Dishwashing detergent - helper or poison?

Once upon a time, people washed dirty dishes with clean warm water and, if necessary, cleaned them to shine with river sand or ash. In those happy times, no one thought that the fat collected for weeks was difficult to scrape off - they tried to wash it immediately. But everything changed in 1908, when the talented chemist Grigory Petrov found application for oil sulfonic acids, which they did not know how to get rid of. So the first surfactants appeared.

What is this beast

Surfactants are the basis of chemical cleaning products. They are able to change the surface tension of natural compounds, leading to their splitting and destruction.

Thanks to this property, dried fat or egg white so well depart from the plates. But there is a second side to the coin. Surfactants, like any oil derivative, are extremely reluctant to wash off with water - it will take about 5 minutes to splash around in running water with one single plate in order to confidently declare: it is almost clean.

You can not do this, of course. But in such a case, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the use of surfactants in science: biologists with their help destroy cell membranes in order to get to the insides of cells. Yes, those who are not particularly impressionable may try to explain that dishwashing detergents and laboratory reagents are not at all the same thing. And surfactants are different. Well, there is only one answer to this: have you heard of a drop of nicotine and a horse? There is the same principle.

Modern surfactants: why do dishwashers need chemical protection?

Some of these substances are used in medicine as antiseptics: due to the ability to destroy cell membranes, this muck ruins all lives, even as resistant as bacteria and viruses. And this is wonderful, because there is no place for pathogenic microbes on plates and pans. But a person also consists of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, with which surfactants are called to fight. Upon contact with the skin, this substance destroys the natural protective membrane - the upper layer of the dermis, along with a thin fat film. Have you noticed how hands creak after washing dishes? This sound indicates that the door for germs is wide open. And this is not the worst thing - after 5-10 minutes the skin will recover.

Glycerin, chamomile extract and other utilities in dishwashing detergents - a marketing ploy. Even if these substances are not part of the product of the chemical industry in the form of aromatic fragrances, they are unable to mitigate the effect of surfactants on the skin.

Serious consequences become apparent after frequent and prolonged contact of detergents with hands. The first symptom is dryness and peeling: a periodic violation of the integrity of the protective shell leads to the fact that the body does not have enough strength to restore it. With continued thoughtless skin contact with surfactants, microcracks and redness indicating serious irritation appear.

This is a kindly opened gate in front of an army of microorganisms craving for human flesh. And if they pay attention to the small Staphylococcus aureus (or its not less toothy brothers), then the carefree tester of a “useful” and “effective” means for removing contamination can get acquainted with an expensive and very protracted treatment of subcutaneous tissues. This can be avoided by simply using rubber gloves.

Aromatherapy or respirator

What is the pleasant smell caught by the nose while working with dishwashing detergent? An attempt by a caring manufacturer to brighten up a boring daily duty. That's just what he does it just to hide the natural, disgusting chemical aroma of his products.

A look from the other side - the smell indicates a lot of microparticles floating in the air. And the more of them, the more intense it is. And since the nostrils caught "lemon freshness", or "breath of alpine meadows", quite a lot penetrated into the lungs of this bewitching beauty. How the detergent acts on the cells was discussed above. So, perhaps, a gas mask as a confidence in the image of the dishwasher would be out of place.

Useful seasoning

Detergents do an excellent job with dirt. And they are extremely reluctant to wash off even in running water. A thin oily film remains on your favorite dishes and humbly waits for its time when something warm and moist is laid on top of it. Then she will gladly migrate to a new object and with it penetrate into the digestive tract.

If this happens occasionally, and the film is so thin that it does not affect the taste of the dish, then nothing bad will happen. Even a child’s body can cope with such a small attack. But let us recall the unprotected hands - nothing bad happens to them either. At first.

The average user of synthetic detergents and cleaners annually consumes from 200 g to half a liter of surfactants, which can provoke the development of ulcers throughout the digestive tract.

Harmless alternative

Laundry soap is a well-known long-standing product. From ancient times it was cooked from animal fat with the addition of ash. Nowadays, vegetable oils and various alkalis are the basis. This is also a kind of surfactant, but of natural, not synthetic origin. And it is washed off the dishes almost instantly, while removing dirt no worse than the chemical analogues.

To prepare an easy-to-use soap solution, you need only 25 g of laundry soap, 1 tbsp. l alcohol, 3 tbsp. l glycerin and 0.5 l of water. First you should prepare a soap solution, which is brought to a boil. Then the remaining ingredients are added to it. The mixture is thoroughly mixed and after complete cooling is poured (a gel-like substance is obtained) into a convenient dish. Use in the same way as synthetic detergents.

If this method does not seem quite safe, you can use citric acid, baking soda and mustard powder. Any of these products is applied to a damp sponge, which then rubbed the dishes. It is only important to remember that soda is an abrasive that can damage plastic.

A complete rejection of synthetic detergents is impractical - sometimes their analogues are more expensive or less effective. But this rule does not apply to dishes - it is easy enough to wash it with simple running water, and the same baking sheets are well cleaned with baking soda. And this is a chance to reduce the effect of synthetic surfactants on your body and contribute to a clean environment.

Watch the video: 4 kids treated for laundry detergent poisoning (March 2024).

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