Home Truth

Not meant to be a reference to how I’m feeling (although having just got all the kids off to school with my hubby away overnight in London, it’s not far from the truth!) but a hint as to today’s subject.

Which was prompted by my son finishing off his Art GCSE mock coursework on the dining room table at the inevitable eleventh hour last night. He was proudly showing me his project on fish and I was reminded again of the diversity and immense beauty of the life in our oceans. Earlier in the day, I’d been with my youngest child to the local garden centre and had spent ages looking at the fish there with her. An older gentleman took the opportunity to proudly tell us all about his aquarium and I was struck by how complicated it is sustaining the right balance for survival for these fragile wonders. I should know - a year ago, I had to text a friend on holiday telling her all her fish had died in my care and that I couldn’t bring myself to clean the tank out. That’s the kind of friend I am!

It’s hard to keep in mind the link between what we flush down our drains and the idyllic underwater world of Nemo and friends. Maybe a sticker of a fish next to every sink and toilet in my house might help. None of us would wilfully poison the creatures that we visit Sea Life Centres to admire. And yet we feel totally justified in using whatever chemicals we choose to keep our houses pristine, our hair sleek, our clothes bright and fresh.

The Ecover website makes for an interesting read - even for a sciencephobe like me. They claim that their products have 40% less damaging effect on aquatic life than their rivals. Ah, but are they as effective? Well, they don’t cut through grease in the same way. Of course they don’t - they don’t contain the harmful chemicals that do that so effectively. And let’s remember. These ingredients are potentially not just harmful to faraway fish; chemical residues are inevitably left unseen on our dishes (and clothes and skin and surfaces……all that is for another day).

We have been using Ecover washing up liquid since the first green revolution in the eighties. The dishwasher is a recent acquisition and what a pleasure it is. Ecover dishwasher tablets and rinse aid do the trick. Fat traps picked up at a reservoir’s Visitor Centre at Christmas have encouraged us to dispose of excess fat more responsibly (not on our bodies, you understand - that is an ongoing battle!).

So I can sit here smugly on the subject of washing up, you see, and feel that I am doing my bit for our watery friends. Whilst all the time trying to ignore what goes down the plughole in the bathroom, or gets flushed away, or leaves the washing machine……. as I said, I guess all that

Filed under: Uncategorized on March 30th, 2007