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Fooled & Betrayed
I’ve been seriously let down by a cherished life-long friend. And it hurts.
When I look back to my childhood, certain brands were the cornerstone of my comfort; like having beans on toast for my supper (Beanz meanz Heinz of course) and having a finger of fudge for a treat (Cadbury’s for sure) and as I got into my teens having a Nescafe coffee and feeling oh so sophisticated. But what about the washing up? the chore that we all had to do as kids and we all made loads of noise and groans when it was our turn but actually loved doing it! All those bubbles and the clean smell of the washing up liquid as you squirted into the washing up bowl of hot water. What about it? You know the brand, you know who I’m talking about, a cherished and lifelong family friend THAT IS ACTUALLY HARMFUL TO ACQUATIC LIFE. And you know how I found out about this horrendous fact? Not doing deep research in hidden archives and not doing a degree in Marine Biology (all though funnily enough I do have that). No. The way I found out about this fact is by reading the label on the back of the bottle (Brand name I am not going to mention). And there it is - printed there for all to read….
“Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects” and BOOM my memories are shattered….and I felt like a fool.
But what are our alternatives? Well, it turns out there are actually quite a lot of alternatives. What a revelation! Read below for the solid bar alternative that I tried out.
See separate blogs for more alternatives I tried. It’s like my quest for the perfect pork pie - this process of trying gave me so much joy!
SOLID BAR
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Solid washing up bars - I used this one, with added Aloe Vera and Glycerine to soothe hands and Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda) for a bit of oomph to your cleaning. I loved using it; it has a natural scent, like the classic Savon de Marseille olive oil cubes (which you can also use for washing up btw). It takes a bit of getting used to; different smell and no bubbles and of course it is solid, but it’s pretty straightforward - you wet the bar and rub it onto a sponge or brush and get on with your normal scrubbing of the pots. It got all the dishes clean, there was no residue, no aftersmell. |
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The OH found it a bit odd and there were a couple of grumbles but all in all it got the thumbs up in our house.
And - no plastic wrapping. Wrapped in paper, popped in the recycle bin. |
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Here it is after three months of solid (get it?) use. I think that’s pretty good going. I kept it on an old wooden soap dish I found in a cupboard and the washing up soap sat nicely in the sink ready for use. This is because our sink is in a kitchen island so we don’t have bottles and soaps on the counter. I used a natural and recycled fibre vegetable based sponge (seen here) which was great.
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What are the ingredients in this solid washing up bar?
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Thought you would never ask ….
99.9% of the total ingredients are of natural origin and 0.9% of ingredients come from organic farming. It is both ecological and economical. It is made with olive oil, coconut oil, aloe vera leaf juice, glycerine sodium bicarb is added plus the basic ingredients to make soap naturally. Naturally biodegradable (unlike our dear old family friend turned traitor)
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Lots to choose from - all wrapped in recyclable paper from sustainable wood supplies.
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In this range there is another washing up bar soap with added organic lemon essential oil - we all know the power of lemon oils for cleaning.
There is also solid multi- surface cleaner with added vinegar and lemon essential oils. It can be used on all surfaces (instead of a spray cleaner) as well as de-limescaling the bathroom sink, taps, shower etc. I literally cannot wait to try this out. |
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And plastic free sponges and brushes galore |
Ooo I love a good brush. More to come on those later. |