The great Bleach v Vinegar debate

But I think one of the main problems with it is that it's not environmentally friendly. There's too much of it being washed down our drains and that's impacting on the water systems and plantlife balance already.

And before you ask, yes, I do still use it, but not as much as I used to do. But then I'm finding it hard to source lots of white vinegar at the moment.

I've always been a big fan of bleach. (Maybe that's why my hair fell out)heheheh I only use vinegar for glass, mirrors and chrome. Occasionally I will also use it as a laundry rinse if I'm getting a lint problem but bleach for everything else. I use belach for bathroom/kitchen cleaning, drains, kitchen floor, and white/stained laundry. I'm probably killing wildlife left, right, and centre but if I've used bleach I know it's clean. I buy the Tesco cheapo cos I like the smell of REAL bleach. Is that weird?

Organic teabags have to use bleach free paper.
I worked at a paper plant in Canada & they had a special chlorine (bleach) alarm system to evacuate the plant if it leaked. The chlorine was used to bleach the paper so it was extra white.
Bleach is dreadful stuff - I wonder how many people (children) have been accidentally killed by it - or worse had their internal organs burned away by it.
It's added to our water supply and can be tasted in the summer time when more is added. There's supposedly a big problem with it's vapours in a shower.
Stay away from it!

I think that there is some confusion about the use of chemicals and their effect on the environment, and in particular when they are washed down drains/sinks/toilets etc.

The first thing to make clear is that there are two types of drainage system... foul water and surface water.

All the water outlets from the inside of your home will go to the sewers (foul water system) which would normally end up at a waste water treatment plant (sewage works).

The surface water system takes water that runs-off roofs, roads and open land and usually discharges into a nearby stream, river, lake or the sea (although they are sometimes diverted into the sewer system).

If you use your chemicals in the home they will usually end up at a sewage works where they are removed, denatured or massively diluted before being discharged into watercourses (or put back into the domestic water supply... yum!).

If you put chemicals into a surface water drain then more than likely they will end up in your local stream and potentially cause harm.

A big problem is people who change the oil on their car and tip it down the nearest drain grating (thinking that the sewage works will remove it). This problem can be further compounded when they wash the car and all the detergent flushes the oil through any interceptors that may be in place to trap any oil.

To summarise... It is best to use as little 'chemicals' as possible (for both your pocket and the environment), but the majority of household substances will be tackled by the water company.
Try not to put anything other than uncontaminated water down surface water drains.

Thanks for your patience.