Home Cleaning: Borrowing from nature to reduce your environmental impact
In recent years, the use of natural ingredients in the production of soaps and detergents has become widespread. These natural solutions, effective on dirt but less aggressive in terms of environmental and human health impact, exploit the sanitizing, protective, and degreasing properties of certain substances "borrowed" from nature.
Soluble oils derived from plants, vegetable substances and salts dissolved in water are in fact excellent substitutes for some chemical substances widely present in household care products but which are dangerous for the environment and health.
Natural ingredients for cleaning the house
Vinegar, baking soda, and lemon are well-known and widely used natural remedies for household cleaning, but they aren't the only ingredients borrowed from nature for sanitizing, degreasing, and polishing. Green chemistry, on the other hand, is rapidly evolving, and manufacturers of eco-friendly detergents are increasingly using elements derived from nature in their sanitizing formulations.
Some very common ingredients in this type of product are vegetable glycerin obtained from rapeseed oil (which replaces propylene glycol), linseed oil, neem oil, beeswax and rock alum.
The most aggressive chemical substances, dangerous for the environment but also for our health , can be replaced by innovative compounds resulting from scientific research or by ingredients naturally present in seeds, flowers and fruits, which can be used in traditional solutions or in new formulations.
Health and environment: why choose ecological detergents
The fact that more and more manufacturers are choosing to adopt more environmentally friendly (and safe) solutions is due not only to renewed consumer awareness, but also to EU legislation on chemicals. One of the main objectives of the European REACH Regulation on the authorization of chemicals is to promote the replacement of hazardous chemicals with products that are safer for human health.
Bleach, ammonia , formaldehyde, phosphoric acid, and paraffins are substances that can pose a serious threat to health and the environment. It's no coincidence that we often consider replacing them just when children or pets arrive at home, as they're more exposed to the effects of chemicals on floors and fabrics.
However, the environmental issue should not be underestimated: chemical detergents contain compounds that can cause serious damage to the environment, both during production and when released into water or the atmosphere after use. Those who pay the highest price are water bodies and aquifers , where chemical waste, often derived from petroleum, ends up.
Detergents: the most dangerous substances for the environment
The detergents we habitually use contain some highly polluting chemical substances , which inevitably end up dispersed in the environment, becoming a danger for ecosystems and human health.
Among the most dangerous chemical substances , in this sense, there are:
- i chemical surfactants SLS and SLES, which are used to produce foam in various detergents but also in shampoos and other personal hygiene products;
- i phosphates, widely used in laundry detergents because they are able to counteract the hardness of the water;
- la formaldehyde, which is found in many air fresheners but also in various laundry and dish detergents.
Optical and UV brighteners found in powdered laundry detergents, almost always based on compounds that largely involve sodium and sulfur, also pose a serious threat to the health of groundwater and aquatic ecosystems.
The detergents of the future: natural ingredients and scientific research
Eco-friendly home cleaning solutions can take many forms: from homemade recipes based on vinegar and citric acid to the adoption of new compounds identified by green chemistry.
Among the most promising discoveries are rhamnolipids , a class of biodegradable molecules capable of replacing the foaming action of surfactants, which are gradually replacing traditional surfactants. And then there are new polymers and nanoparticles , which allow for the testing of innovative solutions based on nanosilicas and carbon nanotubes.
When it comes to products intended for use on leather or particularly delicate materials, however, the best solution is still to use natural ingredients . Oils and essences are the basis of many soaps, and some natural waxes can polish and protect wooden surfaces even better than chemical products.
This awareness, combined with the desire to offer reliable and sustainable solutions for cleaning and protecting surfaces, has led to the creation of products such as Apiwax , which exploits the action of beeswax, carnauba wax and propolis , and Gemma , New Chemical's protective oleocera based on vegetable oils and waxes.
