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Safe/Recomended Detergents


robtheplod

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Hi All

When washing up/having showers etc on a narrowboat, what type of detergent should be used since it ends up in the canal?  Any ingredient to be avoided or some sort of 'fish friendly' mark to look for??

thanks!

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3 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Hi All

When washing up/having showers etc on a narrowboat, what type of detergent should be used since it ends up in the canal?  Any ingredient to be avoided or some sort of 'fish friendly' mark to look for??

thanks!

Not Fairy Liquid apparently:

 

https://theecologist.org/2009/feb/05/behind-label-fairy-liquid

 

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I don't know of any particular products but I would suggest one of those which claims to be eco friendly/biodegradable.   Yes I know the claims may not exactly hold water (pun intended) but my mate who used to work on river pollution is of the opinion they are the way to go.

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On our first shareboat, one of the co-owners was an industrial chemist.

 

We asked if we should use Ecover. He said that it is the phosphates that do the harm, and NO washing up liquid contains them. 

 

In his opinion those claiming to be more eco friendly than other brands was simply an exercise in marketing.

 

However phosphates are common in dishwashing tablets and washing powders.

Edited by cuthound
To remove a full stop masquerading as a space
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1 hour ago, cuthound said:

On our first shareboat, one of the co-owners was an industrial chemist.

 

We asked if we should use Ecover. He said that it is the phosphates that do the harm, and NO washing up liquid contains them. 

 

In his opinion those claiming to be more eco friendly than other brands was simply an exercise in marketing.

 

However phosphates are common in dishwashing tablets and washing powders.

Interesting to get two opposing views.  My friend, a chemist by training, was involved with the lead up to pollution prosecutions and frequently appeared in court giving evidence.

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I have found the " Eco " ones are basicaly Eco because they dont work!!! and you need a whole bottle to clean a spec of grease. Its similar to " Lo salt " remember it? marketed 20 plus years ago to be better for you until an extensive survey revealed peeps just put shed loads more on than proper salt so i ended up being worse for them in reality.

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We use Ecover, whether it is the most eco friendly, I've no idea, but it makes me feel better buying it. It's also does it's job very well.

 

My dilemma is bleach - I don't use bleach, but do use (in small quantities) Milton - if it's kind for babies, it must be okay for fish? (I maybe a victim to marketing again)

1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

I have found the " Eco " ones are basicaly Eco because they dont work!!! and you need a whole bottle to clean a spec of grease. Its similar to " Lo salt " remember it? marketed 20 plus years ago to be better for you until an extensive survey revealed peeps just put shed loads more on than proper salt so i ended up being worse for them in reality.

Lo Salt is brilliant! Over half of it is potassium, great if you suffer from cramps. 

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4 minutes ago, Jennifer McM said:

We use Ecover, whether it is the most eco friendly, I've no idea, but it makes me feel better buying it. It's also does it's job very well.

 

My dilemma is bleach - I don't use bleach, but do use (in small quantities) Milton - if it's kind for babies, it must be okay for fish? (I maybe a victim to marketing again)

Lo Salt is brilliant! Over half of it is potassium, great if you suffer from cramps. 

I think Milton is bleach but they have already added lots of water and charged you for it, all the water thak comes out of the tap has bleach in it.

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1 hour ago, Jerra said:

Interesting to get two opposing views.  My friend, a chemist by training, was involved with the lead up to pollution prosecutions and frequently appeared in court giving evidence.

 

I think you will find they use detergents (washing up liquid is a detergent) to break up large oil spills.

 

(I used to head up the department in BT which amongst other things investigated their environmental incidents and near misses with a view to minimising the chance of BT being prosecuted in the event of an environmental incidents,  proving that BT learned from its mistakes).

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8 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

I think you will find they use detergents (washing up liquid is a detergent) to break up large oil spills.

 

Not being a chemist I wouldn't know, but to me it is possible to have good detergents and bad detergents, or even a case of the detergent isn't as bad as the oil.

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49 minutes ago, Jerra said:

Not being a chemist I wouldn't know, but to me it is possible to have good detergents and bad detergents, or even a case of the detergent isn't as bad as the oil.

 

Probably the last one, apparently in significant quantities the surfactants can damage fish.

 

https://www.livestrong.com/article/151779-environmental-impacts-of-detergent/

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If you're keen to use an environmentally friendly washing liquid and washing up liquid then Bio D is good. They are plant based, with minimal surfactants and no phosphates. They are also effective in my opinion, available from Oxfam and health food shops.

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7 minutes ago, Meanderingviking said:

If you're keen to use an environmentally friendly washing liquid and washing up liquid then Bio D is good. They are plant based, with minimal surfactants and no phosphates. They are also effective in my opinion, available from Oxfam and health food shops.

^^^^^^ This.  We are satisfied users.

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Ecover is available in most supermarkets, they usually have washing up liquid, washing detergent and softener, & toilet cleaner too. Method or bioD are decent brands that some supermarkets stock, if they dont there is normally a Holland & Barrett about that has eco alternatives.

 

Its worth looking at hand soap & shower stuff as this ends up in waterways. I stock up on bars when we go to local markets where folks make natural products (they dont take up much room & have barely any packaging to dispose of, plus an added bonus is the smell that radiates from them!). My skin has been loads better after not stripping it with harsh chemicals in conventional products.

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You can buy Ecover and Method products at most Tescos and Sainsbury's - I have to try a little harder to find Bio D, but then I live in the frozen north.

 

I've used Ecover washing up liquid and multi purpose spray for about 20 years (not the same one, obviously) and I don't think I would use anything else, I love Bio D for outside cleaning jobs.

I like Method but the products all have a really strong smell which I don't like so don't use many of them. I also find that eco products are often easier to rinse therefore I feel that I use less water, but I haven't measured this. :) Eco clothes washing has come along way and for everyday clothes it can be quite good but my work clothes work harder than most so... 

 

 

 

http://www.biggreensmile.com/

https://biodegradable.biz/

https://www.faithinnature.co.uk/

 

 

Edited by Tumshie
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  • 4 years later...

For washing up, and general cleaning, washing soda, Sodium Carbonate, an alkali, used with hot water is an effective cleaning agent and stain remover. Furthermore, may be used to unblocks sink drains.

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7 hours ago, Stilllearning said:

We use Ecover washing powder, and saw a program that recommends putting the powder direct into the drum to avoid inefficient use if it's put in the drawer.

For bleach we use a hand spray of white vinegar or lemon juice.

 

Is Ecover any better that the major brands for the same thing?

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As an aside,

I used to use a shop where you could refill your Ecover liquid bottles. Don’t know why more places can’t do that. For that reason I used the product. 
 

and another aside further aside,

Ive found most of my weed hatch visits  over the last year have brought up coal bags. 
so it’d be very easy for boaters to help the environment by disposing of their coal bags in a bin. 😃

 

 

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15 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:

slightly off topic, can anyone recommend a cleaner for a cratch cover that is safe to rinse off into the cut without killing off the fish and ducks? 

What’s your cover made of?

and depends on the filth 😂

 

Mine’s acrylic, I’ve been using canal water on a mop to wet it down and then just a bit of washing up liquid (😬) on a rag with gentle elbow grease and then rinse off with canal water. 
Inside I keep clean with warm tap water on a cloth with a tad of washing up liquid. 

 

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