We talk a lot about how Pathisol products are organic and eco friendly, but what does this really mean?

When embodying an eco-friendly lifestyle and making conscious efforts to reduce your carbon footprint many people instantly think of recycling or opting for a longer walk instead of driving, but how often do you think about your cleaning products?

The products you use daily to clean and sanitise contribute towards the pollution of the planet's water and air. In today’s climate, cleaning and disinfection is essential to everyday life, it’s important to know that the cleaning products we use could be impacting the environment in a negative way. 

There are three chemicals, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that are considered the most dangerous for the environment. These are phosphorus, nitrogen and ammonia - and they can be found in most household cleaning agents.

Water Pollution

The phrase ‘water pollution’ is usually associated with oil spills in the ocean or big corporate companies releasing toxic waste into rivers or lakes. However, water pollution can also be caused by use of everyday items. 

When using cleaning products in our home, the majority of the cleaning fluid will inevitably get washed down our drains, into the sewer systems and eventually end up in our rivers, lakes and oceans. And while there are wastewater treatments in place to break down a lot of these harmful chemicals, these systems are not equipped to filter out all the chemicals that end up in our drains. These types of facilities cannot breakdown VOC’s - and because phosphorus cannot be broken down, the phosphates in laundry and dishwasher detergent trigger a widespread growth of algae which impacts the amount of oxygen in the water and is toxic to wildlife. [1]

“An extreme amount of VOCs in the water can cause excessive vegetation that blocks waterways, and leads to an overcrowding of marine life. These plants grow and die at a rapid rate, which has a negative ripple effect on the rest of the aquatic ecosystem. With the increasing number of dying fish, comes more decay, which ultimately results in poor quality water - unsuitable for drinking, bathing, and so on.” [2]

Air contamination

When cleaning, it is advised to open windows and doors to ventilate the space to prevent the cleaner from inhaling too many of the chemicals. However, when ventilating a room, the chemicals have to go somewhere - and so the toxic chemicals end up in the air and therefore polluting the environment. VOCs can contribute to smog (smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution).

There are, however, eco-friendly products that don’t have a negative effect on the environment. In fact, hypochlorous acid is derived from the organic ingredients of salt and water, and is 60x stronger than bleach but when dispersed down our drains or sprayed freely in ventilated rooms it causes no harm. 

Check out our disinfectant products here to learn more.

[1]https://www.threemain.com/blogs/education/the-real-impact-of-cleaning-products-on-the-environment

[2]https://www.threemain.com/blogs/education/the-real-impact-of-cleaning-products-on-the-environment