It’s so disappointing when favorite clothes start to fade and look old after they go through the laundry. I would say the same for colored and printed bed sheets and towels, too.
Since we use the washing machine and dryer in our home to save on time, I have my household help add Downy Everyday Essentials when they do our wash to keep our sheets, towels, and especially our clothes vibrant. With five kids, things get handed down from one child to another so I appreciate how Downy keeps their outfits from looking pulverized and worn-out.
Since we also donate clothing or do garage sales every year, I don’t like giving or selling clothes that look unwearable and faded. It’s like handing down scraps to people and making them feel like that’s all they deserve to get. If our clothes look like rags because they have gone through years of abuse, like how guys wear their shirts until they have holes in them, then we convert them into actual rags!
The kids selling clothes…
Some things I simply can’t part with because they are nostalgic to me…
My PJs from Edric which he gave me when we were dating. He wrapped them and stuck them into the mailbox for me to find. One of two articles of clothing that I ever remember him buying for him. (It’s not his specialty.)
The Gap bell bottoms I bought at a thrift store in Florida with my grandmother, when I was in high school. (I also keep them as a standard for pants that I should still be able to fit into.)
People have messaged me wondering if Downy is safe to use. I am no chemist, but you can read about some of the claims being refuted on Snopes, which did a write-up on these claims here, Snopes on Fabric Softeners. Edric and I snopes everything that is questionable.
Furthermore, Downy itself sent me a message guaranteeing the following after I sent them a query:
All our fabric softener products are safe, and comply with all the applicable Philippines regulations. The safety of consumers who use our products is our utmost priority.
We guarantee that our products are safe.
• More than 700 of our staff globally work full time to ensure safety and regulatory compliance of our products. This includes more than 200 people working directly on product safety.
• Our Central Product Safety organization employs hundreds of world-leading scientists, toxicologists and environmental experts. These experts apply their unique training to assess all available safety information well before a product is considered for market and they have the final word when it comes to decisions on product safety.
• Our scientists and regulatory experts concentrate on safety and regulatory requirements, ensuring our products meet strict internal regulatory and safety guidelines before they reach store shelves. This group is also in charge of post-market surveillance.
No doubt some people may still have allergic reactions to smells and ingredients in the different Downy variants, just as people have allergic reactions to foods or other elements around us. Downy does have a variant for sensitive skin which can be an option that considers conditions like eczema. Still, I think all parents should use discretion when they buy products for their homes and go with what they trust.
Furthermore, when it comes to clothes, these things don’t last forever. No amount of laundry detergent or fabric softener will keep them from disintegrating eventually. That is simply the nature of decay in this world. So keep a few clothes that really mean something special to you, and then give away what you can, especially when you update and upgrade your wardrobe.
No matter how good we look on the outside, we must cultivate vibrancy on the inside. After all, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Matthew 24:35
