Taking care of the environment is getting a lot of play nowadays. Everyone is aware that we should reduce our consumption and reduce our waste output and that is why we recycle. However, one thing that is often overlooked is what happens to our waterways when we do some house cleaning. What does it mean when household cleaners aren’t green friendly? In this article, we explore some better alternatives when tackling our cleaning jobs.
A lot of the commercial household cleaners that you buy aren’t very healthy for the environment. That is because when they contain chemicals that can’t be broken down easily through the water treatment plants. Some of the things you have to look out for are products containing phosphates, petroleum and chlorine.
Phosphates are used in our cleaning products as water softeners. However, once it goes down the drain, it gets into our waterways and can promote the growth of algae and that pollutes our waters. So when you’re looking for laundry detergent, stay away from phosphate.
Next on the list of cleaners to ban in your cleaning job is the use of petroleum based products. To extract petroleum actually produces a lot of pollution. If you need a strong cleaner, why not use borax? It’s an alkaline salt which can be found in nature. While it is toxic in large quantities and should be kept away from small children and pets, it’s a much better alternative than petroleum based products.
Finally, a very common household cleaner is chlorine bleach. People use it as a disinfectant but they should use it with caution. Chlorine bleach contains trace amounts of compounds known as organochlorines which have been known to cause cancer in small animals. It goes without saying that it could be a warning sign to humans as well. Use this product with caution or use other types of cleaners to disinfect. Once again, borax is a good choice as a disinfectant.
Being green and environmentally friendly touches us all directly or indirectly. If it doesn’t have a direct health benefit to us right now, it will eventually through our children. Therefore, it isn’t about being tree huggers or fighting for a distant cause. It’s about self preservation for ourselves and the environment.
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