How Does Laundry Detergent Affect Plant Growth?
Laundry is one of those never-ending tasks faced by all families and individuals. The process of washing laundry has a definite effect on the environment; running appliances uses electricity and releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and the gray water -- any used water besides toilet water -- runoff affects the soil and plants it comes into contact with. Does this Spark an idea?
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Salts
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Laundry detergents contain sodium, or salts. Salts are extremely toxic to most plants, and in addition, compromise the stability of ground soils. They pose no problem to plants if the gray water is running off into the ocean, which is itself salty, but the effect of sodium on your lawn or garden is detrimental, causing plants to exhibit signs of browning and death.
Phosphorous
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Phosphorous is needed and utilized by all living things, including plants. It is the "K" indicated on plant fertilizer labels and is required by plant life for the process of photosynthesis. It is contained in many laundry detergents in the surfactant, which is what acts on water to allow it to more easily penetrate clothing, and is listed as phosphates. When phosphates enter lakes, streams and rivers, the result is often a severe over-growth of algae and other aquatic plant life. This over-growth is life-threatening to other aquatic life and upsets the natural balance normally present in our water systems.
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Homemade Laundry Soap
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To cut down on the chemicals used in your everyday laundering, you may make your own laundry soap from three simple ingredients. Old-fashioned soap, such as fels naptha, Zote or Ivory bar soap, washing powder, which is sodium carbonate, and borax powder, which is sodium borate. These still will leach salts into the environment, but controlling the amounts you use is helpful to minimizing any damage. It is still not advisable to use gray water from homemade detergents for irrigation purposes. Mix 1/3 bar of grated, melted soap with 1/2 cup each of the powders in 6 cups boiling water. Add this dissolved concentrate to a 2-gallon bucket with additional hot water to make up just less than 2 gallons of detergent. Add slowly and stir well to fully incorporate the concentrate into the water. This makes 64 1/2-cup loads of soap.
Responsible Laundering
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Whether you use your own soap or a commercial brand, you can cut down on the harmful environmental effects of clothes washing. Choose brands with lower sodium content. Use a detergent appropriate for your needs; for example, do not use a heavy-duty detergent if your wash is not heavily soiled. And do not use large quantities of a lesser detergent for heavy soils. Use the appropriate recommended amount of detergent for each load, as using too much only adds more pollution to the soil, and using less usually requires additional washes, increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
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