My mom and mother-in-law have both suggested to me, for most of my married life, to not to buy dry-clean only or hand wash only clothing. I assumed it was one of those motherly pieces of wisdom that moms give to their children so that we don’t make extra work for ourselves or waste money unnecessarily.
Either that or they are questioning my capabilities as a woman.
I know I don’t wear an apron and kitten heels and meet my husband at the door with a martini, but I know a little something about running my house and keeping people alive. So, I took what I thought to be out of date motherly advice with a grain of salt.
Our mothers are going to give us their advice whether we ask for it or not. I listened respectively and I ignored it. But turns out they were right, but probably not for any of the reasons they had in mind.
Seems that a recent study found that certain fabrics (wool, cotton and polyester) retain high quantities of the chemical perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning solvent that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognizes as a potential carcinogen.
The worst part of it all, the harmful carcinogen can be inhaled and absorbed through the skin when worn. PCE exposure has bee linked to an elevated risk of cancer
The safest solution obviously is to stop buying those damn dry-clean only garments that your dear old mom has warned you about, or find a green dry-cleaner which will in turn probably cost you a little more cash out of pocket. Or for materials like cotton and polyester, you can opt for washing by hand, which will cost you extra work.
Turns out my mom and mother-in-law are pretty smart. Lesson learned. Moms know everything. I can’t wait until my girls realize this fact.
What piece of advice has your mom given you that you ignored and it turned out to be correct?
Photo Source: Mezone
