Washing out Flame Retardants

September 22, 2015 by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from Karen

Hi Debra,

I have recently been doing a lot of research on flame retardants and removing flame retardants from my family's lives as much as possible. I can't seem to find an answer as to whether washing clothes in a washing machine removes any flame retardants we may have come in contact with throughout the day?

I really hope you can answer this for me. Thank you so much for all your help.

Debra's Answer

Yes, washing clothes in a washing machine WILL remove any flame retardants from clothing that you may have come in contact with throughout the day.

Here’s an interesting article that answers your question with a scientific study: Chemical & Engineering News: Fire Retardants Wash Out in Laundry.

Some scientists did do a science experiment in which they collected samples of household dust and laundry wastewater and compared the fire retardants found in each.

The scientists analyzed the dust and laundry wastewater samples with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and uncovered 21 flame retardants in the household dust, 18 of which also were in the laundry wastewater. The highest concentrations they measured came from chlorinated organophosphates, also known as Tris. These flame retardants, which have replaced banned or phased-out polybrominated diphenyl ethers, accounted for 72% of the retardants in the dust and 92% in the laundry wastewater.

This is good news. What I don’t know is if the washing machine is then contaminated with flame retardants.

NOTE: Simply washing items that are treated with fire retardants, such as children's pyjamas, will NOT remove the fire retardant. Such items are required by law to be flame retardant for a minimum of 50 washings. If you want to try to remove fire retardant from fire retardant treated fabric, use soap or vinegar, but best is to not buy it in the first place.