How to Make a Non Toxic and Natural Laundry Room

Making a non toxic laundry room in your home is one of the first places to consider when starting to swap out your products. Since we are almost always wearing clothes, covering up with sheets or a blanket, or using a towel, it’s the perfect place to start adding non-toxic products.

We are almost constantly in contact with something that we have washed and dried, making the choice to toss conventional laundry detergents and other products pretty easy. So let’s get to swapping out some products for ones with natural ingredients.

Why Make a Non Toxic Laundry Room in Your Home

Creating a non toxic laundry room is a simple way to protect your health, reduce environmental impact, and keep your clothes truly clean. Many regular detergents, fabric softeners, and dryer sheets contain synthetic chemicals, artificial fragrances, and irritants that can trigger allergies, disrupt hormones, allergic reactions, and pollute waterways. Switching to natural alternatives like fragrance-free detergents, white vinegar as a natural fabric softener, and wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets containing harmful chemicals all helps keep toxins out of your home.

Plus, natural ingredients are gentler on sensitive skin, better for fabrics, and reduce indoor air pollution. A non toxic laundry room also means less plastic waste, as DIY or eco-friendly products often come in reusable or biodegradable packaging. Making small swaps—like using plant-based detergents, essential oils for fragrance, and baking soda for stain removal—creates a healthier space for you, your family, and the planet while still keeping your laundry fresh and clean!

But don’t worry, there be several products you need to swap out and we’ll walk through each one of them!

natural laundry room essentials

Let’s take a look at your laundry room and everything that’s in it. From laundry detergent to dryer sheets, we need to take a deeper dive into each product and what to avoid. Then we can take a look at what to buy instead when shopping for better products!

• Laundry detergent most often has several ingredients that we want to avoid, such as fragrance, dyes, optical brighteners, and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). Traditional laundry detergents can contain allergens that can make things like asthma, allergies, reparatory conditions, skin irritation, and sensitive skin issues worse.
• Fabric softeners most likely contain artificial fragrances, preservatives, and dyes. How most fabric softeners work is that they create a layer of buildup on your clothes so that they feel softer.  When in actuality, your clothes are not actually softer. Instead, your clothes have a layer of chemicals that make them feel soft.
• Stain remover often has fragrance and ethoxylated ingredients that you want to avoid.
• Laundry boosters are heavily scented with synthetic fragrances for the sole purpose of making your clothing smell for an extended period of time.
• Dryer sheets also contain strong scents that use the ingredient fragrance as well as softeners to make our clothes smell good. They can also help to have less static when taking out clothes out of the dryer.

How to Avoid Fragrance in Your Laundry Routine

Yes, fragrance is everywhere. When creating a non toxic laundry room, you will need to read the ingredient list and avoid any that mention fragrance, perfume, parfum, or anything else that can mean synthetic fragrance. Any time you read the word fragrance it means that the company isn’t disclosing what is really in the product due to “trade secrets”. There are up to 3,000 chemicals that are included in the fragrance ingredient category. Rule of thumb – avoid it altogether. Read more about fragrance on the Environmental Working Group website.

Is Unscented Better than Fragrance-Free?

Unfortunately, just buying the unscented version of a product doesn’t mean that it is fragrance-free. Products that are labeled as unscented can still contain the common ingredient fragrance, but instead, it’s using the chemicals in fragrance as a way to mask the odors of other ingredients. Alternatively, fragrance-free products are not made with any masking chemicals or scented fragrances. When looking at the packaging, make sure to select the product that says fragrance-free. But the only way to know 100% for sure is to take a look at the label and read the list of ingredients yourself. If you have skin sensitivities, allergies, or want the cleanest option, go for fragrance-free.

Recommended Non Toxic Laundry Products

Laundry detergent

Liquid detergent can be an easy swap to make when starting to make changes in your laundry room. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of nontoxic laundry detergents sold in the store. My personal favorite is Thieves laundry soap. It lasts my family of four around 5-6 months using this laundry detergent recipe that splits the natural laundry detergent into two smaller containers (or one larger container) using this recipe. The good news is that it does not include artificial fragrance, SLS, optical brighteners, surfactants, or harsh chemicals. Plus, it still works so well on my family’s clothes, towels, bedding, pet items, and more! Other natural detergents include Truly Free, Molly’s Suds, and Attitude which you can find on Amazon.

Read here about more things to avoid when buying laundry detergent.

Fabric softeners

Are they really not necessary? No, at least the typical ones you see in stores. But you still might want a natural, eco-friendly way to soften your laundry. White vinegar is an excellent alternative to commercial fabric softeners, offering multiple benefits without harsh chemicals. It naturally softens fabrics, removes detergent buildup, eliminates odors, and reduces static cling—all while being safe for sensitive skin. Unlike store-bought softeners, vinegar keeps towels fluffy without reducing absorbency and helps prevent hard water buildup. 

It might seem like it won’t work and then you’ll end up with clothes that stink like vinegar. Trust me, I thought the same thing and then did it anyway. The vinegar scent disappears completely as the clothes dry. I use up to a 1/4 cup in the fabric softener spot of my washing machine and have NEVER had an issue. It is a must-use for towels and any stinky clothing!

Stain removers

Now stain removers are a 100% necessary item for most of us! Especially parents with kids who tend to spill or drop something on what seems like every single piece of clothing. I like to make my own stain remover on tough stains using thieves laundry soap, thieves cleaner, and lemon essential oil. Save the recipe here to use later.

Laundry booster

I used to think of a laundry booster as an optional item in my laundry room, but that is no longer the case. I am constantly making and using this natural laundry booster recipe. Mostly because it’s so good for things like stinky exercise clothes, sporting gear, work-outside clothing, pet bedding, or anything with a strong scent. And it was a game-changer to getting rid of smelly items while adding a light fresh scent! Do yourself a favor, and start making this homemade laundry booster recipe now. It’s such a simple and easy recipe to make, you will not want to have this in your house!

Find my homemade laundry scent booster recipe here!

Dryer sheets

Dryer sheets are a simple no, even the ones that seem like they are better since they still have toxic chemicals on them. Instead of using dryer sheets, you can opt to use wool dryer balls instead. Your clothes will start to feel like clothes again, instead of having a layer of chemicals on the outside. Depending on the size of your load of laundry, you can use between 3-5 wool dryer balls per load. I often will add 1-2 drops of your favorite essential oil directly to a few of the wool dryer balls to add a light natural scent to the laundry. I like using citrus, purification, lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint essential oils.

If you have any issues with static cling when using your wool dryer balls, then I would consider making the following changes to see if it helps. Usually one of those tips (or all of them) will solve the problem!

• Turn down the heat on your dryer
• Reduce drying time as over-drying causes static
• Add a clothespin to the wool dryer ball before you toss it in
• Avoid re-drying or fluffing clean laundry

One Simple Way to Start Making a Natural Laundry Room

Changing out your entire laundry room might seem intimidating, but it will be 100% worth the effort as it’s one of the most toxic rooms in the home. My best advice for swapping out any area of your home is to start with just ONE item. Pick the one item that you are almost out of and buy something better. if you don’t need to re-buy anything, simply buy the wool dryer balls and toss the dryer sheets in the trash! Anything is a great step in the right direction, and once you get started you won’t want to stop.

shop my favorite natural laundry room products

• Non Toxic Detergent: Thieves laundry soap, Truly Free, Molly’s Suds, and Attitude
• Stain stick ingredients: Thieves cleaner & lemon essential oil and clear glass spray bottle 
• Wool dryer balls instead of laundry sheets
• Laundry Booster: Washing soda, baking soda, essential oils, glass jar

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What to Swap Next? Household Cleaners

Swapping out your home cleaning products for gentler, non toxic alternatives is an easy way to create a healthier, safer home for you and your family. Many conventional cleaners contain harsh chemicals and artificial fragrances that can cause skin irritation, allergies, and even breathing issues. These chemicals don’t just rinse away—they stick around on surfaces, mix into the air, and can affect your well-being over time.

By switching to simple, non toxic cleaners like vinegar, baking soda, and castile soap, you can keep your home fresh and clean without the worry of unnecessary additives. Plus, many natural products are just as effective as traditional cleaners without overpowering scents or residue. With small swaps, like choosing gentle all-purpose sprays or making your own cleaning solutions, you can enjoy a cleaner home that feels better for everyone.

More Natural Laundry & Cleaning Recipes

• DIY Wrinkle Release Spray Recipe
• Homemade Laundry Scent Booster
• Lemon Vinegar Cleaning Spray
• Homemade Soft Scrub

Hi, I’m Kristin.

I am so glad you are here ready to make some really incredible diy recipes with simple ingredients. Join me in learning how to use essential oils in all of your homemade personal care products and creating a natural home.

Read more about me here.