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Steinemann said emissions from dryer vents are essentially unmonitored and unregulated. She recommends avoiding scented laundry products altogether. (AP Photo/File)

UW Study: Avoid scented laundry detergent

BY Brandi Kruse  on August 24, 2011 @ 2:02 pm (Updated: 3:14 pm - 8/24/11 )

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You might love the way your laundry detergent makes your clothes smell, but that sent could be hazardous.

A new study out of the University of Washington found that scented liquid laundry detergent and scented dryer sheets emit hazardous chemicals through dryer vents.

"I found seven hazardous air pollutants," said Professor Anne Steinemann, the lead researcher. "I also found two hazardous chemicals, acetaldehyde and benzene, that are classified as carcinogens and for which the EPA has established no safe exposure level."

Steinemann said emissions from dryer vents are essentially unmonitored and unregulated. She recommends avoiding scented laundry products altogether.

"Another approach is go back to what our grandparent's used, which is use baking soda and vinegar to launder products," she recommended. "And do we really need dryer sheets for our clothing? So we can think about taking more simple approaches rather than using a bunch of scented products."

Exposure to the fumes, she said, can cause dizziness, headaches, asthma attacks and skin rashes.

Brandi Kruse, KIRO Radio Reporter
Brandi Kruse is a reporter for KIRO Radio who is as spontaneous and adventurous in her free time as she is on the job. Brandi arrived at KIRO Radio in March 2011 and has already collected three regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her reporting.
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Comments (9)


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  • hdcase wrote...
    Oh Please!
    August 24, 2011 2:31 pm
    Oh do shut up!!! The small concentrations in these products wouldn't harm a fly. The dose makes the difference. Peanuts contain Aflatoxin, one of the most carcinogenic substances known yet we don't ban them. Why? Because the concentration is so low that it would be humanly impossible to ingest enough peanuts to cause harm. Enough already!
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  • Saltchucker wrote...
    Hows about
    August 24, 2011 2:42 pm
    avoiding these products because they reek! Ick.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Novaman wrote...
    How does one get exposed?
    August 24, 2011 3:01 pm
    My drier is vented to outside of the house. How do I then get exposed to these chemicals? Are there people who are venting their driers to the interior of their homes? If that is the case, I would be more worried about mold and mildew from the humidity than these chemicals.
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  • dcnilsen wrote...
    Warning!!!
    August 24, 2011 3:22 pm
    So i just got some plywood cut at Lowes and on the board i got cut there was a warning. "The state of California has determined that wood shavings can cause cancer in lab rats." First off, i think breathing causes cancer in California it seems. Beyond that though, these warnings are crap. I am so tired of money wasted to find things out like this. How many years have we had scented everything? Quite a few...we are find people...
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  • luckystriker wrote...
    So your dryer static sheet can kill you.
    August 24, 2011 4:05 pm
    And in 2007, someone came up with the bright idea to "help" the homeless by using dryer vent air to warm them up. see http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008615.html So the kicker is this will actually kill the homeless if you use cling-free in the dryer. You might have dead bums, but they'll smell dryer fresh.
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  • PrinceIBU wrote...
    IckyDirtyNasty
    August 24, 2011 7:26 pm
    Scented laundry soap is bad enough, but fabric "softener" really STINKS. I have neighbors who must double the dosage, because when they dry their laundry, the neighborhood reeks of that nasty stuff. Don't people realize that they should only use it on synthetic fabrics, and even then, that it takes very little to defeat the static? It coats towels and makes them less absorbent. Not to mention, stinky like fake candy that has boiled over on the stove.
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  • Mr Fish wrote...
    hdcase is right
    August 24, 2011 8:28 pm
    Dosages matter. Did the UW study establish what levels are toxic? If so, how close to those levels do the dryer emissions come? Do these chemicals accumulate in the atmosphere, and if so, how close are we to toxic levels?
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  • rubber duck wrote...
    Slow death by rubber duck
    August 25, 2011 8:18 am
    If you read Slow Death by Rubber Duck you already knew this. Any artificial scents are petroleum based. The residue stays on your clothes and gets on your skin, maybe even getting into your bloodstream. Do yourselves a favor and don't use petroleum based scents. If you want scented laundry detergent, use ones scented with essential oils.
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  • IFRA North America wrote...
    Response from industry
    August 26, 2011 11:41 am
    Groups representing laundry products and fragrance manufacturers (the American Cleaning Institute, Consumer Specialty Products Association, International Fragrance Association North America, Research Institute for Fragrance Materials, Inc.) believe these findings are seriously flawed. Consumers can continue to use laundry and fabric care products like they do every day: safely and effectively. Steinemann’s study makes unsubstantiated claims about emissions from dryer vents after using certain laundry products. The paper’s authors exploited their findings, basing conclusions on a limited sample size and a poor study design. The study falls short of being detailed enough to replicate, let alone judge the applicability of the findings. Read more about the many flaws in this study and the fragrance manufacturers’ response to the findings here: http://www.ifrana.org/sites/default/files/Fragranced%20Laundry%20Products%20FINAL%20DRAFT%2082511%20(2).pdf
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