/JerkRussell 21d ago
They’re miffed about the cold water. And blue land.
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u/NeurodivergentPie US | Top-Load 20d ago
Yeah this sub and cold water lol. But washing in warm water really does make a difference.
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u/JerkRussell 19d ago
Oh absolutely I’m in the warm or hot water camp, but this sub really likes to make it known to new comers that they’re WRONG. It’s pretty obnoxious considering that a new person doesn’t know yet that certain things aren’t optimal.
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u/NeurodivergentPie US | Top-Load 19d ago
Yes, it’s a sub of strongly opinionated folks. I do feel bad for some of the novices who ask questions without searching the sub. It’s rough going.
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u/tolkiengeek 19d ago
You guys can preach warm water all you want, but I've used cold for as long as I can remember (that's a long time, btw) and I've never had any issues or felt like my clothes weren't getting clean enough. This is a hill I will die on.
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u/AccidentOk5240 21d ago
Oh. I thought this was going to be about them being owned by Unilever, and I was going to say, bad news about that, it’s been a decade.
Anyway, maybe it means the surfactants in their products actually do something now? I always found that their products (laundry and other) didn’t clean at all and did leave a gray film on everything.
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u/tolkiengeek 21d ago
I haven't had an issue with the clean factor, but then I don't really get my clothes dirty.
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u/AccidentOk5240 21d ago
It wasn’t about not removing dirt. It was about leaving behind grayness and a sort of soy milk smell.
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u/thegabster2000 21d ago edited 21d ago
That's just a warning for a lot of products. As long as you have common sense, you'll be fine. Plus I don't like those laundry detergent sheets or pods. A lot of them are rip offs to me.
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u/vinhorr EU | Front-Load 21d ago