Your Dish Soap May be Harming the Planet More than You Think

There are many dish soaps available on the market that contain antibacterial qualities. This is something that many people look for specifically, in order to make sure their dishes and their hands are well disinfected, guarding against sickness and bacteria. The chemical most used for this is called Triclosan. This is a synthetic broad spectrum antimicrobial substance. It has become more and more prevalent over the years, showing up in not only soaps but many other aspects of our lives. In soaps, this product can cause skin irritation to the user, then it travels down the drain and into nature to cause its real damage. This substance has been linked to the systematic destruction of fragile aquatic ecosystems that rely on such organisms as bacteria and other small delicate organisms. The same antibacterial substance we buy the product for is the destructive agent we send into the natural environment.
 
Dish soap in general is hard on the environment; it has the ability to break water surface tension and in doing so, causes insects that would normally float on the surface, sink into the water, etc. Enough soap in the water and fish begin to have difficulty removing oxygen from the water. They suffocate in their own environment and die.
 
There are many ‘green’ household cleaning alternatives now on the market and more popping up all the time as the movement towards living green becomes more and more desirable.

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