Next to laundry dish washing has got to be the most common boring yet needful chore of the house. But regardless of whether you choose to use a machine to do the dirty work or your own hands, the use of dishwashing liquid/detergent is still a basic requirement. And if you knew well enough, you’d know that being concerned over the cleaning agent is more important than deciding on the method (hand or machine).
Why? Simply because the effects from it are more pronounced and immediate. You will notice the effect on 2 areas namely:
1. The environment
Dishwashing cleaning agents do wonders to remove the grease, grime and disinfect our cooking utensils, crockery, etc, but the stripping effects don’t stop there. When the soapy water washes down into the drains, it is met at the waste water treatment plant where it is treated and then released back into the environment but the problem is, some chemicals simply don’t breakdown and neutralise after ‘general water treatment’ (which is what municipal treatment plants do), they require more specific and expensive treatment methods. Unapplied, this leads to the release of poisonous waste water into the environment that threaten both aquatic and non-aquatic lifeforms.
2. Your family and you
It’s easy to overlook the fact that something as meagre as washing liquid can threaten the health and well-being of your family. After all, we are talking about the same nice smelling stuff that turns your plates from oil stained to sparkling clean. But the truth is, the main ingredients in conventional dishwashing liquid is phosphates and chlorine. Both of which are hardly a laughing matter because:
phosphate when ingested gives rise to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea and due to its’ corrosive nature, it can cause severe skin irritation. You don’t necessarily have to drink a cup of it to get the effects, you simply have to be drinking or eating off crockery that wasn’t thoroughly cleaned of the dishwashing liquid. This shows up very fast on small children with their delicate digestion system.
Chlorine cleans very well because it is highly caustic. But that cuts both ways because it then causes skin problems (chemical burns/allergies). Furthermore when combined with ammonia, it reacts to produce pungent toxic gasses that will irritate the eyes, nose and air passage. Consumed, chlorine is fatal. Chlorine is also famed to go hand in hand with dioxin – a well known deadly carcinogen.
So the next time you do the dishes, think carefully what you’re washing with because it’s not just about saving water, it’s also about preserving the purity of it.
