Washing Powder ingredients debunked. What’s itching your pet?

As a vet nurse with over 20 years’ experience, I am increasingly troubled by the chemicals in the supposedly safe products on the shelves of retail stores. I can see a direct correlation between skin issues and some of the ingredients in the products we use daily.

If your pets are having skin issues that are not caused by systemic disease, perhaps it’s time to scrutinise your household cleaners including washing powder. As much as you might believe it’s doing a great job and is safe, your washing powder may cause unnecessary skin issues for your pet’s skin (and yours).

Firstly, it’s important to understand why large corporations are putting so many unnecessary

components into what should be a simple recipe. Listed below are some of the more toxic chemicals that can be found in washing powder. [They may surprise you.]

In South Africa, popular brands are made by one enormous company. Their ingredients include:

Surfactants, builders, silicates, anti-redeposition agents, enzymes, perfume, optical brighteners.

There can be more than one chemical in each of these categories but let’s look at the most

harmful.

Surfactants (surface-acting agents): A surfactant is an aggregate of molecules with a water- loving head and an oil-loving, water-repellent tail. Surfactants cause water to lather and foam. When in water, the tails of surfactants are attracted to each other and together these molecules form a micelle which in turn is soluble in water. Additionally, the tails attract oil and grease in clothing to which they adhere and are subsequently washed out with the water.

One of the more dangerous surfactants that is known to cause cancer is Sodium laureth sulphate (SLES). This is a commonly used surfactant in many cleaning products. Sulphates are proven to be skin irritants and are often contaminated with 1,4-Dioxane which is [also] a proven carcinogen.

Builders, silicates and anti-redeposition agents increase the powder’s cleaning abilities and

prevent the redeposition of dirt onto fabric once suspended in the washing water. Environmentally friendly mineral salts can be used to raise the alkalinity of the product but commercial washing powders employ silicates and plastic polymers that are released into the water system as micro-plastics which end up in the ocean causing severe damage to marine life.

Enzymes: protease, amylase, lipase, cellulase and mannanase are enzymes which are responsible for breaking down proteins (blood or egg stains), starch, fats, cellulose (vegetable stains), and mannans (bean gum stains) respectively. When laundered fabric comes into contact with the skin, many of these catalytic enzymes continue breaking down oils in the skin and cause dermatitis. Manufacturers promote their products as biodegradable. This claim may well be true in the case of enzymes but it is not environmental toxicity that is the problem here, it is the effect of the enzymes on living skin.

Perfume, fragrance and Phthalates. Although it is difficult to find out what fragrances are

actually made from, some sources cite alcohol, coal tar, petrochemicals, acetaldehyde, limonene, chloromethane, and acetone which are all harmful to the skin. Phthalates are added to prevent the fragrances from dissipating. They have been shown to disrupt endocrine and metabolic processes.

Phosphates (sodium tri-polyphosphate) are common additives in detergents as they soften hard water by binding with the calcium ions and enhance the cleaning power of detergents. However, they cause health problems and are damaging to the environment. As they are still active in the water after a wash, they enter waterways and hyper-fertilise algae leading to the reduction of oxygen in water and the subsequent depletion of other living organisms in water bodies.

Optical brighteners (benzenes and stilbenes) absorb ultraviolet light, emitting it as blue light.

This conceals the yellowing of fabrics, tricking the eye into thinking they are whiter (and

cleaner) than they actually are.

To maintain their trickery, they have the characteristic of binding to clothing and so have direct contact with skin, often causing irritation, redness and inflammation.

Fillers are made from cheaper ingredients that have no cleaning effect on your washing. They dilute the active ingredients, bulking out the product so manufacturers can profit from using less washing powder and more filler.

So why would the giant manufacturers, who are primarily concerned with increasing their profits spend so much money on filling up your laundry powder with harmful chemicals?

Consumer preference:

There has been much study on consumer behaviour: what makes us buy a certain product and why?

More recently, by employing dedicated behavioural psychologists to reveal humans’ deepest impulses and desires when shopping for products, the manufacturing industry is increasingly designing and promoting products which tap into certain aspects of our make up. Marketing strategies employ music, colour and images that trigger our emotions, ethics, values and memories. Promises of ever-better products have us blindly following whatever we are told.

Moreover, we have become accustomed to the ‘ease of use’ model, not wanting to expend unnecessary energy on a product, preferring that it be ‘all-in-one’ and the ‘complete solution’ to our needs.

It stands to reason that a product that contains only the components required to do the job it has been made to do must be inferior to the product that does that and a little more.

Ask yourself, what does clean smell like? The big companies will have you believe that it’s a

meadow filled with flowers and offer up some artificial fragrance with a blend of ‘fresh’ smells.

What a pain it is when your washing powder gets a little clumpy because of the moisture in the air. Again, manufacturers add anti-caking agents so that your washing day experience is free from the trauma of having to bang the bag on the counter a few times.

How frustrating it is when your clothing is stiff because you have used too much washing powder in the first place. There’s a solution - add a chemical softener so it doesn’t matter how heavy-handed you are with your powder; it will always be soft as a puppy’s bum.

So what is the solution?

There are many ‘eco’ and skin-friendly washing powders on the market. Unfortunately, they are not as affordable as commercial powders. And so at Talliwags Wellness World we decided to make our own pet-friendly washing powder from all-natural ingredients including mineral salts and organic acids. Talliwags Pet-friendly washing powder is kind on human laundry too. We wanted to create something affordable and kind to the environment. Five simple ingredients —that include naturally derived surfactants, water- softeners and brighteners — break down into simple salts in the environment and have been tested on our own fabrics and with our own pets. We are excited to be able to share it with our beloved Talliwags clients.

Come in for a play session or to speak to our vet nurse and pick up a pack of Talliwags Pet-

Friendly washing powder while you are there. At last, a simple and effective washing powder with

natural ingredients whose sole purpose is to clean fabrics - no other additives.

HAPPY LAUNDRY DAYS!

©Liz Roodt 2024