Talk:Fabric softener

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I have a question. I have a friend who adds liquid fabric softener to her bath water as a skin softener. She is a diabetic and I am wondering is she putting her health at risk? (malisa101664)Malisa101664 (talk) 16:33, 4 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Safety of fabric softener used in bath water? malisa101664

No Downy site? Dang, I'm going to have to write that one. uriah923(talk) 18:54, 21 November 2005 (UTC)
 * Do it, please. And if you can, include its chemical composition, if it is written on the bottle or known to you other way. --Shaddack 19:47, 21 November 2005 (UTC)


 * My wife uses Both liquid and dryer sheets, or she will put it in with the soap at the begining while it is filling up with water. Why should she or why should she not?
 * how does it work? 17:09 10 Jun 2006

I assume it works by adsorbing to the surfaces of the fibres and creating a mildy charged surface which causes adjacent fibres to repel each other. This means that static cling is reduced and the cloth has a more spongy, soft feel to it. This would work best by adding at the end of the wash as their is less chance of the material becoming desorbed by subsequent washing and detergent action. Don't know about dryer sheets. Again I'm only assuming, but I would imagine they contain a volatile surfactant type material that vapourises in the dryer and therefore is able to adsorb to the fibre surfaces as they tumble around in the dryer. Probably no point in using both liquid and dryer sheets.

I cannot see how vinegar would function as a fabric softener. The only thing it may do is remove a small amount of "hardness" from water by reacting with dissolved alkaline materials in the water. This may make the detergent work a little better, but I can't see how it would have the same effect as a first-intention fabric softener.SimonUK 11:11, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Health Risk Update
Would you rather die from the chemicals in fabric softener? I would prefer to use vinegar and/or baking soda (no bleach mixed with vinegar because it makes toxic fumes) as an alternative to absorbing the chemicals I have listed at the bottom of this page under Health Effects. musephil2006  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Musephil2006 (talk • contribs) 18:50, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Please present at least one case where someone has actually died from using fabric softner 70.119.99.200 (talk) 03:40, 24 July 2009 (UTC)

It's well known fact that any chemical with a complex, difficult-to-pronounce name is always more dangerous than something simple-sounding like good ol' natural vinegar. I drink a pint of vinegar daily to keep my pipes clean. It did dissolve my teeth over the years but my dentures rule, and my britches are baby-soft. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.90.48.26 (talk) 03:50, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

Poor Sourcing
The source cited for the "Risks" section (http://www.ourlittleplace.com/notice.html) seems pretty poor. It's a personal home page, and many of the conclusions that it makes seems spurious or unsubstantiated. I didn't remove any of the material, but if there aren't any better links, there's a lot of basically un-sourced content in that first paragraph. -Kadin2048 02:52, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Added the and  tags. --Jtalledo (talk) 00:40, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Risk Page
I have seen reference to the risk page, but am unable to find it. Was it taken out? --Jdjkz 19:31, 1 December 2007 (UTC)


 * I'd say whoever put up the Risks section never verified their information with reliable sources. Well, how about these two pages? I'd say those look like more reliable sources. Anybody think so that might put up a section about this? YAOMTC (talk) 16:33, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Please see the Health Effects page below now, there are chemicals cited. Please also see the section below called "Several websites citing the dangers of fabric softener". musephil2006

Health effects
Here are 5 chemicals that are present in fabric softener and their effects:

BENZYL ACETATE:

(in: perfume, cologne, shampoo, fabric softener, stickup air freshener, dishwashing liquid and detergent,soap, hairspray, bleach, after shave, deodorants) - Carcinogenic (linked to pancreatic cancer); "From vapors: irritating to eyes and respiratory passages, exciting cough." "In mice: hyperaemia of the lungs." "Can be absorbed through the skin causing systemic effects." "Do not flush to sewer."

BENZYL ALCOHOL

(in: perfume, cologne, soap, shampoo, nail enamel remover, air freshener, laundry bleach and detergent, Vaseline lotion, deodorants, fabric softener) - "irritating to the upper respiratory tract" ... "headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drop in blood pressure, CNS depression, and death in severe cases due to respiratory failure."

ETHANOL

(in: perfume, hairspray, shampoo, fabric softener, dishwashing liquid and detergent, laundry detergent, shaving cream, soap, Vaseline lotion, air fresheners, nail color and remover, paint and varnish remover) - On EPA Hazardous Waste list; symptoms: "...fatigue; irritating to eyes and upper respiratory tract even in low concentrations..." "Inhalation of ethanol vapors can have effects similar to those characteristic of ingestion. These include an initial stimulatory effect followed by drowsiness, impaired vision, ataxia, stupor..." Causes CNS disorder. [Note: this refers to denatured ethanol, which is commonly used in the cosmetic industry, not to drinking alcohol.]

LIMONENE

(in: perfume, cologne, disinfectant spray, bar soap, shaving cream, deodorants, nail color and remover, fabric softener, dishwashing liquid, air fresheners, after shave, bleach, paint and varnish remover) - Carcinogenic. "Prevent its contact with skin or eyes because it is an irritant and sensitizer." "Always wash thoroughly after using this material and before eating, drinking, ...applying cosmetics. Do not inhale limonene vapor."

LINALOOL

(in: perfume, cologne, bar soap, shampoo, hand lotion, nail enamel remover, hairspray, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, Vaseline lotion, air fresheners, bleach powder, fabric softener, shaving cream, after shave, solid deodorant) - Narcotic. ..."respiratory disturbances" ... "Attracts bees." "In animal tests: ataxic gait, reduced spontaneous motor activity and depression ... development of respiratory disturbances leading to death." ..."depressed frog-heart activity." Causes CNS disorder.

musephil2006

Several websites citing the dangers of fabric softener:
www.naturalnews.com/002693.html

http://www.ourlittleplace.com/notice.html

http://www.life.ca/nl/110/softener.html

http://www.ghchealth.com/forum/post-325.html

http://www.cyberpet.com/cyberdog/articles/health/softner.htm

http://www.cleanyourhomewithoutchemicals.com/FabricSofteners.htm

== This website specifically tells what chemicals are in what products, including fabric softener, perfumes, shampoo, etc: ==

http://www.immuneweb.org/articles/perfume.html

musephil2006


 * Every single one of these sites uses the buzzwords "toxic" and "chemicals". It's very TOXIC! It has so many CHEMICALS! Yeah, so does breakfast cereal. What exactly does that mean, though? I'd like a citation to a proper encyclopedic or scientific article that is unbiased on the matter... 24.150.164.214 (talk) 14:23, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

I looked at just one link (life.ca) at it lists chemicals in fabric softener with explanations as to why they are toxic. for example "Limonene: A known carcinogen, as well as an eye and skin irritant and sensitizer." thats just one of eight. Thats legit science, not buzzword nonsense. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.158.218.101 (talk) 23:52, 9 October 2016 (UTC)

Cleanup?
This article contains some good starting info for the beginning of an article. Should it be cleaned up? What is the right format for an article like this, btw? Somecrowd (talk) 04:09, 23 April 2008 (UTC) 16:33, 4 August 2008 (UTC)16:33, 4 August 2008 (UTC)16:33, 4 August 2008 (UTC)~

Copyright violation
The Health Concerns section is clearly copied and pasted from the reference website, as well as being poorly sourced (only that page) and potentially unreliable. I am not rewriting it for these reasons, however I think it probably could be made useful with a bit more in depth research, so I have also not deleted it. I think it is fair to say a reasonable number of people do have health concerns, whether you agree they are valid or not. I suspect this particular copyright holder might not mind the violation.--AJGordonWright (talk) 09:24, 13 April 2015 (UTC)


 * I went ahead and removed it. Copyvios are a problem on Wikipedia, since they can affect the legitimacy of the project and lead to other problems later on. The source of that copy-paste was the Environmental Working Group, whose opinions on cosmetic ingredients tend to the "if I can't pronounce it, it causes cancer" side. I also noticed that the links posted above are to fringe alt-med sites like Natural News, or to personal blogs, none of which are good sources for Wikipedia. If anything, this section should be rewritten by someone with access to the original research done on fabric softener safety. -lee (talk) 22:29, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

Dryer sheet
Dryer sheet has been a redirect to the "Fabric softener" article since 2006. The current article however does not specifically mention them. Perhaps it should? -- Infrogmation (talk) 16:13, 16 August 2022 (UTC)