The impact the cleaning products you use have on local waterways
When you wash your dishes or clean your toilet, you’re probably not thinking about the impact your cleaner residue is having on local waterways. After all- this is just a little bit of cleaner, and a lot of water, and besides, it’s all filtered out, isn’t it?
How do household cleaners affect waterways?
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and ammonia are all regularly used in cleaners and then simply washed down the drain. Filtering doesn’t remove these chemicals fully, and they enter our waterways and act as fertilizers on some types of plant life. This vegetation can become dense, clogging once free-flowing streams and strangling native plant life. Then, as the plants die and decay, oxygen in the water is reduced, which kills aquatic animals. Algae grows and more animals die, and ‘suddenly’, the water is polluted and toxic.
Some chemicals also replicate oestrogen, which can alter the reproductive cycles of marine life.
If you use detergents which are then directly flushed into waterways (like washing your car on the street), it can harm aquatic animals. It destroys the external mucus layer on fish which provides protection from parasites and bacteria, and can also damage the gills, hindering breathing. Fish eggs can be killed even with low chemical concentration levels.
Which cleaners are the culprits?
The chemicals that cause problems are called alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs). These are surfactants, which are the ingredients in cleaners that are used to break down the barrier between the dirt and the surface you’re cleaning. Commonly used in laundry powders and detergents, they are regularly found in most cleaning products.
Greywater tanks and surfactants
The effects of greywater use in your garden is still being studied. So far, studies have shown that over time, surfactants in the water create soil that is water repellent. The outcomes of this are not yet known or understood.
What can you do?
Avoid using unnecessary cleaners, and use products with natural surfactants such as Coco Betaine and Decyl Glucoside. Definitely do not dump or flush water with cleaners down storm water drains. This includes not washing your vehicle on the street- use a commercial carwash that filters and cleans their water.