Ethical Bathroom cleaning

Taadaa

I am no expert on the effects of bleach on the environment, but I am currently studying environmental management. The majority of cleaning products are biodegradable; that doesn't mean that they are not harmful to the environment. The bleach itself may degrade but the components won't. And of course we are forgetting that bleach is harmful to human health too. However we should bear in mind that avoiding/offsetting one environmental impact can cause a different impact elsewhere, and there are lots of companies jumping on the green bandwagon because it's a growing market.

Cutting a lemon in half and sticking each half on the end of a limescaley tap for an hour or so will work wonders. And it's cheaper too!

greenbee

You don't need bleach to ensure hygiene (it doesn't ). You need to keep things clean and tidy. Lemon juice, vinegar, tea-tree oil, lavender oil etc can all be used as disinfectants.

SpursDave

I understand that coke attacks limescale. Also paper towels soaked in white vinegar. Obviously take the water out the bowl first. Google limescale removal for loads of alternatives!

Ben84

Bleach (the chlorine type) is potentially bad for the environment when used in environments with a low PH and organic matter, such as in paper bleaching plants, because in these conditions it readily forms dioxins. These are poorly biodegradable, toxic and accumulate in living organisms. Its use in paper making is probably the reason why people often believe it's bad for the environment.

However this is only part of the picture, as these conditions are unlikely to be found in home uses or in the waste water when it's flushed down the drain, so domestic use isn't particularly concerning. Well, I'm not more concerned about bleach than any other typical cleaning product used around the house, although I still believe we produce, use and flush down the drain a lot more compounds than we need to when cleaning our houses.

If we can, and I've found I can, avoid most of them then it's a good thing.

I avoid bleach because it tends to damage things (throwing out your bathroom fixtures is expensive and environmentally unfriendly), as well as having strong irritating fumes. It's also a skin irritant and more dangerous than many household products if splashed in your eyes, and it's dangerous if mixed with acids. There are much safer things that will clean your house, and some of them work very well.

I removed the lime scale from my bathroom tiles when I moved in with sainsbury's own brand ecological toilet cleaner. Not the greenest product, but it was a good compromise and I only need to use it the once. I painted it on with an old brush, left it to dissolve the scale for an hour and then scrubbed with a nylon pad. I now clean the tiles once a week with a soda crystal solution and a hard bristle brush, and the scale has stayed away long enough for me to assume it's not returning.

As for bleach used in paper making, that is an environmental concern and I try to avoid it. I buy recycled paper products where possible as these use little or no bleaching, and avoid bleached paper for things where a brown product will do fine. Envelopes and packing materials really don't need to be white.

lynzpower

Buying Grapefruits slicing them in half and rubbing them in salt then using a scouring pad gives a fantastic effect on tiles, baths, glass. Makes the room smell lovely too!

( a kim & aggie tip)