This is the first article in a series I want to do on sustainable products with the following attributes:

• saves money
• saves on storage space,
• leaves no footprint.

The first product I’m going to review is called the Magnetic Laundry System. The system works by placing two magnets on the inside of your washing machine. These magnets have the same effect as detergent on the water, which in turn cleans your clothes. Sounds crazy? Contrary to many of the negative reviews I’ve read, there is a great deal of science behind it.

The Science

Here’s a quick overview of how detergent works:

"Detergent molecules’ two ends make it able to break through the surface tension of water. The end of the detergent molecule which attaches to fat (grease) repels water molecules. It is known as hydrophobic, meaning “water fearing.” By attempting to move away from the water molecules, the hydrophobic ends of the detergent molecules push up to the surface. This weakens the hydrogen bonds holding the water molecules together at the surface. The result is a break in the surface tension of the water." -How Does Detergent Break Surface Tension?

Takeaway: detergents work by changing the surface tension of water.

Next, I’d like to show you a few peer reviewed articles supporting the theory that magnets also change the surface tension of water. It’s important to note that many of the critics of the magnetic laundry system will say that there is a lack of evidence supporting the science behind this product. If you take the time to read the studies, the lack is not in the evidence found, but in the equipment required to adequately measure the surface tension of water.

On June 2009, two Japanese scientists published a paper in Applied Physics Letters titled: Surface tension of heavy water under high magnetic fields.

This is the abstract:

"The surface tension of deuterium oxide-air interface was precisely measured under magnetic fields up to 10 T. The surface tension increased by 2.37±0.14 mN/m (3.30±0.19%) at 10 T. It was found that the surface tension increased linearly with an increase in the square of the magnetic field, the proportionality constant of which showed a marked isotope effect."

The article is cited numerous times. Most recently in a literary review on the subject of magnetic field (MF) technology. The review, published in the International Journal of Advanced and Applied Science for January 2018, contains 59 references to studies done in MF technology. That’s a lot of study for something that isn’t real.

What you’ll find is that this goes beyond laundry. Many countries that aren’t heavily influenced by chemical manufacturers use magnets as a water filtration process. Here’s an interesting article that discusses the health benefits of magnetized water: The Health Benefits of Magnetic Water

So why aren’t we all invested in magnetic water?

"The chemical industry is one of the largest and most important industries worldwide. The United States is the largest national producer of chemical products globally. Including the pharmaceutical sector, its chemical output value was more than 767 billion U.S. dollars in 2016. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the value added by U.S. chemistry in 2016 amounted to more than 387 billion U.S. dollars." -U.S. Chemical industry — Statistics & Facts

Of cooooourse the chemical industry is going to fight MF technology. If you had a multi-billion dollar stake in something wouldn’t you try to defend it?

Customer Reviews

Let’s change focus for a moment. We’re going to step away from the chemical industry and toward the many satisfied people that have purchased the Magnetic Laundry System (myself included).

First, let’s start with this honest Facebook review.

Here’s another review. I like this review because people often associate sustainable products with inferior products. This is not the case, especially not for this system. In this experiment the couple shows that the detergent actually did a worse job than the magnets.

I found another review on Amazon that confirmed this. This is a review in response to an earlier post that questioned the effectiveness of the magnets over plain water. Evidently, the couple took the magnets out to show friends and forgot to put them back in. Here’s the actual response:

In total, Amazon users gave this product a 4 out of 5, which again, is pretty good for something that doesn’t work.

By comparison, Tide only has 3.5 out of 5 starts.

Reading through customer reviews, the big issue with Tide and other detergents isn’t effectiveness, but allergic reaction.

Okay, one more review. I have three dogs so I attest to what this person is saying:

This comment was made back in 2015 and has yet to be taken down or revised. It stands as is and has several backers.

Where Can You Buy The Magnetic Laundry System?

Well, clearly you can purchase these magnets on Amazon, but it only comes with a 30-day money back guarantee as opposed to a 60-day money back guarantee if you buy directly from the company. I’m not sure why that is. Other than that, the price is the same.

You can also purchase straight from the company by clicking here. The company that sells them provides an interesting video and product statistics in addition to those presented here.

Final Thoughts

My husband and I are attempting to move off-grid this summer. Part of that move is being prepared to downsize and use less space. It’s also about seeking out sustainable products over our regular choices. When I say sustainable I refer to environmentally friendly, reusable, products that last a lifetime and take up little space.

On this quest I’ve found dozens of products. What’s troubling to me is that many of these products are not new — they’ve been on the market for years. Why haven’t we heard more about them?

The truth is most corporations have no interest in selling you something meant to be reused for a lifetime. What would happen to their profit margins? As a consequence, we rarely hear about these sustainable technologies because they compete with the bottom line of multi-billion dollar corporations.

We have a lot more control than we think over how we live our lives, especially when it comes to the products we use.