Laundry Disinfectant Comparison

No disinfectant is truly eco-friendly. Its one purpose is to destroy living organisms. Think of it as a very strong weed-killer. Since COVID, the use of disinfectants has increased. We use them more often in our washes because we think we need to, but do we really?

Eco-alternatives
For general washing, machine-wash clothes and linen at minimum 40° wash cycle with an eco laundry detergent. These already contain an oxygen bleach.

As laundry detergents specifically for colours do not contain any bleach, add an oxygen bleach like the ones by Biopuro, Sonett or Hakawerk.

Or, for thermal disinfection, machine-wash clothes and linen at 65° for 10 minutes. Always check the wash label first!

Peter Malaise has compared the laundry disinfectants by Hakawerk and by Sanytol. One bottle has the hazard symbol dangerous for aquatic life, the other doesn’t. However, they are equally bad for the environment. The difference is that one is probably just below thresholds to avoid negative labeling, whereas the other does not hide the dangers of using a laundry disinfectant.

HOW ARE PRODUCTS RATED?

Conventional product ratings take in account two parameters: price and performance. But at EYS we want to go the whole nine miles: we evaluate respect towards health and environment as well. That is what distinguishes a future proof product from an average one.

Fig 1: Comparison between Hakawerk laundry disinfectant and Sanytol laundry disinfectant

Green is OK
Orange means ‘should be improved’ OR information not readily available
Red is ‘not acceptable as a sustainable ingredient’
NOTE: Resorption is the breakdown of product components into harmless parts that aquatic life can feed on.

VIEW COMPLETE PRODUCT ANALYSIS

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