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Show r3OlSfi(2(201n to approach this topic with a little more open and fresh mind. We all resent the idiocy of the topic of laundry " because of ' the way itr is " presented to the American , public. But actually this is an important environmental issue. is-sue. The issue centers around phosphate detergents deter-gents which leave a residue in the water which returns to rivers and streams after leaving the sewer system. . The phosphate dilemma is mainly based oh a process By Mary Barrcna S. 1 1 suppose the ftomcstead-ing ftomcstead-ing column is expected to tell people just how to. make all sorts of consumer products at home, possibly even laundry , detergent. - Well, I am sorry to disappoint you here, I have no instructions on how to make it. Rather, let mc pass along a little info on how to choose soap to take a little expense and 'dread out of that common decur-rence, decur-rence, laundry day. Here is a little background on the most commercially publicized group of products onThe TV tube. I ask that you block out nearly all that you have seen publicized and try known as "algae bloom." Phosphates work well as fertilizers and go through waterways and accelerating " algae growth! ;The more vegetation grows, the more vegetative matter there is to cycle though the ecosystem. The decaying vegetation consumes the oxygen supply in water and often will not allow enough of this element remaining for other life forms, such as fish. Please note that not just the phosphate detergents do this, but also many pre-soaks, pre-soaks, water softeners and general all-purpose cleaners have high levels of phosphates, phos-phates, too. So let us discuss the cleaning ability of different types of products. The effectiveness of any cleaner 0 is determined by such things as water hardness, type of fabric, degree of soil in fabric, temperature of wash water and thoroughness of rinse. The three types of cleaners can be typed: Phosphate detergent, soap and non-phosphate detergent. deter-gent. Phosphate detergent works best because phosphates phos-phates have the ability to hold minerals which cause water hardness (calcium and magnesium) in solution during dur-ing the washing process. Most of us use hard water, and in fact. I would like to know more from households who have water softening devices in care of this newspaper. Possibly soft water devices are an excellent excel-lent alternative to phosphates phos-phates in cleaners. Soap, when correctlv used, is rated the second-best cleaner. This involves water preparation, since soap effectiveness is greatly reduced in hard water. Non-phosphate detergents deter-gents are the least effective of all detergents, mainly because it is difficult to find a good substitute for phosphates phos-phates that will suspend the minerals in hard water. The ; basic ingredient in many formulas is sodium carbonate carbon-ate (washing soda). Washing soda alone will work almost as well. Other ingredients used are borax, sodium chloride, sodium sulfates, NTA and metasilicates. When using phosphate detergenjts, try reducing the amount to one half the recommended amount. Experiment Ex-periment to find the amount needed to form only a thin layer of suds. The effectiveness effec-tiveness of soap is increased by adding 13 cup washing soda to the machine as it is filling. If the water is hard add another 1 4 cup washing soda to the first rinse. Soap combined with hard water will deposit carbonate salts on fabric. This should be avoided especially in children's child-ren's clothing as these salts are flammable. Adding 1 cup vinegar will counteract this and will restore flame retardants to clothing that has been treated with them. The non-phosphate detergents deter-gents also do not combine well with hard water, so a non-phosphate or mechanical mechani-cal water softener will greatly increase efficiency. It is also common for most all commercial detergents deter-gents to be loaded with "filler'' which simply adds volume to the carboard box. There are products which can be purchased pur-chased from home dealers which do not have these fillers, and though the initial expense is more, this is only because you are buying more useable, or a longer lasting detergent. Continued on page II t, - -'it, J-At . Horn ..((vr -4;-.- ) rcontinilfrom page 9 wiltvever forget the time I usddJfecS-phosphate 4eter.-t fntSd water that had - mujfiller in it that my iitfctheslteeets, etc. felt like ittrfcyrll of pms.-.- . f tfSwiS6i considers buying- .lllelnlf product, look at . tlfifte ih5i Clients in the, box. . Spap.'i0free of phosphates ?Sd dtthemicals . known , be'ftiful to tlie skin. $ory 'pcould be a good Jlfhing ;tb out collar stains f&jd otheiriSoiled spots. The . h o s pfta i e substituted 'Can ;Clhave s' effects. NTA has " the same , algae producing' x4 effects s '" phosphates and - has been ..proven in cancer research -projects to be a carcinogen. Metasilicates are very caustic and can be harmful to skin and eyes. : Bora xVprbdu ccs the boron iron, which damages plants M. if thectmccntration is high " enough. Enzyme additives arc known to cause respiratory respira-tory ailments in workers who ; handle them and skin rash on . some people wlio use them. So far, sQdium-bascd chemicals chemi-cals have no known detrimental detri-mental effect on the environ-' environ-' ment. "It is not enough to allow dissent. We must demand it. For there is much to dissent from ..." Robert F. Ken- ill,Vt V-V.' ' ... r- |
