Best little home product for your laundry

Julia Fry came by today and we are discussing laundry products and the effectiveness of Herbatergent.

Q.: Julia, will you please tell Home and Living Readers a little about your background?

A.: I was a fashion designer for 15 years, working for Nicole Miller’s eveningwear collection, as well as childrenswear for Espirit. I was always perplexed why detergents were so hard on fabrics, and why there wasn’t a good natural way to launder fabrics that actually worked.

Q.: What is Herbatergent™?

A.: We use active herbal ingredients for stain and bacterial removal, as well as softer ‘hand'— the softness of the fabric after it’s washed. This is completely different than an herbal ‘scent’, since we use high concentrations of herbal extracts in our formula to get the performance that we get.

So to answer your question, an ‘herbatergent’ is our word to describe using herbs as active ingredients to do the cleaning, vs. a detergent that uses only chemicals.

Q.: What is the story behind Herbatergent’s development?

A.: I was using natural detergents on my son’s clothing since he was a baby, and the stains never came out—our clothes always looked terrible, and I thought I was bad at doing the laundry. I got sick of it, and thought maybe I should combine backroom sewing tricks I’d learned in the fashion industry, and old French methods of cleaning, before there were nasty pesticides and solvents that they use in detergents today. I was always fascinated by how they got the beautiful old vintage clothing clean in the old days—how they kept things spotless. My concept was to combine old fashioned ‘green’ fabric care, with modern technology—a hybrid approach—the best of 3 centuries.

I made the first batch 10 years ago with a coffee grinder at home, and mixed it up in a galvanized tub. After I did some washes with it, I told my Dad, who’s a chemist, that my results were better than the natural formula I was buying at the store. He (of course,) didn’t believe me, and sent my formula off to a lab for testing….which proved that it DID work, and I was on my way!

Q.: What are some of the properties of Herbatergent™ that make it a good product?

A.: We have a patent pending on our herbatergent formula showing test results that we increase the softness of the fabric, protect colors (don’t strip dyes), and reduce static. We also have independent test results proving we outperform the leading natural and mass brands for stain removal.

Q.: You have a lot of other new products in this line, what are they?

A.: We make a great spot remover named Spotoff, which the musical Wicked found was the only thing that got the Green Witch’s makeup off her dress! It also gets food and beverage stains out really well. We make an Oxygenbleach, which whitens better than chlorine bleach, without the yellowing, and loss of tensile strength from chlorine.

Lastly, we make Herbasoft, a fabric softener—which isn’t actually necessary to use with our Herbatergent, but lots of people requested an herbal fabric softener, so we made it for them. Someday, people will trust how soft their clothes are with Herbatergent without adding the extra cost of another product. We aren’t a company that wants you to buy more product than you need.

Q.: Home and Living used Herbatergent™ light lavender scent for laundry day—thank you for the sample—and the clothes are soft and fresh feeling. Our duvet cover gets ironed and the iron just glided over the material. Is this a customer comment with your products?

A.: No that’s the first ironing compliment we ever received, thank you. It’s because our formula leaves fabrics residue free, so the iron isn’t sticking to the soap residue on the fabric—like glue. The ‘ironers’ niche is a passionate one! I’ve spent years ironing shirts, and I’m a purist when it comes to pressing.

Q.: What exactly does it mean when a product is listed as being “green.”

A.: It means that there’s complete rapid breakdown in the environment, and for us, it also means there’s no carcinogenic residues that can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Our products are completely safe for septic and grey water systems, which will be the next big push in the green movement. We shouldn’t be watering landscapes with potable water.

Q.: Where are customers going to find your products and do you have a website for more information?

A.: It’s best to go to our website www.vaskahome.com and click the ‘where to buy’ information, which will show stores in your area that carry Vaska. Otherwise, you can order online with free shipping through Alice.com—our website takes you directly there.

Q.: Is there anything else you would like to tell Home and Living Readers?

A.: I think freshly laundered linens that are really clean and healthy are as satisfying as a well cooked meal. It’s incredibly sensual, and rewarding. It’s a way I communicate to my family how much I care about them. I love line-dried sheets that smell amazing, and a linen closet full of fresh towels.